BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
As most readers will know, Omega has long held the title of official timekeeper for the Olympic Games. While for most of us, the Olympics are something that happens in the summer every four years, unless there’s a pandemic on. However, there are these things called the Winter Olympics, too, and they’re not usually covered in the media as much as they should be, which is a shame as they’re every bit as thrilling.
2026 will see the world’s greatest athletes descend on Northern Italy as the games are being co-hosted by Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. It will be the second time this region has hosted the Winter Olympic Games, the third time Italy has hosted the Winter Olympics and the fourth time the country has hosted the Olympics overall, as Rome hosted the Summer Olympics in 1960. Of course, Omega couldn’t miss out.
To mark the event, Omega has unveiled the Speedmaster 38mm Milano Cortina 2026. The first observation I have about it from looking at the spec sheet is that it’s quite a hefty piece. While the diameter of 38mm is quite reserved, its thickness of 14.75mm means it’s going to stand out. Naturally, some of this thickness will be because of classic Speedmaster sapphire crystal which stands proud of the bezel, but when we consider that it’s made from stainless steel as well and is presented on a steel bracelet, we can only assume it to be quite heavy. It does have 100m of water resistance, which is nice.
The dial is interesting to look at, featuring frosted blue details over a white varnished background. The blued hands and markers are a nice touch, and I like that they went with a gradient shade of blue for the central seconds hand; it starts out light in the centre but fades near the end. As the Games’ logo features ’26’ in a stylised font, Omega has cleverly incorporated it into the date window at 6 O’clock, though that font appears only on the 26th — not for every date.
A closed caseback with the ’26’ and the iconic five-rings logo obscures our view of the movement, which in this case is a self-winding Calibre 3330. The Calibre 3330 started out life as the ETA calibre A08.L01, before being taken in by Longines and made into the L688.2 calibre, it then made its way to Omega and became the Calibre 3330. It has a column-wheel chronograph and Omega’s co-axial escapement, a 4Hz beat rate, and a 52-hour power reserve. It’s also a COSC-certified chronometer.
This new watch is a special edition piece, although it is not strictly a limited-edition watch, so Omega won’t be selling it forever. The price is $6,800.
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