Feature: Longines Skin Diver Vs Omega Seamaster 300

The similarities between these two retro-looking dive watches from Longines and Omega are blatantly obvious. Both the Longines Skin Diver and Omega Seamaster 300 are re-issues from the golden era of dive watches that also brought us such enduring classics as the Rolex Submariner and Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms.

In those days, Longines and Omega were on a more equal footing—and then along came the mighty Swatch Group, Hoovering up these horological titans and deciding that the latter should be positioned higher up the pecking order.

Omega became the Swatch Group’s headline act, belting out the hits in fully packed stadiums while Longines was reduced to playing intimate gigs in provincial nightclubs. And that’s pretty much how it still stands today, with Longines still playing second-fiddle to the more prestigious and less affordable Omega.

The Longines Skin Diver Reference L2.822.4.56.2 is a re-issue of its first ever dive watch

So what happens when Omega steps into heritage dive watch territory, an area where Longines has excelled in recent years?

Can Longines still come out on top once in a while when pitted against its big-hitting Swatch Group cousin?

A Longines Nautilus?

To kick-off, let’s take a look at the original watches these new models derive from, because both come with some fascinating informational titbits.

The Seamaster 300 came first, in 1957—the same year the Breitling Superocean, another dive classic, was released¬—and although it was called the Seamaster 300, Omega’s advertising at the time was only allowed to state that it was water-resistant to 200 metres. This was because the testing equipment back then was able to measure to 200 metres only. Omega couldn’t substantiate its claim of a larger depth, hence the dial stated ‘Seamaster 300’, and not the more specific ‘Seamaster 300m’.

The Longines model, meanwhile, was originally named the ‘Nautilus Skin Diver’, and arrived two years later in 1959. It came in an Ervin Piquerez steel case—used by many serious dive watches of the period—and was actually the brand’s first ever dive watch.

The Omega Seamaster 300 differs only slightly from the 1957 original it's based on

The dial design of these watches was typical of the 1950s and 1960s, with countless time-only dive watches featuring a rather stubby arrow hour hand and thick-lumed hour markers on a black background with a matching black bezel.

21st Century Updates

At first sight, these two models look like faithful re-issues, but both Omega and Longines have seized the opportunity to bring them thoroughly up to date with 21st century materials, giving them extra durability and accuracy.

The Longines’ original bake-lite bezel—prone to crumbling away like slice of stale stilton cheese—has been replaced with PVD-treated steel, while the Omega 300 features either a very modern ceramic bezel or one that uses Omega’s proprietary anodized aluminium—more scratchproof than regular aluminium—which is found in the most recent model (reference 234.30.41.21.01.001) from 2021.

The new versions of the Seamaster 300 come with updated bezels less prone to scratching

Both watches have been bumped up in size to suit modern tastes in luxury watches, the Omega’s case measuring 41mm and the Longines pipping it at 42mm.

Thay also both have a water resistance of 300 metres, making them more than suitable for some light snorkelling in the coral reefs.

For Fauxtina, Or Against?

As for the dial indices and hands, both brands have embraced the ‘fauxtina’ look here, with heavily ‘pre-aged’ Super-LumiNova to give them a vintage vibe—not to everyone’s taste, but it’s a debate that rages on in forums throughout the watch universe.

The dials of both watches reveal some nice touches on close inspection. The recessed hour markers of the Omega give it a Panerai-like sandwich effect, and the Longines gets brownie points for its sandblasted textured surface.

The Longines caseback featuring its iconic spear-fishing diver emblem

The Longines caseback is closed and engraved with its famous scuba-diver, unlike the Omega which shows off its automatic movement (more of which later) with a transparent caseback.

It goes without saying that the acrylic lenses used in the past have now been replaced with the much tougher sapphire glass.

Movements

This is where you’d expect the Seamaster 300 to move up a gear, leaving the Longines in a dust-choking heap on the tarmac. And yes, the Omega is far more accurate as a chronometer and benefits from the genius of the Co-axial escapement, but the Longines has a surprise up its sleeve.

The automatic movement seen through the Omega's open caseback

The self-winding movement inside, while manufactured by the Swatch Group-owned ETA, is made exclusively for Longines, which while not being an in-house movement is possibly the next best thing. It also holds a 64-hour power reserve compared to the Omega’s 60-hour effort.

Okay, so the Omega wins this battle, but Longines goes down swinging.

Decision Time

Movement aside, it’s pretty much only Omega’s bezel and bracelet that elevate this above the Longines. In a perfect world, Longines would also have teamed this watch with a quality beads-of-rice bracelet, as per the original 1959 version. But, hey, at around half the price (RRP £2,280), it had to cut a few corners somewhere and therefore only comes on a strap. And that’s where Omega comes out on top – that extra finesse that comes with being the company’s flagship brand.

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Looking for a pre-owned Longines watch? Click here to shop now

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Looking for a pre-owned Omega watch? Click here to shop now