Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope "Paris 2024"
Let The Games Begin! OMEGA and the Olympics
Today is July 1st. So, with less than a month before the Paris Olympics begins (opening ceremonies are July 26th), let’s get in the sporting mood with a review of OMEGA’s latest Olympic Games Special Editions and by taking a look back at the profound historical connection between the watchmaker and the Olympics themselves.
By Mike Espindle
Executive Editor
The relationship between OMEGA and the Olympics is one of the most time-honored partnerships in the world of sports and the world of watches. As a result, this history is well-documented. But for those who may need a bit of a refresher, here are a few historical highlights:
• The story begins with the arrival of a single OMEGA timekeeper, equipped with 30 accurate stopwatches, to time 117 events in 14 sports at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Thus, OMEGA became the first watch brand to direct all Olympic timing and kind of hasn’t looked back since. (Well, Seiko did serve as the official timekeeper in 1964, 1972, 1992, 1994, and 1998).
• OMEGAa’s pioneering use of photoelectric cells for “photo-finish” debuts at the 1948 Winter Olympic Games in St. Moritz, signaling the watchmaker’s pivot from purely mechanical timekeeping to electronic timekeeping.
• Some of OMEGA’s notable technological advancements that resulted from the brand’s involvement with the Olympics include an “electronic chronograph” that was accurate to 1/100th-of-a-second, synced time displays for TV broadcast, the introduction of swimming lane touchpads, precision digital cameras accurate to 1000th-of-a-second, and an electronic “starting pistol” that takes into account the speed of sound.
Clearly, the watchmaker’s dedication to precision timing, even outside of traditional watchmaking, is not up for debate. So, it is no surprise that OMEGA will continue being the official Olympic timekeeper until at least the 2032 Summer Olympic Games in Brisbane, Australia.
For an even deeper dive into the OMEGA/Olympics history, click here. To check out Rhonda Riche’s rousing coverage of the recent, problematic Tokyo Games and OMEGAa’s role there, click here.
Memorable Commemoratives
Then there is the other side of this “tale of the tape”: the not-to-be-ignored series of Olympics-honoring timepieces OMEGA has produced over the years. Again, my colleague Rhonda Riche listed a selection of outstanding commemorative editions back in 2022; still, a brief overview of additional special-edition Olympic timepieces here certainly can’t hurt our exploration.
The 1956 Winter/Summer Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo and Melbourne
The 1956 Games, in particular, yielded a special edition Omega watch that leaned into bombastic use of the Olympics’ logo.
The Seamaster XVI Croix de Merite (Cross of Merit) created for that year’s Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, and Melbourne, Australia, made an unmistakable visual impact while still wearing as an elegant dress execution of the Seamaster.
The 1988 Winter/Summer Games in Calgary and Seoul
As befits the era, the 1988 Games were recognized with a special Seamaster Polaris Chrono-Quartz Hybrid timepiece with an innovative bi-color approach.
With etched gold details on the large “muscle watch” titanium case and single gold mid-links connecting the larger titanium bracelet segments, this electronic-based chronograph utilized four pushers to increase the timer’s efficiency and function for multiple-timing-event chores.
This same overall design approach was utilized, perhaps a bit less successfully, for the steel Seamaster Polaris Multifunction Chronograph created for 1992’s Albertville and Barcelona Winter/Summer Games.
The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
The OMEGA Olympic editions crafted in 2014 were clearly more anchored in the modern era, with precision mechanical movements back in the spotlight. However, this lesser-known gold tonneau-shaped Sochi Petrograd Special Edition for that year’s Winter Games carries some vintage oomph.
Based on a historical reference from 1915 created for a prominent Russian leader, the Sochi Petrograd Special Edition carried a modern Calibre 2202 movement with a co-axial escapement along with its modern Olympic-honoring engraved caseback.
Today’s Medal Winners
For the upcoming Games in Paris at the end of this month, OMEGA has released two special edition we’d like to discuss: One from last year to mark the start of the one-year countdown clock to the 2024 Summer Games and one that came out more recently to start the 100-day countdown.
T-Minus One Year
The outstanding 42mm Seamaster Diver 300M “Paris 2024” Special Edition that debuted in July 2023 is not only special because it launched the one-year countdown.
For one, it is exclusively available from the OMEGA boutique in the host city of Paris. For another, it is a Seamaster, which bucks OMEGA’s tendency over the past few Olympic Games of tapping the Speedmaster for its special editions.
Also, because it’s a Seamaster, it means that this model’s gleaming white ceramic dial picks up the stunning “wave” pattern of OMEGA’s best dive watches. Then, of course, there is this model’s eye-catchingly gorgeous Moonshine gold bezel, along with the less visible Moonshine gold Olympic flame badge on the etched caseback and other gold attributes.
Expect the latest steel OMEGA Quick Change System bracelet, as well (when the watch launched, OMEGA teased potential red, white, and blue rubber straps and a dedicated Paris 2024 NATO strap as custom options).
However, the tell-tale helium-escape valve at 11 o’clock, Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8800 movement, and 300 meters of water resistance make this as functional a diving Seamaster as any ever produced. The OMEGA Seamaster Diver 300M “Paris 2024” Special Edition lists for $8,900.
100 Days to Go
The more recent released 43mm Speedmaster Chronoscope Paris 2024 is available in two core versions. The first features a stainless steel case and a black anodized aluminum bezel. Meanwhile, the other also has a black ceramic bezel but features a glimmering 18K Moonshine gold case. Both models come on either a leather strap or a case-matching metal bracelet.
On both, expect a shimmering white opaline dial sporting black chronograph registers at 3 and 9 o’clock in the OMEGA “two counters” tradition. Moreover, both models also feature technically elaborate sets of three dark grey timing scales – tachymetric, pulsometric, and telemetric – running in concentric circles on the dial, making them a fitting ode to the importance of precision timing in athletic competition.
Powered by the immaculate METAS-tested and certified OMEGA Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 9908 (in the steel case) and 9909 (in the Moonshine gold case) movements, an etched commemorative caseback rounds out the offering.
In terms of pricing, the steel Speedmaster Chronoscope Paris 2024 lists for $9,500 on a leather strap and $9,800 on a steel bracelet. Meanwhile, the Moonshine gold execution is priced at $32,700 on the leather strap and $51,400 on the Moonshine gold bracelet.
You can find out more at OMEGA’s website.
(Images © OMEGA)
