The Omega Aqua Terra Beijing 2022 watch hands-on

Omega‘s Olympic timekeeping Department has been among the brand’s hidden gems since the Swiss brand became the official timekeeper in 1932. The accuracy and plenty of timing activities during the Olympics are paramount, and so is the effort provided by Omega, whose behind-the-scenes work is huge. The research and development team whose mission is to time the tiniest fraction of a second is a “skunkworks”, representing to Omega watches what NASA is to civil aviation or a Formula One team to its high-volume automotive counterpart. It’s rocket-science technology.

In slightly less than a century, Omega has pioneered this industry so much to deserve large areas of its fully renovated museum, where timing machines surround your favorite wristwatches. The Olympic journey began in 1936, in Garmisch Partenkirchen, with a team including a single watchmaker and 27 pocket watches.

Twelve years later, Omega introduced the first-ever photoelectric cells in the industry; as a result, Olympic timekeeping changed forever, with new technologies breaking through edition after edition.

1948 marks the beginning of a new era, followed by the first starting gate to appear in 1956.

Sports timing is a class of its own; technological advancement runs so fast you’ll hardly spot any significant gap between earth and space technologies, for instance; you won’t see any fuel cell during an event here; yet, either the extreme performance and parts’ miniaturization are often comparable.

For example, skiers wear transponder-equipped boots sending live-radio signals and tons of data to a receiver per second. It’s hard to link this Division’s developments to consumer products, but I wouldn’t be surprised if both the Z-33 and X-33 had been co-developed back then.

Omega Beijing 2022: the new watches

While I hope Omega will create a luxury digital sports watch anytime soon (it makes sense by scrolling the brand’s involvement in digital high-frequency technology during the late seventies), let’s get back to its core consumer business then. Can we affirm that the Consumer Division has adopted an “Olympic approach” while recently revolutionizing products and processes? It’s hard to say, but looking at the “Master Chronometer” certification and cutting-edge watches like an Aqua Terra Ultra-light, I see a different industrial mindset compared to the past.

As usual, when an Olympic event is underway, let’s always expect Omega to release commemorative watches, and Beijing 2022 couldn’t be any different. The Swiss brand released two new timepieces belonging to the same product family: the Seamaster. The first option is a professional diver, the Seamaster Diver 300M Beijing 2022 in titanium, hence the Olympic take on a Nekton edition Seamaster.

The second one belongs to Aqua Terra, which finally finds its place on the magazine, in the shape of the Seamaster Aqua Terra 150 M Co-Axial Master Chronometer Beijing 2022, the legacy of the timepiece introducing the first-ever 15,000 Gauss magnetic field resistant luxury watch.

The Aqua Terra is Omega‘s take on the three hands luxury sports watch in steel template, the brand’s contender in the most competitive class of timepieces housing the industry-leading Master Chronometer certified 8900 series calibre. If you’re looking for a complicated Omega watch, the Aqua Terra is the exclusive collection to offer a World Time timepiece, Omega’s top-end mechanical complication if we exclude its premium series of tourbillon watches. In brief, the Omega Aqua Terra is a nicely designed and executed watch geared towards those looking for a more subtle and cleaner design while enjoying the brand’s state of the art and ingenuity.

The Omega Aqua Terra Beijing 2022 edition has a white “frosted” dial on a white ceramic base disc. We took a few macros to appreciate details you hardly spot up front instead. The dial’s pattern is unique, with the “ZrO2” popping up. Just turn your eyes to the date window, and you can appreciate the design and details. The date window’s upper and lower edges are curved and exquisitely executed. Hands and applied indexes (adopting white Super-Luminova) turn from dark to electric blue; when placed under certain light conditions, the electric blue and white pigments create a mesmerizing effect.

The Aqua Terra Beijing 2022 is a compliant, well-executed watch and confirms how Omega has grown as a watchmaker in technical prowess and appeal altogether, as proved by the solid case back whose only addition is the embossed Beijing 2022 logo surrounded by a Naiad locking system.

The bracelet is top-notch and offers excellent comfort, too; it’s a pity it looks just too mainstream, as does any three-link steel bracelet this styled out there. I believe the Aqua Terra would deserve a specific design as seen elsewhere across the products’ portfolio. The case measures 41 millimetres in diameter and houses the Master Chronometer certified calibre 8900, offering 60 hours of power reserve when fully wound and industry-leading accuracy.

Final thoughts

Two years ago, I wouldn’t have considered an Omega Aqua Terra; that’s what I’ll do today instead. The watch offers a more subtle personality compared to Omega‘s hero products, whose pedigree is higher, in comparison, so far.

However, from a product perspective, the Aqua Terra keeps growing respect from the community thanks to continuous upgrade and refinement. Inside and out. You won’t experience a Moonwatch or Seamaster Diver cool factor, but a more mainstream product, equipped with Omega‘s best-in-class technology whose appeal is growing and whose retail price – 6600 Euros – has not grown as much, instead.

(Photo credit: Marco Antinori for Horbiter®)