Photo Report: The 2024 Paris Olympics – Spotting Speedmasters And Witnessing World Records
This year, I’ve been all-in on the Olympic games. From the incredible opening ceremony to the events (iconic and obscure alike), I’ve soaked up as much as I could get. With streaming and nearly instant replays of events, you can have anything imaginable your fingertips. I’ve always been a big fan of the Olympics but I’ve been content to watch it at home – I never thought I’d see the games in person. Now, I can’t imagine missing another Olympics for the rest of my life.
I am prepared for those who could say, “Of course you were won over to Omega because they brought you to the Olympics.” That’s why I usually say no trips like this – trips without a watch launch or something of the sort to cover. There has been plenty of watch news at the Olympics, from the Omega-powered photo finish for the “fastest man in the world” to a new sports watch revealed during a world record and even a tease of a new Seamaster 300M on the wrist of Daniel Craig. But to incredulous people, the most I can say is that I honestly mean the following:
The Paris Olympics edition of the Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope.
Seeing the Olympics in person only deepened my love and appreciation for the games themselves, the athletes, and what it all stands for. If anything, any growth in my love for Omega came from the same place most of my love of watches always seems to come from: the people. Surrounded by not just Omega lovers, but also this massive, international crowd of passionate fans (including ones at rhythmic gymnastics who may have given me permanent hearing damage) took the Olympics to a whole new level.
This reference is where it all started for Hodinkee, an Omega Speedmaster Mk. 40. It’s not rare, it’s not expensive, but it’s the the story that matters.
People are the core, after all, because they’re the storytellers. From the “most important movement” or “most gorgeous reference” to the “most important watch to me,” the superlatives all begin with a story. Among the people I met attending the Olympics with Omega, from collectors to retailers to colleagues, passion and excitement for the brand and their watches was palpable. People brought out some truly rare and sometimes unusual watches. But everyone I met proved to me that it’s not about hype or return on investment; it’s about stories and the minute details that make the watches so special to their owners. I’ve always said that if I can’t afford to collect all the watches, I can at least collect the stories and the knowledge, and the people I met at the Olympics were more than happy to share.
One of the original split-second chronographs from the Olympics in 1932, on display at the Omega House in Paris.
In some ways, Omega’s role in the Olympics is to fade seamlessly into the background. That’s what they’ve been doing for most of the last 92 years, where they’ve largely filled the role of “Official Timekeeper” of the Olympic Games since 1932. Yes, in 1964, 1972, 1992, and 1994 Seiko took over timing for the games, but Omega has signed a contract to be timekeeper through the 100th anniversary of their timekeeping for the Olympic games in 2032. Things have changed massively in the last 92 years. Omega has gone from one watchmaker onsite at the Olympics and 30 split-second pocket watches (one of which was on display at the Omega House in Paris) timing 1/10th of a second intervals at the 1932 games to cameras capturing 40,000 frames per second and timers that can time 1/1000th of a second with ease in 2024.
The photo finish of the men’s 100m final. Photo: courtesy of Omega
There’s Omega branding around, of course, but outside the Omega House (the social club-meets-museum they set up in Paris), it’s relatively subtle. The same could be said for the Omega-branded technology that makes it all happen. Those feats of engineering are largely powered by the Swatch Group sub-company Swiss Timing, which provides its wares to Omega and brands like Longines and others that use it in various sporting events. You often won’t see it unless you’re looking for it. The point is not to be the story – you don’t want faulty equipment ruining years of hard work. That is until it is time to help the athletes answer who is the best in the world – that’s where Omega gets their moment, not to overshadow but to contribute to someone else’s story.
The day after we wrote about Daniel Craig wearing a no-date Seamaster 300M, I started to notice the clocks around the venues looked oddly familiar.
If you were around Paris last week you might have seen Omega “Lollipops” alongside similar signs for Visa, NBC, and other sponsors, all helping groups of people get where they needed to go.
What I hoped to bring back from Paris (in addition to a dozen pins I bought at the gift shop) was a story about the timing technology Omega uses, but I didn’t get to see it up close in the 48 hours I had on the ground. That will have to wait until at least a few years from now. I wish I could have brought everyone with me. Some of you may have gone on your own. But my hope is you’ll feel a little bit more like you were there after seeing a “Dispatch” of some of the coolest watches (and moments) I saw in that brief time. It one that hopefully captures even a fraction of the passion from people at the Olympics, whether for watches or the games themselves.
Day 1: Speedies And Beach Volleyball
Lets take a look at where we last left off the summer Olympics (at least horologically): the Omega Speedmaster “Rising Sun” for Tokyo, ref. 522.30.42.30.06.001, worn by our friend Robert-Jan Broer of Fratello. This was his pick for the start of our second day (of course he brought more than one Speedmaster).
After a short walk from the Omega House and a short bus ride after, we took a ride down the Seine and got to see a number of the locations of the opening ceremony.
Just one more time for the Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope made for the Olympics. I wanted to post for the wrist, more than the watch.
The wrist belonged to CEO Raynald Aeschlimann, who as always was happy to share some candid thoughts on our ride down the Seine.
While Speedies that time speed might make the most sense for the Olympic, if you want to know how hard you’re working, you could always try a watch like the Omega CK 2998 limited edition from 2018.
It wasn’t all Speedmasters at the Olympics. Here’s an unusual and uncommon Omega Constellation Double Eagle Chronograph “Mission Hills” edition on the wrist of a new friend from Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Mohammed Al-Hussaini.
We made our way down the Seine and did a loupe around the Statue of Liberty at Pont de Grenelle before heading back up the water.
The new Seamaster 300M for the Olympics, on a collector who “came correct,” as the kids say.
Before we got off the boat, I saw a watch I wouldn’t have ever expected, this Moonphase Speedmaster in platinum-gold, with red alumina bezel ring, brushed platinum Liquidmetal tachymeter scale, and ruby indices on the wrist of a collector from Taiwan.
There were plenty of “standard” Speedmasters on hand as well.
Then there were the more “out there” – pun kind of intended – like the Speedmaster “From Moon to Mars” ref. 3577.50.00.
Recognize these tattoos? It’s Wei Koh with his Silver Snoopy Speedmaster.
Some people decided to go for the gold – Sedna gold, that is – with things like this ref. 310.60.42.50.01.001 Speedmaster.
Once you head up the Eiffel Tower, you get a view of Eiffel Tower Park, where the beach volleyball competition was being held.
On the other side of the Eiffel Tower was a view of Champions Park in Trocadéro Gardens across the Seine.
Yes, there were a few Moonswatches, including this Moonshine Gold model.
Mission to Neptune Moonswatch.
An Omega Seamaster 300 in blue.
This is a watch I’ve never seen in person, a Seamaster 300M, ref. 210.92.44.20.01.003.
A composite panorama of Eiffel Tower Stadium, the temporary venue for Olympic Beach Volleyball. The first night in Paris we were treated to a nighttime set of matches (and an extra show or two).
Defending champions, Norway’s Anders Berntsen Mol and Christian Sandlie Soerum, went up against Spain’s Adrian Gavira Collado and Pablo Herrera Allepuz in his sixth and final Olympic Games.
The watch I was wearing on the trip, the blue-dialed Speedmaster Chronoscope.
While you might not think of beach volleyball as something that would fall under the purview of the official timekeeper, Omega also covers data and analytics. Athletes no longer need to wear sensors in their uniforms. Instead, all of Omega’s data is being captured by high-definition cameras installed around the field of play (including on the net, seen here), each feeding artificial intelligence (AI) models specifically trained for each sport.
You may have seen that I was surprised to look over to my left during beach volleyball and see that one of the prototypes of the Duplantis Aqua Terra Ultra Light had shown up.
Then between matches, right before 10 PM local time, the lights dimmed down, the spotlights started swirling, and a countdown started before the light show at the Eiffel Tower.
Next up were Americans Miles Partain and Andy Benesh against Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan in the quarterfinals.
Though it looks like they were doing quite well, unfortunately for the American fans, the U.S. team was eliminated, meaning for the first time ever neither a men’s or women’s beach volleyball team would medal.
One of the best things about being at the Olympics was seeing the massive variety of fans that turn out at every event, but beach volleyball more than the other two events I saw was essentially one giant party.
Day 2: Rhythmic Gymnastics, Athletics, And A Celebrity Spotting
To start Day two, I caught Wei Koh again, wearing a ref. 3578.51.00 Speedmaster Snoopy “Eyes On The Stars” from 2003.
How about a throwback to a vintage Art Deco numeral Omega?
And a little more love for the classic Speedmaster.
It was interesting to see the rhythmic gymnastics all-around qualifiers. The fans were as enthusiastic as any others that I met and I wouldn’t have necessarily gone out of my way to see it otherwise, but it gave me a new appreciation of the discipline.
Yes, there was still Omega branding around, but again, their contribution is based on timing the length of routines and the analytics behind the data recorded.
I stepped outside for some fresh air when I spotted something that genuinely made me smile. I spoke with this nice local who had volunteered to help with the Olympics. In addition to a cool outfit and some free access to events, they also were given volunteer-specific Swatches for the Olympic games!
This follows in line with a number of volunteer Swatches for past games. These were also SwatchPay watches, which means they could be set up for NFC payment at the games. There are a few floating around now on eBay, but with 45,000 volunteers, they’re not super rare and the asking prices of $250 made me laugh. I’ll definitely pick one up when the prices come back to earth.
Speaking of Swatches, there were actually three other Swatches that were officially released (and a few more that seem to have been given away to VIPs) at the games, including this one called the “Purple Rollshot” featuring some volleyball branding on the strap keeper.
At lunch I caught up with an Italian collector who owns 99 Speedmasters, including this platinum skeletonized moonphase model with blue indices and hands. The watch, ref. 3688.30.32, was released in 2003 and made in only 57 pieces.
Here’s the decorated caliber 3604A. The work was done by Armin Strom.
After taking a break (and I shot a “Hands On” with two Olympic watches), we made our way to Stade de France for a night of athletics (or “track and field” to some of us).
A composite panorama of Stade de France, where the Olympic Athletics was held.
To answer the number one question I got from friends, yes, I saw Snoop Dogg. No, I did not get one of his pins. But this isn’t just a picture of Snoop. You can actually see some of Omega’s timing-related cameras above his left shoulder.
Yes, Omega does in fact have a few off-catalog options. One I was finally excited to see in the metal was this Speedmaster in Canopus gold with sapphire-set bezel, dial (with steps) and a sapphire in the crown. A collector wore this watch both days I was in Paris.
Another watch I haven’t seen in the wild (and seems to go for a steal on the secondary market), the Planet Ocean 600m in red gold, ref. 232.63.46.21.01.001.
Australia’s Nina Kennedy took home the gold medal in the pole vault and we got to watch the ceremony…
…and see the raising of the flags and performance of the national anthem.
Meanwhile RJ of Fratello had some gold of his own. This is one watch that I look at and think to myself, “I really, really need to own one of these some day.”
I bumped into my friend and Speedmaster collector (who wasn’t with our group) at the athletics and he was wearing a MINT, new-old-stock ref. 3835.76.31 in steel with mother-of-pearl dial and diamonds. He picked this up in Paris the day before after remembering a dealer had held onto it for a while.
Just look at that dial.
A black dial Speedmaster moonphase ref. 304.33.44.52.01.001.
A summer blue Aqua Terra.
Whose that dapper gentleman straight out of the menswear forums? That’s an actor playing the role of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the Modern Olympics.
As the sun started to set, the action started to heat up. We saw women’s high jump finals, men’s javelin finals, and a number of other events too far away to photograph.
Round one of the women’s 4 x 100m relay.
The semi-finals of the women’s 1500m.
One of the big draws of the evening was the men’s 200m finals. From the start it looked pretty obvious to me that something was up with Noah Lyles, who had won the 100m finals the weekend prior. Meanwhile, Botswana’s Letslie Tobogo was off to a great start. He would go on to win a massive gold medal for his country.
Noah Lyles is an Omega ambassador and had been wearing both the new and the old “Dark Side of the Moon” Speedmasters off and on. Unfortunately, Lyles had Covid-19 and came in third. On the right you could see the battle for gold.
American Kenny Bednarek (above) ended up getting silver, while Lyles got bronze and Letsile Tebogo of Botswana took home gold.
One of the best parts of the Olympics was seeing the passionate fans from around the world who also seemed to be here for very, very specific events, like these fans from Germany who were ecstatic for the women’s long jump.
One of the most electrifying races was the women’s 400m hurdles. Netherland’s Femke Bol, an Omega ambassador, was running in the race and had hoped for a big result, but American running Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is just absolutely unbeatable right now. Look at that lead.
With a lead like that, no wonder she took home the world record with a time of 50.37. Absolutely electric to see in person.
I felt very lucky to be seated behind Femke Bol’s mother and boyfriend; she was disappointed with her bronze medal, but came away with a gold and silver in two other races.
Long jump bronze medalist, U.S.A.’s Jasmine Moore, giving out hugs after the conclusion of the event.
At the end of the night, we got to see U.S.A.’s Grant Holloway just absolutely run away from the competition.
One more for the road, the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Speedmaster.
Settled in at the end of the day, I still had one more stop I needed to make, however. And with that, and a photo of the Olympic Cauldron, goodbye from Paris.
Hodinkee
