Omega Is Going For Gold At The Paris 2024 Olympic Games With Two New Versions Of The Speedmaster Chronoscope

The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris takes place on the 26th of July, so mark your calendars! This also means that, as of today, it’s only 100 days away. Omega is getting ready for its 31st time as the official timekeeper for the event. To get us all in the mood, the brand is releasing two new models of the Speedmaster Chronoscope — one in stainless steel and the other in nothing less than 18K Moonshine yellow gold. Both are fitted with a dial in the black, white, and gold colors of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Instead of in the Stade de France, the opening ceremony will take place around the river Seine. That’s a world first. “We can do it, and we are going to do it,” said French President Macron this Monday. He also assured that if anything goes wrong, “there are plan Bs and plan Cs” in place. In the meantime, the very purple athletics track is being installed in the Olympic stadium. It was developed by a company called Mondo in Italy and is supposed to deliver a lot of world records. These world records, of course, will be timed by Omega, the event’s official timekeeper. All right, enough about the Olympics; let’s take a look at these new watches.

The Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope

The current Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope debuted in 2021. As RJ said in his introduction article, the Chronoscope name had existed before in the De Ville collection. Also, the dial layout, which features two sub-dials and the tachymeter, pulsometer, and telemeter scales, takes inspiration from some Omega dials of the past. Look, for example, at the Omega chronographs with caliber 33.3CH from the 1930s. The still relatively new Speedmaster sub-collection combines the Chronoscope name and the characteristic dial in one watch.

The new Speedmaster Chronoscope models for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris have the same case dimensions as the watches introduced in 2021. That means the stainless steel and Moonshine Gold versions have a diameter of 43mm. The lug span is 48mm, and they are 12.8mm thick. That makes it a little wider than the 42mm Professional Moonwatch. But at the same time, it’s also 0.8mm thinner at 12.8mm. As RJ mentioned in his hands-on review, it feels perfectly at home on his 19cm wrist.

The 9908 and 9909 hand-wound movements

The fact that the Speedmaster Chronoscope is thinner is due to its hand-wound caliber 9908 or 9909, the latter for the gold version. These movements run at a 28,800vph frequency, feature 44 jewels, and hold a power reserve of a comfortable 60 hours. In addition, they are also very accurate. Before they’re fitted inside the case, they are certified as chronometers by COSC. But also after assembly, they endure rigorous tests by METAS. In short, when the watches keep time between 0 and +5 seconds, withstand a magnetic field of up to 15,000 gauss, and are as water resistant as advertised, they are certified as Master Chronometers.

The movements feature “arabesque” Côtes de Genève decoration on their closed upper plates. Unfortunately, this isn’t visible to the wearer because there’s a commemorative stamped medallion for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on the back. The twin barrels inside power the column-wheel chronograph, which the wearer can operate through the pushers on the side of the case. With the crown in between those pushers, the wearer can also set the time. One nice feature of this movement is the independently adjustable hour hand. This especially comes in handy when traveling to another time zone, for example.

Three different scales

Then we get to what might be the Speedmaster Chronoscope’s most striking feature — its multi-scale pie-pan dial. In the case of these Paris 2024 editions, both the stainless steel and Moonshine Gold versions have the same white, black, and gold design. The main dial has a silvery-white opaline color, while the circular-grained sub-dials are black. The Arabic numerals are made of Moonshine Gold, and all the hands are covered in a thin layer of the same lustrous material. At 3 o’clock, we find a register for both the minutes and hours of the chronograph. The sub-dial at 9 o’clock serves as the running seconds, while the central seconds hand keeps track of the elapsed seconds for the chronograph.

You’ll find the charming tachymeter, telemeter, and pulsometer scales at the center of the dial. The tachymeter, which tells you your average speed, combines the text on the bezel and the inner ring on the dial. The bezel insert, by the way, is made of anodized aluminum on the stainless steel version and ceramic on the Moonshine Gold one. With the pulsometer, you start the chronograph and count to 30 heartbeats. Then, you stop the chronograph and read your pulse (in beats per minute) off of the dial.

With the final scale, the telemeter, you can, for example, measure how far lightning is away from you. When you see the flash, you start the chronograph. Then, when you hear the rumbling, you stop the time and know how far away it is. As RJ said before: “Its gradation is based on the speed of sound, which is 343 meters per second.”

Final words

After the very nice steel and Moonshine Gold Omega Seamaster 300M Paris 2024 Edition, I feel these Speedmaster Chronoscopes also came out great. The classic panda-dial design with the vintage-inspired scales and the Arabic numerals works great. If I had to choose, though, I still think I would go for the Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch. But if you’re looking for a remarkable keepsake from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, these Omega Speedmaster Chronoscopes are certainly worth a closer look. These being watches that celebrate the Olympics, the podium-topping gold option is our favorite.

You can opt to buy the stainless steel or Moonshine Gold version on that great polished and brushed five-row bracelet, which includes a toolless micro-adjustment system in the clasp. Doing so will set you back €10,900 or €57,000, respectively. Alternatively, the stainless steel version comes on a more sporty black perforated calfskin strap. The Moonshine Gold version, on the other hand, comes with a standard black calfskin leather strap. The stainless steel version on a strap will cost €10,500, while the Moonshine Gold will go for €36,300. For more information, check out the official Omega website.

What do you think of these new versions of the Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope? And what do you think of these Olympic Games editions of Omega watches in general? Let me know in the comments below.