Omega
Seamaster 300 No-Date
165.024
The Seamaster 300 reference 165.024 is a 1960s automatic diving watch with a black face, broad luminous hands and no calendar. Its rotating outer ring measures elapsed minutes. Unlike the later blue Diver 300M associated with James Bond, this Seamaster uses large, relatively simple markings and a substantial steel case with curved strap attachments.
The absence of a date is conspicuous because there is so little else on the face. The hour markers can continue around the dial without making room for a window. The minute hand reaches towards the scale it has to read, while the shorter hand carries a different shape. Those distinctions were part of the watch's use as an instrument, not additional information displayed for its own sake.
The case is more complicated than a straight view of the dial suggests. Its strap attachments twist between broad upper surfaces and narrower polished edges, and extra steel on the right shelters the winding crown. The shape belongs to Omega's larger 1960s diving-watch generation. The front cover is acrylic; around it, the dark timing insert provides a second, larger set of minute markings.
Omega's archive records the reference with calibre 552, a self-winding movement. Catalogued examples also include the related calibre 550.
Sources
- Omega — Vintage archive for Seamaster 300 ST 165.0024
- Swatch Group — Omega manufacturer history and Seamaster lineage
- Omega Seamaster 300 Collectors Guide - 165.024 and 166.024
- Phillips - Military Seamaster 300 165.024
- Phillips - US-market Seamaster 300 165.024 with calibre 550
- OmegaForums - Seamaster 300 165.024 originality discussion