Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M Beijing 2022: Pure Olympic Spirit

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are ongoing and Omega, as the official timekeeper of the Games, brings to the competitions all of its experience built on 90 years of collaboration with the largest sports event in the world. The Olympics are also the moment for Omega to launch some special editions of its watches dedicated to the event. That’s also true for Beijing 2022.

For these Winter Games, the brand has worked on two top watches from the Seamaster collection, the Seamaster Aqua Terra and the Seamaster Diver 300M – both in the Beijing 2022 versions. Right now, we will focus our attention on the Aqua Terra, whose special series dedicated to the Chinese Olympics are attractive and quite interesting.

AN ICED SEAMASTER AQUA TERRA

This watch is essentially an “iced” version of the Aqua Terra 150M, thanks to its white frost-finish dial, which has been laser engraved on a white ceramic base. It wants to reproduce an ice motif, closely tying the watch to the Winter Olympics; this choice excluded the use of vertical stripes that recall the teak decks of boats – characteristic of the Aqua Terra collection.

In addition to the frosted finish, Omega did a very beautiful chromatic work on the dial, with hints of blue that change according to the light between the hands – filled with white Super-LumiNova – and the applied indexes, and red between the Seamaster name and the indications of the four quarters on the minute track, the so-called “chapter ring”.

For the reference dedicated to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Omega chose steel and opted for the largest case size in the collection: 41 mm in diameter and approximately 13.5 mm thick. These are remarkable dimensions, which however do not affect the proportion balance.

ATTENTION TO THE FINISHES

This is a timepiece designed to be worn outdoors, without being “rough” in shape and materials. A ceramic dial is relatively rare for sports watch, even the elegant ones. An appropriate choice, if we consider that Omega did not want to make it a limited edition, in order to broaden the audience of enthusiasts able to purchase a fine watch, made for a special occasion.

The timepiece has all the characteristics of the Aqua Terra’s classic version: sloped polished bezel that frames a domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, case with the typical twisted lugs, combination of polished and satin finishes (especially on the case and the bezel), conical screw-in crown whose design has been recently updated, water resistance up to 15 bar, date window at 6 o’clock.

LESS MARKETING, MORE SUBSTANCE

Unlike the Aqua Terra made for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which, moreover, was a limited edition), this watch has a screwed caseback in solid steel and not in sapphire crystal. Its finishing recalls the granularity of the snow and the Beijing 2022 logo is engraved in relief in the center.

It is the only connection to the Olympics on the watch, apart from the packaging in which it is sold. We believe that it is an intelligent choice that aims to make these celebratory watches more and more neutral, abandoning marketing excesses and aiming to improve the level of finishes and the choice of materials.

THE OMEGA 8900 MASTER CHRONOMETER CALIBER AND THE BRACELET

About the caseback: it houses the caliber 8900, an automatic manufacture movement with Master Chronometer certification, Co-Axial escapement and resistance to magnetic fields up to 15,000 gauss. This movement beats at 25,200 vibrations / hour and thanks to the twin barrels it can guarantee up to 60 hours of power reserved once fully wound.

The caliber 8900, presented at Baselworld 2015 within the Omega Globemaster collection, was the first movement of the brand to get certification from METAS. The Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology submits watches to very severe tests for accuracy, reliability and resistance to magnetic fields. In addition to that of METAS, the caliber 8900 also received the Master Chronometer certification by the COSC, the Swiss chronometric certification association.

Finally, a few words about the three-row bracelet. Like the case and the bezel, it alternates polished and satin finishes, with a mirror-polished central row, as beautiful as it is delicate. The butterfly folding buckle with satin finish reduces the risk of rubbing scratches and allows the bracelet to have a continuous profile and limited thickness, improving the aesthetics and the wearability of the watch.

TOP QUALITY FOCUS

With the Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M Beijing 2022, Omega has created a remarkable watch which breaks away from the idea of “uniqueness” that normally distinguishes the celebratory versions, while increasing the quality of the timepiece – both real and perceived. The ceramic dial, the METAS- and COSC-certified manufacturing movement, as well as the high-level finishes position it well above its retail price, which is 6,600 euros.

With this watch, Omega wishes to turn into reality the spirit of the Olympic motto, “Altius, Citius, Fortius”: to reach higher in the watch market, to grow faster, to become an ever stronger brand.

By Davide Passoni