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The Best Olympics-Inspired Watches for 2024
The XXXIII Olympic Games in Paris is playing host to some 10,714 athletes, contending in 329 events across 32 different sports.
But in whichever discipline the competitors are engaged, be it anything from the explosive fury of boxing or karate to the graceful artistry of rhythmic gymnastics or equestrian dressage, the Games have always been about one thing and one thing only; success.
In that way, it should come as no surprise that so many luxury watchmakers have sought to attach themselves to the Olympics and its participants. A high end timepiece is itself a symbol of achievement, a tacit indicator to all that the wearer has reached a certain level of accomplishment in their life.
Many manufactures go so far as to employ the world’s top Olympians as ambassadors, leaning on their status and prominence to help place the brand in front of an audience which might otherwise have passed it by. And, in some cases, the very best of the best even get their own model—a collaboration piece between marque and star.
The Olympic Watches
Whether tied to a particular athlete or inspired by the Games in a more general sense, this year’s Olympics has fueled a number of specially themed watches from several makers.
Below, we pick out some of our favorites.
The Omega Paris 2024 Bronze Gold Edition
There can only be one brand to kick us off.
The Olympics belongs to Omega. The Swiss powerhouse has performed timekeeping duties for 31 of the last 33 Games and has been responsible for a bewildering number of innovations which have transformed the way all aspects of sports performance are measured.
With each new occasion, you can be sure the manufacture will bring forth a limited run version of one or more models from their superb collection to commemorate the event. In fact, the only phrase more associated with the name Omega than ‘Olympic Games’ is ‘Special Edition’.
This time around, however, we get something new.
Omega actually started the countdown to Paris exactly a year ago with the release of the Seamaster 300M ‘Paris 2024’ Special Edition, a white-dialed variant of their all-conquering dive watch outfitted with a white ceramic dial and a bezel in their proprietary Moonshine Gold. That was followed at the 100 days to go mark with two new additions to their glorious twin-registered Speedmaster Chronoscope series, one in steel, the other again in Moonshine, both with plenty of Olympic branding.
For the actual launch of the Games though, Omega have added to their ‘Specialties’ category with the Paris 2024 Bronze Gold Edition. This 39mm, retro-style sporty dress watch is said to be a non-limited edition and will instead enter the regular catalog.
And, it is an absolute beauty.
Omega fans will recognize it as being based on the now-defunct CK 859, a fantastic retro steel model straight out of the 1930s stylebook.
This new piece is crafted from the brand’s own Bronze Gold, an alloy containing both metals, and comes fitted with an Ag 925 silver dial and hands in 18k Sedna Gold with a PVD Bronze Gold coating. So it is an Olympics-inspired watch in bronze, silver and gold; geddit?!
Like the CK 859, and for that matter the Art Deco-esque models on which it is based, the Bronze Gold Edition runs on a manually-wound movement, the Co-Axial Master Chronometer Caliber 8926. It is a no-date engine but does run a small seconds display at the six o’clock, is resistant to up to 15,000 gauss and its two series-mounted mainsprings grant a 72-hour reserve beating at 3.5Hz.
Up front, the sumptuous silver dial is finished with a ‘Clous de Paris’ pattern (naturally) and features the vintage Omega logo. On the back is a stamped and frosted medallion displaying the Paris 2024 Torch emblem and Olympic rings.
In all, Omega have hit this one out of the park and come up with an unqualified success. While it may not officially be a limited edition, their Specialties models tend to have fairly short production runs, so if you’re in the market, and have $12,000 lying spare, you might need to be quick off the blocks.
The Pequignet Royale Paris 2024 Edition
If you watched the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics, you will know how proud the French are of their country .
It seems only right then that we include a watch from possibly the Frenchest watchmaker in the industry, the little-known Pequignet.
Established in 1973 in Morteau near the Swiss border, Pequignet became a fully-fledged manufacture in 2011 with the release of the Calibre Royale; not only their first in-house movement but one of the first entirely French made calibers ever.
Powering a big date complication along with a weekday display, power reserve and small seconds at the four o’clock, the brand then set about designing a watch around the movement, the upshot being the eponymously named Royale collection.
Today, you find four separate styles within the Royale family—Origine, Titane, Grand Sport and Paris—in a range of sizes and with a variety of functions but all sharing styling attributes such as completely round case shapes and the distinctive, flowing cornes de vache, or ‘cow horn’, lugs.
Not surprisingly, the watch Pequignet released for the Olympics this year falls into the Royale Paris style, and is a 41mm piece in polished steel.
A true limited edition, restricted to just 33 units, the Pequignet Royale Paris 2024 Edition features a unique blue, white and red colored large date display in recognition of France’s ‘tricolore’ national flag, and is offered with a choice of three alligator leather straps; blue with red stitching, red with white stitching and white with blue stitching.
Flip the watch over and you will find a stylized engraving of the Eiffel Tower on the sapphire crystal case back, created using the highly complex lift-off process, as well as getting a great view of that all-important movement. Among its 318 components you can clearly see the self-winding rotor with its Fleur-de-Lis stamp and the huge mainspring barrel, granting the watch a power reserve of 88-hours.
They might be very much an under-the-radar entity in the mainstream, but Pequignet remains a genuine haute horlogerie maison and has been recognized as a ‘Living Heritage Company’ by France for its promotion of industrial excellence and craftsmanship.
One for the connoisseurs, the Pequignet Royale Paris 2024 Edition retails for around $7,700.
The Unimatic x Legacy Modello Quattro U4-PS
In case you were worried all the watches inspired by the 2024 Games were going to cost four figures or more, we are going to end on a meetup between Italian disruptors Unimatic and Legacy, the Parisian concept store specializing in rare, low production runs of watches, jewelry and luxury tech.
Unimatic has been taking the industry by storm since its inception in 2015, founded by two Milanese designers who have elevated the concept of minimalism to new heights. Their Bauhaus-like styling philosophy, along with their novel business model of creating individually numbered, one time only limited editions of each of their watches has seen them attract admirers from across the whole spectrum of enthusiasts.
As with Pequignet’s Royale collection, there is an unmistakable visual cohesion to everything Unimatic makes, drawing on vintage tool watches as their foundation and stripping them down still further until you are left with just the bare essentials. Black and white for the most part, there is a conspicuous lack of branding or indeed any superfluous detailing on the dials at all.
For Paris, the two ultra-stylish brands have partnered together to launch a 24 unit run of the Modello Quattro U4 model from Unimatic’s Classic collection, a high contrast dive watch rated down to 300m. In keeping with the brand ethos, the Olympics-relevant touches are subtle to the point of missing, but look veeery closely and you will see the seconds hand has been colored blue, yellow, green, red and black to mirror the five Olympic rings. A more obvious nod to the Games comes in the shape of five different nylon straps in the same colors supplied with the watch.
Inside, the Seiko NH35A automatic movement provides a 41-hour reserve, and a decidedly laid back accuracy of between -20/+40 seconds a day.
The 40mm steel model is on sale now, either online or at Legacy’s Paris store and comes with a price tag of $750.
Featured Photo: Hert Niks, Bimal Chhetry, via Pexels (cc).
