Everything you need to know about Omega’s Rio 2016 collection
Timing will be everything when the world’s elite athletes arrive in Brazil next year for the Samba swing of the Rio Olympics. Whether 2016 can hit the heady heights of London and Super Saturday will only become apparent when the sportsmen start their campaigns, after hundreds or thousands of hours of practising against the clock.
The official timekeeper of the Olympic movement is Omega, one of the Swatch Group Ltd’s 18 watch brands. The group is a long-time worldwide Olympic supporter, missing only three Olympics since Los Angeles in 1932.To coincide with the 31st Olympics, which will be held from August 5-21 2016 in 33 venues, Omega has launched two stunning new watches with more than a hint of sporting excellence. Omega has, of course, long been associated with timepieces of class and quality – with many models featured on How To Spend It.
Only 2,016 pieces of The Speedmaster Mark II will be created, and Omega claims it ‘evokes the feelings of glory and triumph that come with a place on the podium.’ The inspiration for the stylish steel timepiece was not a watch from an Olympic year, but from the 1969 model of the Mark II.
It comes with everything you would expect from a timepiece of this calibre, packing a chronograph, chronometer and tachymeter into a tight combination of bronze, 18k yellow gold and 925 silver ring. Water resistant to 100m, with a flat scratch-resistant anti-reflective sapphire crystal screen, the stainless steel case measures 42.4 by 46.2mm. Three smaller dials measure 30 minutes, 12 hours and 3, 6 and 9 o’clock (seconds sub-dial), powered by the omega Co-Axial calibre 3330.The cost is £4,100.
Its companion, described as a celebration in colour, is a combination of steel and leather strapping, housed inside a rugged 43mm piece with the rough and ready name of The Seamaster Bullhead. It’s fresh and fun looking, with a more angular approach to its aesthetic qualities. Notice the multi-coloured stitching in the blue leather, which is designed to reflect the five Olympic rings. To the rear of the case, which hides an Omega Calibre 3113, is the official logo of the Rio games.
The minutes in the inner bezel continue the Olympic theme. Yet again we go back to 1969 for inspiration from the original Bullhead, a rally driver’s timepiece of might and muscle for timing on fierce laps and tracks. However another more sedate sport will form the basis for the limited number of watches of the 2016 version. Only 316 will be produced, to mark a combination of the third time golf will be played at the Olympics, and the year of the event itself.
Hodinkee says of the watch that, “other than being bigger than its vintage counterpart the Rio 2016’s configuration is rather appropriate for the venue. Its colour scheme is without a doubt playful with bold hues that pop.”
You’ll pay £6,075, for that pop, but if the Rio Olympics is as successful as the 2014 World Cup in the same country then both participants and spectators might have the time of their lives, in more ways than one.
