Speedy Tuesday – Olympic Games 2020 Speedmaster For the Japan Market
Yesterday we received several messages about the Japanese Omega website displaying 5 new Speedmasters. Perhaps they’re not entirely new, but I will come back to that later. What should have been a ‘quiet release’ went crazy in the several Speedmaster groups on Facebook and the number of DM’s we received increased by the hour. It’s time to give some explanation about these 5 Olympic Games 2020 Speedmaster watches for the Japan market.
Olympic Games 2020 Speedmaster
As you probably know, in 2020 the Olympic Games will take place in Japan and of course Omega will be the official timekeeper. In celebratio of the 2 year countdown towards these games, Omega introduced a special collection of Speedmaster. They’re inspired by the colours of the iconic Olympic Rings, similar to the set of 5 Seamasters for the 2018 Winter Games.
The watches are limited to 2020 pieces each and can be bought in a set of all 5. This set will be limited to 55 pieces. As you can see, three of the five watches are in stainless steel and the other two have a bit of gold added to them. In our opinion, it was about time that bi-colour returned to the Moonwatch. The last time was with the Apollo 15 35th Anniversary edition that came out in gold and steel, 1971 pieces only (in 2006). It is clear that Omega took the inspiration for these 5 limited edition models for the Olympic Games in 2020 from existing (or discontinued models). The aforementioned Apollo 15 35th anniversary edition is one of them, but what to think of the Mitsukoshi/Apollo 11 (2004) edition with the Panda dial, or the blue and white dial version that looks like the Gemini IV limited edition from 2005? The red bezel version and the green bezel version seem to be based on the recently released Master Chronometer Moonphase models. Perhaps these can be seen as the most original two versions of the pack. The green bezel Speedmaster uses 18-carat Sedna gold where the black bezel Speedmaster has 18-carat yellow gold for its pushers, crown and bezel. The hands, hour markers and sub-counter rings are also made of gold on both watches.
All five watches have ‘Speedmaster’ printed in red on the dial. The engraved case back is also the same for all watches, except for those thatcome in the set of 55 pieces only. Also, these watches have the same specifications as the regular Moonwatch, so a 42mm case with the hand-wound Lemania based calibre 1861 movement.
We received some worried messages as some of these watches are very close to the original designs of the aforementioned previous limited editions and some are concerned about the collectors and owners of those pieces. Other messages were merely positive because now those who missed out on the originals are able to take another shot. However, these watches will only be available in Japan via the Omega boutiques. If you really want one, though, I am pretty sure you will find a way to purchase one.
These watches are part of the ‘Specialties’ collection, for the Olympic Games.
Prices are 680.400 Yen for the stainless steel models, which converts to approximately 5225 Euro. The bi-colour models are a bit more expensive, at 842.400 Yen, equals approximately 6470 Euro.
More information via Omega Japan, here.
