Omega Seamaster Diver 300M "Beijing 2022" Special Edition Kicks Off Winter Olympics Countdown
The fate of the pandemic-postponed 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, now set for July 2021, seems to still up be in the air, but plans for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing are thus far on schedule, with Omega once again lined up as Official Timekeeper. The Beijing Games will mark the Swiss watchmaker's 30th year in that role and, as per tradition, Omega has released a special timepiece to mark the one-year countdown: the Seamaster Diver 300M "Beijing 2022" Special Edition.
The watch's stainless steel case measures 42 mm in diameter, with a screw-down crown that helps ensure its water-resistance of 300 meters and an automatic helium release valve useful in compression diving. Its unidirectional ratcheting bezel ring is made of grade 5 titanium and features a special textured surface and a 60-minute diving scale in positive relief.
The blue, sun-brushed dial, like those on previous modern versions of the Seamaster Diver, like last year's Nekton Edition, is made of ceramic [ZrO2], with laser-engraved waves on its surface. Its rhodium-plated indexes and hands are filled with Super-LumiNova. Denoting this model as a special Olympics edition are five special minute-markers at 2, 4, 8, 10, and 12 o'clock, each executed in a color matching one of those on the five Olympic Rings.
The theme continues on the polished and brushed caseback, stamped with an "Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022" emblem, surrounded by engraved watch specifications kept oin perfect alignment courtesy of Omega's patented Naiad Lock system. Beating behind the caseback is the Omega Co-Axial Master Chronometer Caliber 8800. a self-winding mechanical movement with a co-axial escapement, a 55-hour power reserve, and a free-sprung balance with silicon hairspring. Like all Master Chronometer calibers, this one has passed eight rigorous tests to achieve the prestigious METAS certification from the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology for exceptional accuracy, endurance, and resistance to magnetic fields.
Presented in a specially branded box with the official Beijing 2022 logo, the timepiece is mounted on a polished and brushed stainless steel bracelet equipped with Omega's (also patented) extendable foldover rack-and-pusher with diver's extension. According to Omega, it will be available in April 2021 and priced at $6,150.
