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Editors' Picks Our Favorite Omega Olympic Editions

We narrowed it down to five, but they're all winners in our eyes.

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At this point, when you think Olympics and watches, you likely think of Omega. And that's with good reason. Along with the James Bond franchise, the Olympic Games represent a massive and hugely valuable international stage for Omega and, alongside the timekeeping duties, the setting offers the opportunity to brand special products directly into the theatre of sport. Given a deeply engaged worldwide audience, it's no surprise that Omega would want to leverage their considerable watchmaking acumen (and a wide array of styles), in communicating their continued relationship with the Olympics, and as such, they have a remarkable back catalog of watches that have been produced or launched in conjunction with a running of the Games.

Keeping with the theme, we asked our editors to weigh in with their favorite Omega Olympic editions, and while the list is far from complete – there are a lot of options to pick from – the results are a mix of traditional design and cutting-edge technology, all sharing a common theme of commemorating another running of the Olympic Games. 


Omega Olympic Pocket Watch 1932 Rattrapante Chronograph

Omega's relationship with the Olympics and the IOC began in 1932, when the company provided 30 chronographs (and one watchmaker) for the 1932 summer Olympics, in Los Angeles. For many years the relationship continued, although there was a hiatus from 1996 to 2004. In 2005, however, Omega renewed its relationship with the Games and celebrated by producing, over the next few years, a series of 300 chronographs in yellow, white, and red gold, to match the color of the Olympic medals.

According to Omega the movement, Omega caliber 3889, was actually rebuilt from movement kits that date to the era of the 1932 Games. If you love traditional horology, it doesn't get better than this – a stunningly finished ode to one of the high watermarks of classic, pre-quartz watchmaking.  

– Jack Forster, Editor-in-Chief


Omega Seamaster Chrono-Quartz Montreal 1976 Ref. 196.0052

My pick from Omega's back catalog of noteworthy Olympic editions is none other than the Chrono-Quartz, because not only is it the first-ever ana-digi chronograph wristwatch, but it was also launched alongside the 1976 Games in the great Canadian city of Montreal. I adore a good analog-digital watch and the format was born during a time of great strife for the watch industry as quartz loomed on the horizon and threatened to wipe out the old-world tradition of watchmaking. 

Enter Omega with a new and deeply '70s design that blended a sporty 1/100th of a second lap-timing chronograph with the tech-forward aesthetic first seen on another avant-garde quartz watch – the 1974 Marine Chronometer. The Chrono-Quartz is the only watch to have used Omega's caliber 1611 movement, which allowed distinct control over both the digital chronograph and the analog time display, while both measures relied on the same 32 kHz quartz resonator design.

With a battery layout that looked like a pair of wings, the 1611 earned the nickname "Albatross" and the dial layout was meant to invoke the legible and functional look of Olympic timing devices. Measuring some 51mm wide and with a left case flank housing several pushers and a price tag that was more than double that of the then-current Speedy Pro, the Chrono-Quartz further established Omega's relationship with both cutting-edge timekeeping and with the split-second world of the Olympics.  

James Stacey, Senior Writer


Omega Seamaster Polaris Albertville 1992

I have a thing for chunky, bulky, generally over-the-top chronographs from the '70s, '80s, and the '90s. Just ask Brandon and Saori over in the HODINKEE Shop's vintage department – I'm always bugging them to see what the latest Wednesday drop looks like. While the Omega Mark II "Rio 2016" is a dear favorite of mine, for my all-time favorite Omega Olympic Limited Edition, I had to stay true to my roots and go with the Seamaster Polaris Chronograph, released to commemorate the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. 

This quartz chronograph offered one-hundredth second timekeeping across three separate timing arrangements: standard, net, and – my favorite – split. Better yet, the stainless steel case was inlaid with gold inserts up to 2mm thick. If the funky Polaris catches your eye like it has mine, here's a hint: Omega actually created two variants of the watch for that year's Olympics, distinguished by the bracelet links. A fully steel bracelet is one of 499 created for the consumer market; if there are gold center links, however, you've found one of 250 examples that Omega built for the sponsors of the Albertville Olympics. Happy hunting.

Logan Baker, Editor 


Omega Seamaster Vancouver 2010 Olympic Edition

I'd be thrilled if Omega took this color combination and turned it into a standard production model. I'm particularly fond of this watch because it brings to mind a phase when Omega experimented with the Seamaster line in the '90s, with both red and white dial references. The Bond Seamaster was one of the first Swiss watches I ever owned, and the red bezel on the Vancouver Olympics limited edition looks different enough from the standard blue one that it would even be enough to start a small Seamaster collection and have enough variation in color as to not be redundant. I'm simply drawn to the red bezel in its own right – not for the Olympic connection or the Canadian connection, although those are both nice extras.

Cole Pennington, Editor


Omega Seamaster Olympic Games Collection

Limited editions are certainly not a newfangled thing – especially as far as Omega is concerned. If anything, Omega has found a way to incorporate all manner of LE's from James Bond to Snoopy to the Olympics into its collection. Rather than choose a limited model from any specific games, I went with a collection that celebrates them generally and holistically. The Olympic Games Collection is a group of colorful pieces (representing the colors of the Olympic Rings) which celebrate the entire relationship between the brand and the event. 

Something about these watches strikes the perfect chord of classic and modern. It's a simple, almost classic design in a wearable 39.5mm-wide case that takes all DNA of 1940s/50s Seamasters and reinvents it for today. The Olympics are an event steeped in tradition yet always evolving. That's how I view this collection; the modern evolution of a classic.

Danny Milton, Editor

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