It’s that time again. The air is getting crisper, the days are getting shorter, and, for better or for worse, the realization that winter will soon set in is becoming more and more real. If you’re like me, and dread fighting snowy streets and icey…everything, this is a less than exciting time. But if you’re Omega? Well, that’s a different story. They are in countdown mode to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, and they’ve just released a new Speedmaster to mark 100 days from the start of the games.
The Speedmaster Milano Cortina 2026 is built on the 38mm Speedmaster platform, and comes in a stainless steel case that measures 14.75mm tall. The dial is evocative of the snowy mountains that will be the setting for the games for next year, with a varnished white surface and subtle blue accents that evoke the Milano Cortina 2026 logo. The blue ceramic bezel and blue CVD coated hour markers keep the theme coherent and appropriately wintery. Another nice detail is that the chronograph hand has a gradient finish, going from light blue at its base to dark blue at its tip. Also, when the date window shows the 26th of the month, it does so in the typeface of the Milano Cortina logo.
The Speedmaster Milano Cortina 2026 runs on the Caliber 3330, an automatic movement with over 50 hours of power reserve and COSC certification. This, of course, is not a traditionalist’s Speedy, but more akin to the “Reduced” models of an earlier era. The 38mm size is easy to wear and the automatic movement (and date) adds a level of practicality that might be more enticing for a mass market audience who could be less inclined to purchase a watch that needs to be wound by hand everyday.
Omega has a long history of releasing Olympic themed watches, and its easy to see it as yet another example of corporate synergy from an enormous brand. But it’s worth noting that Omega has made real contributions to timing over the years at the Olympics and elsewhere, including the design of the touch sensitive pads used in swimming competitions to stop the clock and time intervals, electronic high precision starting pistols, and more. It’s a relationship that stretches back to the Los Angeles games in 1932 (decades longer than the Bond association). Not all of the Olympic watches have been successful – there was an era where Omega really leaned into including the Olympic rings front and center at every opportunity. But recent efforts, particularly those released to mark the 100 day or one year countdown to the start of a given Olympic event, have been quite a bit more subtle and conservative, and I think mostly work as watches and not merely Olympic souvenirs.
The new Speedmaster Milano Cortina 2026 has a retail price of $6,800 and is available now. It’s not a limited edition, but historically Omega’s Olympic watches have been limited in production and not generally available after the Games have come and gone. Omega
Zach Kazan
2025-10-29 20:00:00