Introduction
Emirates Team New Zealand made history by securing the 37th America’s Cup, and partnering watchmaker Omega was confirmed as the winning watch brand in the competition against Panerai and Luna Rossa, whose attempt to challenge the title defender ended during the Louis Vuitton Cup’s fight.
Winning an outstanding seven-to-two match race competition against Ineos Britannia, Emirates Team New Zealand secured the “Auld Mug” for the fifth time. Despite Ineos Britannia’s efforts, the Kiwis won hands down and confirmed that Grant Dalton’s team is in a class of their own.
Omega has long been associated with the oldest sporting competition. Since Sir Peter Blake’s leadership, Omega has been the America’s Cup official timekeeper and Team New Zealand’s partner.
Sir Peter Blake’s legacy
It all started in 1995 when a partnership with Blake was signed. Back then, America’s Cup sailboats adopted a mono-hull design, and the competition had a classic take inspired by centuries-old sailing we honestly miss.
Since the Kiwis’ victory that same year, Omega has been the official timekeeper in 2000, 2003, 2021, and 2024.
Today’s America’s Cup is wholly different, and the AC75 hulls adopted a “foil” design introduced by the New Zealanders in 2012. In its latest technical review, such hulls pushed a boat’s speed over 50 knots, a performance any top-performing RIB can hardly achieve.
Race sailing has turned into the Formula One of the seas. Gone are the days when skippers patiently sought wind speed to engage in a match race, and the skills required of a sailing team today are different.
From the outside, the competition mimics Formula One’s performance and strategy and relies on ultra-light materials like never before. The physical effort required to compete has also increased.
The Omega watches for the America’s Cup.
Here is a list so long that you might never name all the timepieces in a single article, considering that some also celebrate the partnership with the team. The Seamaster is the centrepiece of the celebrations and has come in countless iterations as a three-hander or a regatta chrono.
In 2021, we reviewed the Seamaster Diver 300M Chronograph America’s Cup, proving that Omega often engineers a special edition Seamaster and an equally unique Seamaster Chronograph. It was the same story in 2024, but a new concept surfaced from the brand’s Product Development department.
Seamaster Diver 300M America’s Cup Edition
First, a Seamaster Diver 300M named after the 37th America’s Cup was released. Built on a 42 mm no-date case size, the timepiece is the Master Chronometer-certified Seamaster Diver 300M we love. It has a laser-engraved wavy dial in positive relief, skeletonized hour and minute hands, and colour palettes associated with the official competition. The icing on the cake is the “Auld Mug”-shaped central seconds’ hand tip.
The competition logo bearing the “B” for Barcelona, which hosted this America’s Cup Edition, is on top of the caseback’s see-through sapphire. A blue ceramic bezel insert holds two subsections and a regatta-themed flag, elapsing five minutes each. The Seamaster Diver 300M America’s Cup Edition is the latest in a long list of diving watches honouring the America’s Cup.
Seamaster Regatta America’s Cup
It was impossible to predict an ana-digi watch, but Omega engineered one to help Team New Zealand’s crew during the A’s Cup final.
Housed in a grade 5 titanium case measuring 46.75 mm in diameter (where tenths and hundredths of a millimetre remind the AC75 class series) with a Seamaster Chrono look and feel is the calibre 5701, a multifunction quartz movement with a thermo-compensated integrated circuit.
The watch pays homage to Omega’s long-established analogue-digital product line, exemplified by the Speedmaster X-33. It includes an accelerometer, temperature gauge, regatta function, and three alarms.
The case back was designed as a Helmholtz resonator to ensure a compelling acoustic performance.
(Photo credit: Omega)
Giovanni Maria Di Biase @Horbiter®
