The endless summer of the dive watch continues apace with the debut of the Omega Planet Ocean, a fourth generation upgrade on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the collection. Yes, the Seamaster Planet Ocean debuted in 2005 but it retains all the muscle memory of the Seamaster.
The distinguishing factor, arguably, is the helium escape valve and the signature orange bezel. Now, everything has changed because that helium valve is gone and, really, the entire form factor has changed. It is so intriguing that we are chomping at the bit to get our hands on the watches in the metal. For now, here is what you should know about the refreshed Omega dive watch icon, which includes no less than seven references (with three new watch heads).
We will start in 2005 because that seems a good fit, although the presser indicates that Seamaster models from the 1980s and 1990s deeply influenced the 2025 refresh. The watch was always meant to deliver the impression of a submarine – bold, heavy, and unapologetically engineered for tool watch enthusiasts. Yes, it carried the DNA of the 1957 Seamaster 300 but forged its own identity with a distinctive helium escape valve and a vibrant orange bezel remains a key part of its visual identity.
The first thing you notice about the 2025 Planet Ocean is the aforementioned helium escape valve, or rather its absence. For two decades, what looked like a faux crown protruding from the 10 o’clock position intrigued from just a visual standpoint. Of course, it was a technical necessity for saturation divers so its absence requires an explanation.
This is not a retreat from capability; it is a triumph of engineering. Borrowing technology from the record-breaking Ultra Deep project of 2019, Omega’s watchmakers have developed and implemented a new case architecture. A Grade 5 Titanium inner ring now sits within the stainless steel body, providing such immense structural integrity that the separate valve is no longer needed to keep the watch sealed against the atomic ingress of helium.
The result is a silhouette that is sharper, more angular, and significantly more refined. The watch has shed weight and bulk, dropping from a thickness of 16.1 mm to a sleek 13.79 mm. Topped with a flat sapphire crystal (another new feature), the 42 mm case reportedly slides under a cuff with an ease its predecessors never quite managed, yet it retains the formidable 600-meter water resistance that defines its name.
If the shape is the body, the colour is the soul. The Planet Ocean’s legacy is written in orange, a colour chosen not just for style, but for its visibility in the twilight zone of the upper ocean. However, replicating that specific, vibrant orange in ceramic—a material notorious for dulling bright pigments during the sintering process—has been one of Omega’s most difficult missions.
With the new Planet Ocean, it is “mission accomplished” for Omega. The new collection features a polished orange ceramic bezel [ZrO2] that glows with the intensity of the original aluminium models but possesses a scratch-proof permanence that will never dull. It is joined by models in a deep, glossy black and a rich maritime blue, each bezel ring filled with white enamel or hybrid ceramic scales that will never fade.
Beneath the sapphire crystal, the dial remains matte black, which suits the tool watch aesthetic well – legibility is king here. The signature broad-arrow hands return, sweeping past indexes filled with Super-LumiNova. But look closer at the Arabic numerals. The typography has shifted. The subtle typographic sharpening mirrors the new angularity of the watch head and bracelet.
Flipping the watch over reveals another nod to the pursuit of slimness. The exhibition caseback is gone, replaced by a screw-in caseback of Grade 5 Titanium (sapphire crystal windows of exhibition casebacks make cases thicker). It features the classic waved edge and lightly embossed Omega Seahorse emblem, a tactile connection to the brand’s history.
Inside beats the Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8912. It is a movement that needs no window to prove its worth, certified as it is by METAS for precision, performance, and magnetic resistance, capable of running perfectly even if exposed to the magnetic fields of an MRI machine (for obvious reasons, do not try this).
Being that this is a new chapter, we will also take the unusual step of highlighting the brand’s ambassadors for the collection. Omega has enlisted two men who, according to the brand, embody the duality of the contemporary Planet Ocean: rugged capability and refined style. Actors Glen Powell, wearing the signature orange, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, sporting the blue, lead a campaign that invites wearers to stand on the shoreline and look toward the horizon. And puzzle out which of the actors represents which face, although the watch choice should help.
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