Mention the Omega Seamaster today, and the first things that often come to mind are rotating bezels, diving scales, and the word “Professional.” But when the original Seamaster appeared in 1948, it was something very different: a restrained, versatile everyday watch.

In 2018, to celebrate the Seamaster’s 70th anniversary, Omega returned to the collection’s earliest design language.

The Ref. 511.13.38.20.02.001 features a 38mm stainless-steel case and a domed silvered dial with Arabic numerals only at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock, complemented by slender triangular hour markers and Dauphine hands. There is no diving bezel, no date window, and not even the wave-pattern dial so closely associated with the modern Seamaster. Viewed from the front, it could almost pass for a watch straight out of the 1940s.

But the vintage character ends with its appearance.

Inside is the thoroughly modern Calibre 8806, an automatic movement equipped with Omega’s Co-Axial escapement, a silicon balance spring, METAS Master Chronometer certification, and substantial resistance to magnetic fields. Through the sapphire-crystal caseback, an illustration of a Chris-Craft speedboat and a Gloster Meteor aircraft references the Seamaster’s historical roots and Omega’s experience supplying watches to military personnel during the Second World War.

This particular edition was limited to 1,948 pieces.

Rather than reinventing the Seamaster, the Ref. 511.13.38.20.02.001 serves as a reminder of what the collection was before it became synonymous with diving: a simple, robust, and quietly elegant everyday watch.