The Olympic games are almost here and with it plenty of opportunities for Omega to flex their 29th timekeeping duties – which in turn means a raft of new limited-edition watches. Indeed, while badass starting pistols are all well and good, we’re here for watches and in the wake of the limited edition Olympic Seamaster 300m, we have a shiny new paid of non-limited Speedmaster Chronoscopes to review, specifically for the Paris 2024 Games.
There have been a lot of fantastic Olympic editions over the years from Omega: the 1968 Chrono-Stop for the Mexico Olympics, the 1976 Chrono-Quartz Ani-Digi watch from Montreal and the absolutely astonishing double column wheel COSC certified100th of second rattrapante stop watches used way back at the 1932 Los Angeles games. In fact, Omega currently makes a modern reinterpretation of this using the original and rediscovered plans and drawings. It comes in either rose gold, yellow gold or white gold and costs £112,000. I wonder if you can get an original for that kind of money…
Back in the modern era however and the new Speedmaster Chronoscpe Paris 2024 models we have here are a lot more straightforward. One comes in stainless steel with an anodised aluminium bezel and the other is in Omega’s proprietary Moonshine Gold with ceramic. Basically, on one hand you have entry-level materials, on the other a much higher-end twist.
Both versions however come with the same dial echoing the Paris Olympic colours in a typically chic combination of gold, silver and black. It’s a gorgeous take on a bi-compax Panda display with gold applied numerals and the Chronoscope’s triplet of scales (tachymeter, pulsometer and telemeter) snailing around the centre of the dial 1940s style. It’s not much different from the standard Chronoscope layout, but the flourish of gold looks great in the metal.
In fact, the dial colours and the use of Moonshine gold are all that really set these new pieces apart from other Chronoscope versions. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; it sits nice and flush against the wrist, despite their 43mm width and 13mm thickness. It also comes on a very well-made bracelet, complete with micro-adjustment clasp, something I always like to see.
It’s powered by a solid movement – the superb, METAS certified Master Co-Axial Calibre 9908 with a running 60-hour power reserve – and it wears its vintage good looks on its sleeve.
The downside is that, in comparison to Omega’s other Olympic editions, many of which stand out a lot more from their respective collections (last year’s Seamaster Diver 300m “Paris 2024” had a new typeface and seconds hand amongst other elements) it feels less special. Incredibly handsome, just not quite as celebratory.
Still, of the two the Moonshine Gold edition is the most appealing – which shows I have expensive tastes, given it’ll set you back £48,500 on a full gold bracelet or £30,900 on leather. That’s a big chunk of change, even for an Omega. On steel, it’s much more affordable but still punchy at £9,300 on bracelet, £8,900 on leather.
That’s £400 more than the standard Chronoscope for a new colourway and a commemorative caseback, which isn’t a great deal in the grand scheme of things, and I do think the new look is worth it. It’s for me one of the best looking in the collection – which is why I’m also happy that this isn’t a limited edition. Commemorative it may be, but it’ll be around for a while longer than the 2024 Olympics will.
Price and Specs:
More details at Omega.
