For this week’s team test, we have been getting ready for the Winter Olympics with two of Omega’s Seamaster models. Some of us headed to the mountains with the watches, while the rest of us had a lunchtime excursion to the ice-skating rink. Luckily no bones or sapphire crystals were broken in the process! Discover what our team of journalists had to say about their experiences with the watch.
Jordy Bellido
With the Beijing Winter Olympics starting on Friday, I figured that I should probably start training if I was going to have a chance at competing! With my skates on, I took to the ice, but unfortunately, neither speed skating nor figure skating appeared to be my thing! My dreams shattered, I resigned myself to the fact that I need to stay in Geneva and continue my job as a journalist! But despite my catastrophic sporting efforts, testing the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M “Beijing 200” turned out to be a whole lot of fun.
With its blue ceramic dial and five of its indexes in the colours of the Olympics (not to mention the engraving on the back of the timepiece), the reference to the winter sporting event is quite subtle. The colour palette of the dial is a real breath of fresh air that sets the watch apart from the rest of the Swiss manufacture’s creations. Its 42mm stainless steel case and grade 5 titanium bezel complete the sporty spirit of this Seamaster. On the mechanical side, the Omega Master Chronometer Co-Axial 8800 calibre follows suit, with its METAS certification guaranteeing compliance with the highest standards of precision, performance and magnetic resistance.
Marie de Pimodan
Testing the latest watch from the Official Timekeeper of the Beijing Olympics a few days before the start of the events was a brilliant idea from my colleague Sophie who, on the eve of the weekend, entrusted me with the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Special Edition “Beijing 2022”. As I am neither a bobsleigh fan nor sufficiently at ease with figure skating to attempt an axel or a lutz with such a precious timepiece on my wrist, I preferred to play it safe and test it on the ski slopes. At first sight, the imposing character of the steel case with its titanium diving bezel indicates a high level of robustness, that is perfect for the depths of the ocean, but works equally well at altitude. It is reassuring to know that the Omega Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8800 calibre is well protected, especially in the event of a wipe-out on the slopes! So, I could relax and fly down the mountain while appreciating the intense blue of its ceramic sunray dial that was the perfect match for the blue sky above me. As a nod to the Olympic rings, five indexes are embellished with blue, yellow, black, green, and red. For a few seconds there, I almost thought I was a professional athlete!
Sophie Furley
For my WorldTempus Team Test experience, I took the Seamaster Aqua Terra “Beijing 2022” to the ice rink for some figure skating. I wish I could say that I was twirling and spinning on the ice with the watch, but I calculated that it had been over 10 years since I had put on a pair of ice skates and it wasn’t all coming back to me like Jordy said it would! After a while though, I managed to reach a level where I could shuffle along and look at the Seamaster at the same time!
The first thing that caught my eye with the Seamaster Aqua Terra Beijing 2022 model was the pure whiteness of its dial. It made the ice under my skates look quite dirty and grey. Crafted in ceramic with a frosted finish the dial really does remind you of fresh snow. This bright white effect is complemented with dynamic blue indexes and hands that have been designed in a triangular format. There are also a few red touches for the Seamaster logo and the numbers 15, 30, 45, and 60. The bracelet was slightly too big for me so it was hard to gauge the comfort factor, but it has a nice weight to it that feels good on the wrist. With its Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre, 150-metre water resistance and a five-year warranty, this is a great choice for ice skaters of all levels, even those who end on up on their bottom!
Suzanne Wong
I have to confess something. Event watches are not really my thing. This is not a hard and fast rule by any means — it’s just that special-edition watches that are linked to an event don’t tend to be super exciting. Most of the time, they end up being a regular production watch with an engraved caseback or some event-related text printed on the dial. So you can appreciate that the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Beijing 2022 gets a big thumbs up from me, because it actually has a meaningful design link with the Beijing Winter Olympics. The dial is in ceramic with a special finish that gives it the appearance of ice, matte and shiny in an irregular pattern that recalls the look of crystalline water — the surface a frozen lake, or densely packed snow, perhaps. The high-tech ceramic most frequently used in watchmaking (zirconium oxide) is able to take an almost perfectly polished surface, so this irregular finish is immediately eye-catching — not many people would guess that the dial is of ceramic. The hands and hour indices have an electric-blue finish: a portent for the lightning-fast records that will doubtlessly be set in Beijing this Olympic season.
Brice Lechevalier
When you love sports and sports watches, you can’t help but feel a certain emotion when you wear a watch associated with the world’s biggest sporting event, the Olympic Games. It is easy to understand why the strategy of many major brands is to develop some of their collections on themes rich in emotions and performance, especially when it comes to a sports watch as elegant and comfortable to wear as the Omega Seamaster! I had the honour of testing the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra “Beijing 2022” model on the ski slopes of Megève at the weekend. It was extremely legible with its architectural time indications that were very visible, even from a distance. Its dazzling white dial and large integrated stainless-steel bracelet also attracted the eyes of my fellow skiers on the sunny terrace at lunchtime. A first Swiss achievement at the Beijing Olympics!
