With 100 days to go until the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Omega is marking the countdown in the only way they know how, with a new commemorative Speedmaster that pays tribute to both the upcoming Games and 90 years of Olympic Winter timekeeping. The brand’s role as Official Timekeeper stretches back to 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, when one man carried 27 stopwatches across the Alps to time every event. This year, Omega’s timing technology will monitor 116 events across eight sports, including the Olympic debut of the formidable-sounding ski mountaineering.
The Speedmaster Milano Cortina 2026 takes the familiar Speedmaster formula and gives it a cool, seasonal twist. Measuring 38mm in diameter and 14.75mm thick, it sits smaller on the wrist than the classic 42mm Moonwatch but wears slightly taller thanks to its automatic calibre. The proportions suit the current trend for compact sports watches while keeping a reassuring presence on the wrist. The fully polished stainless-steel case is paired with a blue ceramic bezel featuring a white enamel tachymeter scale and a subtle dot over ninety that nods to the collection’s design heritage. Water resistance has also been upgraded to 100 metres, adding a practical edge that gives it an advantage in the deep snow or icy lake.
The dial is where the wintry theme takes shape. A white varnished base has been overlaid with a light blue frosting, interrupted by a trace pattern inspired by the “26” in the Milano Cortina 2026 emblem. The subdials, finished with a fine azurage texture, resemble the clean lines of a freshly groomed ski slope, while the central seconds hand fades in a blue gradient that echoes the official Games logo. Even the date display at six o’clock carries Milano Cortina 2026 typography in place of a numeral. Turn it over and you’ll find a stamped medallion on the caseback marking the Olympic partnership.
Powering the watch is Omega’s self-winding Co-Axial Calibre 3330, a reliable chronograph movement with a 52-hour power reserve and a silicon balance spring for improved anti-magnetism. It’s not a Master Chronometer, but it’s a proven workhorse. The bracelet is polished and brushed stainless steel with Omega’s patented comfort release system, and the watch arrives in a special white presentation box bearing the Milano Cortina 2026 emblem.
In the wider context of Omega’s Olympic editions, this is a quieter, more refined piece than the icy Aqua Terra Beijing 2022 or the snow-white Seamaster 37mm Milano Cortina 2026. The smaller size, improved water resistance and restrained design make it a more wearable nod to the Games, while still offering the crisp finishing and detail collectors expect.
The Speedmaster Milano Cortina 2026 is priced at £5,700. It’s not a radical reimagining of the Speedmaster, but it captures exactly what Omega does best.
Price and Specs:
More details at Omega.
Another day, another new release from Omega, or appears to be so. Not a problem in itself, but yet another overly blingy watch with “look at me” styling and overtly diver style bezel. Yes, I appreciate the fact that it’s a Chrono so needs to lend presence to the timing feature, but if you look at the ratio of sports timers and dive watches featured on OT, it’s a bit biased. Surely there can’t be that many James Bond wannabes that are impressed by these.
If you pay any attention to true style changes that are afoot, it doesn’t take a genius to see a step-change away from the jeans and sneakers era and back towards, suits and jackets, and of course, that means a swing back to dress watches, which brings me to my earlier reference to James Bond or more accurately the current Omega ambassador, Daniel Craig, whom has recently been spotted wearing a vintage Omega. Vintage watches! these have always been on my personal radar and my normal watch choice, I’m so ahead of the game (in fact years ahead of the game).