The Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra

Omega has just announced a few new models for their Omega Aqua Terra lineup today, and while they might not be earth-shattering, they do round out the collection with a classic charm. In 41mm, 38mm, and 34mm stainless steel cases, the new Seamaster Aqua Terra comes with a black varnished dial with a lacquer finish, changing it up from the horizontal “teak” pattern that normally forms an Aqua Terra dial.

In terms of thickness, the new watches are 13.4mm, 12.3mm, or 12mm, respectively, with 20mm, 19mm, and 16mm lug widths. All models also come with 150m of water resistance. Each watch features an arrow minute hand and a more traditional short hour hand – both in white gold – with applied white gold diamond-polished indices, all of the above using Super-LumiNova. The 34mm version has softer, sloping “sailboat” hour markers around the dial and a round date window, while the other two have triangular markers and a more rectangular date window. All three feature white gold surrounds on the date window, making it stand out more from the dial than on the “teak” dials.

Inside the case is a Master Chronometer certified movement, the Caliber 8900 for the 41mm (60 hours of power reserve) and Caliber 8800 (55 hours of power reserve) for the 38mm and 34mm versions. If you head over to the Omega website, you can see that each watch is already available for purchase for $6,100 (regardless of size), so if the only thing holding you back from an Aqua Terra was the lack of traditional dial options, you can pick one up today.

I had never much considered the fact that the Aqua Terra line didn’t have a plain, flat black dial but apparently it was a gap that rightfully had been filled. While I like the charm of the “teak” dials for the Aqua Terra, it isn’t dressy enough for anyone, and the Omega Aqua Terra collection feels better positioned to fill that role than the Constellation line does at the moment.

The Omega Aqua Terra design seems cohesive in a sort of middle-of-the-road way. There’s only so much that can be done (or said) about a dial change. My only qualm is the 19mm lug width on the 38mm case. The price seems solid for a METAS-certified watch, however, and the “boat” indices on the 34mm dial are a good example of how subtle changes can really impact a design.