Introducing – New Limited Edition Seamaster Planet Ocean to Celebrate OMEGA as Timekeeper of the 36th America’s Cup
Omega has just announced its role as the official timekeeper of the 36th America’s cup. The 36th America’s Cup Match will be held in Auckland, New Zealand, from the 6th to the 21st of March 2021 and will see the Defender Emirates Team New Zealand racing against the winner of the Prada Cup, the Challenger Selection Series, with the winner being the first team to score seven points. This will mark the third time in history that OMEGA has served in the prestigious sailing race. The moment will also provide another chance for OMEGA to celebrate its long-standing partnership with Emirates Team New Zealand. This special relationship began alongside the legendary sailor Sir Peter Blake in 1995 and has continued since then. To celebrate the news, the brand releases a new limited edition Seamaster Planet Ocean.
With the announcement that Omega will be the official timekeeper of the 36th America’s Cup comes the release of the brand new Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 36th America’s Cup Limited Edition. The watch is presented on an eye-catching integrated rubber strap with red lining and contrast white stitching. The 43.50mm Planet Ocean is offered in stainless steel and ‘limited’ to just 2,021 pieces. The blue ceramic diving bezel is in-filled with white and red liquid ceramic to create a 5-minute countdown for racing. The sympathetic white date wheel should please purists and the red numerals at 6, 9 and 12 contrast sharply, reinforcing a summer-fresh palette of red, white and blue. The dial is in white polished ceramic, and incorporates the competition’s name above 6 o’clock. The America’s Cup logo has also been placed on the counterweight of the central seconds hand. Those fearing a solid engraved caseback – so common on commemorative editions like this – can relax. The America’s Cup logo is applied to the caseback’s sapphire crystal, but you can also see the Omega Master Chronometer Calibre 8900 through the crystal. The 36th America’s Cup is set to take place in March 2021. Competitors will sail in…
Let me start this review with an admission: I thought the Big Crown was going to turf many of its current models in 2020. The Milgauss, for example, is well past due for an evolution from its current form, if it remains at all. Likewise, the Air-King – which stylistically borrowed heavily from a set of dash clocks made for a land speed record car that Rolex no longer has any affiliation with – was also rumoured to be disappearing for good. In my opinion, though, the model that was most ready for a reboot was the divisive Explorer II Ref.216570. Here is a watch that has been in production for one year shy of a decade and, until recently, hasn’t exactly been a fan favourite. In fact, before stainless steel professional models escalated in value, the Explorer II, in either the black or white dial, was readily available from your local AD. I should know – I used to work for one. Why was it never as desirable as something like a Submariner or Daytona? Well, the large 42mm case size has been off-putting for many, considering that its predecessor, the Ref. 16570, was a more agreeable 40mm. Then…
