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OMEGA brings style and upgrades to the slopes of the 25th Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

With less than 100 days remaining till the opening ceremony, this will be OMEGA’s 32nd occasion as Official Timekeeper. But a simple countdown clock is child’s play, given OMEGA’s illustrious history as a pioneer of sporting technologies. These include, but are not limited to, the photo-finish camera, swimming touch pad, and the electronic start gun.

The innovation continues with a beautiful new Speedmaster 38, which doesn’t just pay tribute to the Games, but makes changes to the Speedmaster 38 design that could bring more exciting opportunities to come.

Dial

The star of the show is the glossy varnished white dial, scattered with an uneven frosty-blue pattern that looks like someone finger-painted the “26” emblem into fresh snow. The same emblem pops up in the date window on the 26th of every month. The sub-dials get the same varnished treatment, giving them that corduroy texture of a freshly raked ski slope. Blue baton indices (straight out of the Silver Snoopy playbook) and a gorgeous blue-gradient central seconds hand complete the winter magic.

Case

The fully polished 38 mm stainless steel case keeps the compact, wearable profile we love: 45.2 mm lug-to-lug and 14.2 mm thick. That thickness is perfectly normal for an automatic chronograph with 100 m water resistance, and the case band is nicely broken up by the box sapphire crystal, ceramic tachymeter bezel, and those signature twisted lyre lugs we’ve known since the 1960s.

On the crisp icy case back, OMEGA has stamped the Milano Cortina 2026 medallion with Olympic Rings.

What’s new (compared to the rest of the 2017-introduced Speedmaster 38 line) is a blue ceramic bezel instead of the notched aluminium/steel hybrid design. I always thought those notches gave the 38 its own personality—something more than just a shrunken Moonwatch—but this cleaner, more traditional ceramic bezel is growing on me fast, and the white enamel scale matches the snow perfectly.

Bracelet

The highly regarded 8th-generation Moonwatch bracelet finds its way onto another Speedmaster line, and it’s most welcome here. Out goes the butterfly clasp; in comes the micro-adjustable single fold clasp with polished centre links. On the smaller case, it feels finer, more elegant—but also tighter and more robust. The counterweight of the new clasp makes the whole watch feel so much more balanced. Just a huge improvement all around!

Movement

Behind the medallion case back sits the self-winding Calibre 3330. Introduced in 2012, it’s one of the few automatic movements OMEGA still offers without METAS certification—yet it’s still a COSC chronometer and, frankly, the most feature-rich version of the classic Valjoux 7750 you can buy without adding new complications.

The backstory is gloriously convoluted: it starts life as a Longines L688, itself based on the ETA A08.L01, which traces its roots to the Valjoux 7753. It’s the dude playing the dude disguised as another dude—then OMEGA turns that dude into a chronometer with a column wheel, free-sprung balance, and silicon hairspring, all with the George Daniels Co-Axial escapement. You’ll benefit from longer service intervals, highly tactile chronograph actuations, and superior shock and magnetic resistance.

Because it’s a 7750 rotated 90° left for the 3-6-9 layout we love, the date is set by pressing the corrector at 10 o’clock with the little rubber stylus that clips to your keys. Sounds fiddly, but once you get the knack, it’s actually quicker and more satisfying than fiddling with the crown. Having a unidirectional rotor, you’ll feel a nice wobble on your wris,t reminding you of the machine inside.

Winter Paralympics Edition

For the first time, OMEGA is offering a dedicated Winter Paralympics model. Everything is identical to the Olympic version except the caseback medallion (Paralympic Agitos instead of Olympic Rings) and a red-blue-green gradient seconds hand inspired by the Agitos symbol. There are a lot of Paralympic-loving watch nerds out there—this one’s going to make people very happy!

Initial Thoughts

From a distance, this might look like a predictable Olympic release, but OMEGA still finds fascinating, meaningful ways to create fresh pieces that pay proper homage to the host cities.

The Speedmaster’s claim to fame is the Moon landing, yet long before anyone knew a Ref. CK2998 was going to space, OMEGA was already advertising its chronographs as high-precision “wrist computers” that could measure an athlete’s speed on the track.

Given our Aussie climate, the Winter Olympics never quite grab the nation like the Summer Games do. Still, I can say with confidence that the Italian population—especially the locals of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo—will be thrilled by this one. And as a Brisbane-based site, the WatchAdvice team has felt plenty of anticipation and speculation about what OMEGA might cook up for our own Olympic Games in 2032.

This is a true unisex Speedmaster, and one any Winter Olympian or Paralympian could be proud of. The sum of its design changes represents a very promising direction for the smaller Speedy and could even spark a return of the cult favourite Speedmaster Reduced from the 1990s. On a final note, if you are the lucky owner of a Speedmaster Silver Snoopy and your spouse keeps stealing it, this would be a lovely deterrent.

Remembering wearing my blue wave dial Seamaster in the surf and how it blends into the environment, I wonder how spectacular the feeling must be, glancing at your Milano Cortina while skiing down the Italian Alps. Picture it: blue skies, perfect corduroy, and that frosted white dial catching the light as you arc down a black run in the Dolomites. Some watches tell time. This one makes it feel like time stands still.

Welcome to the slopes, Speedmaster. You look right at home.

Reference: Omega Speedmaster 38 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics 2026 (Ref.
522.30.38.50.04.001)

Australian Recommended Retail Price: AU $10,750

Availability: Available through Omega boutiques and authorised retailers. For more information, please head to Omegawatches.com.au

Reference: Omega Speedmaster 38 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics 2026 (Ref.
522.30.38.50.04.002)

Australian Recommended Retail Price: AU $10,750

Availability: Available through Omega boutiques and authorised retailers. For more information, please head to Omegawatches.com.au