Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Bond and Spectre: What I'd Put on Instead of the Mesh
The new steel Bond and Spectre look right on mesh. They'll look better with a second outfit.
Omega has put the Seamaster Diver 300M Bond and Spectre editions on a steel mesh bracelet and nothing else. In the press shots it looks superb. It's also a 300-metre dive watch dressed for dinner, and the first time you want it near water, or want it to look a little less like a prop, you'll start looking at straps. Here's what I'd fit on each, what I'd steer clear of, and the one measurement to take before you spend a penny.
The watch, and what's going on with it
The Bond is the blue one: a wave-patterned aluminium dial, the family crest where the 12 should be, and a titanium bezel. The Spectre is the black one: a dark grained dial, a ceramic bezel, no fuss. Both are 42mm steel with no date window, and both come with the mesh and nothing else. The two limited 77-piece sets, each pairing a steel watch with a platinum-gold one, are different. They arrive with an alligator strap and a spare NATO in the box, which tells you who Omega expects to be buying straps for the steel ones.
None of this is new ground for the model. The titanium No Time To Die edition was the first modern Diver 300M to drop the date window and wear a mesh bracelet, and these two are plainly its descendants. [VERIFY: No Time To Die edition year and "first" claim; MGB's own listing says so, confirm with Omega.] If you owned that one, you already know how this wears.
Two numbers matter. The case is 14.23mm thick, so it has enough presence that a skinny strap will look lost. And it's 50mm lug to lug, which on a smaller wrist is the figure I'd worry about. A strap with a sharp taper will do you more favours than a thick one, because it lets the lugs sit where they should and the buckle disappear under your wrist.
I haven't had either watch on the bench yet, so this is judgement from the specifications and the photographs. The mesh is handsome. On the Bond it looks like a Bond watch ought to. On the Spectre, bright steel against that black dial and ceramic bezel is the better-looking of the two.
The one thing to check before you buy
Omega's own product pages don't list a lug width. Time+Tide's hands-on gives 20mm and the rest of the launch coverage agrees, which fits the 20mm that Diver 300Ms have had since 2018. Measure yours anyway. Calipers cost less than a wrong strap.
If you've got a pre-2018 Diver 300M in a drawer, forget its straps. Those watches take 18mm, and an 18mm strap on a 20mm gap is a very short conversation.
What nobody has published yet is how the mesh attaches to the case. That matters more than it sounds. How a strap's ends meet the lugs is the difference between looking made for the watch and looking merely fitted to it, and curved ends and straight ends behave very differently on the same case.
This watch wants to get wet, so give it a strap that doesn't mind. On the Bond I'd fit navy rubber. Our sailcloth-effect FKM with a deployant clasp is the one: the navy picks up the blue of the dial instead of fighting it, and FKM doesn't crack or fade the way ordinary rubber does. Yes, we make it. No, that's not why it's here. The deployant is doing real work, because it opens in one movement and stops the same crease being flexed every morning.
For the Spectre I'd go the other way and warm it up. Black dial, black bezel and bright steel is cold, and a stone or brown suede strap takes the chill off. Suede also gets better with age, which rubber never will. It's a dry-weather material, so keep it away from the pool and the shower.
What I'd avoid is black leather on the Spectre. Black on black disappears into the case and goes funereal quickly. I'd skip anything thick, too, since the watch is carrying plenty already. Texture is a better answer. A brown herringbone fabric gives a black dial a field-watch edge if suede feels too dressy, and the rest of the Diver 300M range covers the colours I haven't mentioned.
If it were mine, it would be navy rubber from April to October, brown suede the rest of the year, and the mesh on the nights I'm dressed for it. Three outfits for one watch is about right.
When to leave it alone
If this watch lives on a desk and at dinner tables, leave the mesh on. It's the best-looking thing in the box. Swap straps because you want a second personality for the watch, not because you think the first one is wrong. And if you've bought one of the 77-piece platinum-gold sets, you already have a strap and a spare. Put the credit card away.
The practical bit
Use a proper spring bar tool. Do it on a towel, not over a tiled floor. And keep the mesh bracelet and clasp together in a box. Whoever buys the watch from you later will want the full set.
Omega made the poster version. The one you wear on a wet Tuesday is up to you, and it takes two minutes and a spring bar tool.
If you also wear a Speedmaster, start with our guide to Speedmaster Professional straps. If it's an Aqua Terra, this one's for you.
Frequently asked questions
What lug width do the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Bond and Spectre editions have?
20mm, according to Time+Tide and the other launch coverage. Omega's product pages don't state it, so measure your own watch before ordering.
Will an older Diver 300M strap fit the new editions?
Only if it's 20mm. MGB lists pre-2018 Diver 300M references at 18mm and the current generation at 20mm, so straps made for the older watches won't fit.
Do MGB straps fit the Bond and Spectre editions?
Our product pages for the sailcloth-effect FKM strap, suede strap, recycled gabardine strap and herringbone strap state fitment for the 42mm Diver 300M at 20mm. The new editions launched on 5 October and are reported at the same lug width, so confirm yours first. The full range is in the Omega Seamaster straps collection.
Can I swim with a leather or suede strap?
No. The watch is rated to 300 metres, but leather and suede absorb water and degrade. Use rubber or FKM for anything wet.
Do the limited-edition sets come with a strap?
Yes. Launch coverage from Watch Advice and The Calibrated Wrist reports an alligator strap on the platinum-gold watch in each set, plus a NATO strap. The steel models come on the mesh bracelet only.
Can I take the mesh bracelet off?
Nobody has published how it attaches. Ask your retailer, or check the end links when the watch arrives. More Omega options are in the Omega watch straps range.