If you’ve been watching the Olympics and in particular the athletics, then you’ve probably seen a higher density of Omega wristwatches than are normally found even on the red carpet. Athletes from all across the world have been wearing watches from the Games’ official timekeeper while competing – of note for us Brits, Keely Hodgkinson wore the Seamaster Aqua Terra “Ultra Light” while winning her 800m gold. However, one Swedish athlete took things further as Omega debuted a new watch on his wrist, the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra “Ultra Light” 150m for Armand Duplantis. Which is the second Duplantis Aqua Terra this year!
Duplantis is the greatest pole vaulter in the world, cruising to victory in the finals on Monday evening before pushing further to set a new Olympic and world record in the sport. However, for the watch world, the more interesting part of his jumps was the mystery watch on his wrist. Now revealed to be a 41mm, sand-blasted Gamma Titanium take on the Aqua Terra “Ultra Light” 150m in the colours of Sweden.
It features a blue dial with the signature teak pattern engraving accented by a bright yellow seconds hand. The seconds hand is completely cylindrical with a white tip as an homage to the poles used by Duplantis. A fun and thematic element to the design, which something Omega have been doing more often lately such as with the rocket-shaped hand of the Speedmaster Apollo 8.
Completing the Swedish look of the piece, it’s presented on an integrated rubber strap in the signature colours of the country’s flag. Its definitely the aspect most likely to divide potential buyers but you have to admit that paired with Duplantis’ athletic gear, it looks great. Speaking of things that look great, the exhibition caseback reveals the OMEGA 8928 Ti calibre with manual winding and 72-hour power reserve. Considering it withstood the forces that rocketed Duplantis up to 6.25m and back down again, it’s very robust.
Priced at £48,700 this high performance watch is a touch less than its standard Seamaster Aqua Terra “Ultra Light” counterpart, due mostly to the different strap options they are presented on. I wonder how many famous sporting Swedes we’ll see touting this watch in the future. Check out Omega’s other Olympic watches here.
Price and Specs:
More details at Omega.
