BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
You may remember that there was a pandemic last year, a pandemic that is still currently ongoing. Omega remembers, and I’m not surprised they do l as the loss of advertising from the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games undoubtedly hurt their balance sheet for the year ending December 2020. Nevertheless, it pays to be optimistic. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that the summer games will be taking place this year (provided we all get the vaccine and help slow down the virus *hint*) in Tokyo as planned for last year. The dates are the 23rd of July to the 8th of August; welcome news for Omega, which is re-releasing the special edition Seamaster 300m Diver it had planned.
The watch has a stark white dial with blue markers, hands and writing. Only the cursive Seamaster script is printed in something other than blue, using the red colouring seen on other models instead. Surprisingly, Omega didn’t opt for any colours from the Olympic rings logo. They had the opportunity to, but they refrained, and I’m glad about that. In fact, the only real way to know this watch is the Tokyo 2020 watch is the logo they’ve plastered on the rear sapphire crystal. It still features a 42mm stainless steel case on a steel bracelet.
Inside it is still the calibre 8800, an excellent in-house movement developed by Omega to meet their METAS Master Chronometer rating, ensuring incredible accuracy and resistance to shocks, drops and magnetism. It’s on display, although the Tokyo 2020 logo covers it, a shame.
You might be wondering why Omega called this the Tokyo 2020 piece, despite the games being in 2021. That’s down to the IOC, which is still calling the games in July the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games. I suspect this is due to the vast array of merchandising already made before the pandemic hit, including Omega’s watches.
The price for one of these is €5500, and Omega has confirmed that it is a special-edition watch but is not limited in production numbers, so you’ll probably still be able to buy one next year.
