This month, Omega takes on the role of Olympic timekeeper for the 27th time since 1932 at the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang County, South Korea.

To commemorate the occasion, Omega has introduced the Seamaster Olympic Games Collection: five 39.5mm steel variations on the Seamaster in the colours of the Olympic rings (that’s black, yellow, green, blue and red, if you didn’t know).

On the dial, several details take inspiration from monochrome stopwatches used during Omega’s previous years as timekeeper, in particular from the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, and the Summer Olympics in Montreal that same year.

The black and white dial is encircled by a thick outer minute track, and features a colourful pulse reader and matching second hand. The pulse reader has three separate 20 second timing intervals which allows easy calculation of the heart rate. The numerals appear in a pleasingly retro font, with a date window at 6 o’clock.

Inside the Seamaster Olympic Games

Inside is the Master Chronometer calibre 8800, used earlier this year in the updated Seamaster Aqua Terra collection. The movement has been certified as Master Chronometers by the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS), and is a solid technical choice for a £4,000 price tag.

Another interesting detail pops up on the caseback: a colourful, anodized aluminium ring recording the host cities and dates that Omega has counted time at the Olympics, from Los Angeles in 1932 right up to Los Angeles 2028 – a full ten years into the future, but clearly they’re confident nothing’s about to change.