Omega vs Tudor is a natural rivalry. While Omega vs Rolex is a battle that usually steals the headlines, Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Chronograph vs Tudor Heritage Black Bay Chronograph is a price point battle with relevance to a broader range of luxury watch buyers. Two stainless steel chronographs will go head-to-head for your hearts and wallets today in Tim Mosso’s “Versus” on Watchbox Reviews.

The Omega Seamaster Diver 300M was redesigned for 2018, but the stainless steel 41.5mm Diver 300M Chronograph soldiers onward as the same basic watch that has been available for half a decade. This dive watch is a chronograph variant of the famed “James Bond” Omega Seamaster series, and its resemblance to Omega’s most famous on-screen model family is unmistakeable. With a helium escape valve for saturation divers, a dive bezel for weekend warriors, and a chronograph function for desk divers who bill their working hours, this Seamaster chronograph is ready for any occasion.

Omega offers a strap option for this watch, but it makes the most sense for watch enthusiasts when purchased with the full steel bracelet. This unit has been upgraded immensely since its 1993 debut, but the basic link design, deployant clasp, and dive extension remain core features.

Each Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Chronograph 212.30.42.50.01.00 sports a gloss black dial with the famous “James Bond” skeleton hour and minute hands. Applique indices and Omega logo ensure that premium finish obtains throughout. Beneath the dial sits an Omega caliber 3300 automatic chronograph caliber. It begins life as a Valjoux 7753 before receiving a litany of upgrades; COSC chronometer certification; column wheel chronograph selector, 52-hour power reserve; a free sprung balance, an Omega SI14 silicon hairspring; a co-axial escapement. The 212.30.42.50.01.00 is water resistant to 300 meters.

Tudor launched its Heritage Black Bay Chronograph 79350 in 2017, but most of the design cues date back to the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Tudor’s Black Bay series pays homage to both vintage Rolex and vintage Tudor sports watches, and the Black Bay Chronograph incorporates elements from both companies’ historical catalog.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the bracelet design. Although constructed using modern materials and methods, the bracelet has been designed to resemble vintage Rolex and Tudor reference 7205 and 7206 rivet-link bracelets from the 1960s. A dial with Tudor “Snowflake” hands pays tribute to the vintage Tudor Submariner “Snowflake” dials of the late 1960s to mid 1970s.

The Black Bay Chronograph’s dial differs dramatically from that of the Omega Seamaster. Tudor uses a matte rather than gloss dial base and a twin-register rather than three-register chronograph layout. Moreover, the tachymeter bezel of the Black Bay Chronograph reminds users that this isn’t a dive watch like the Omega, and Tudor is channeling both Rolex Daytona and Tudor reference 79180 “Big Block” chronograph design heritage in the 79350.

Inside its stainless steel case, the 41mm Tudor Black Bay Chronograph is neither Tudor nor Rolex but Breitling. In one of the most discussed customer caliber choices of 2017, Rolex-Tudor chose to purchase Breitling’s in-house caliber B01 automatic chronograph movement for the Black Bay Chrono. The resulting Tudor caliber “MT5813” is a COSC certified Swiss chronometer, features a 70-hour power reserve, and includes both hacking seconds (stop seconds) and quickset date refinements. The Tudor Black Bay Chrono is water resistant to 200 meters.

Tudor vs Omega begins now!