The colour turquoise has been linked with opulence ever since its namesake gemstone adorned the movers and shakers of the ancient world; ergo, it’s no surprise that it looks right at home on one of the world’s most popular luxury watches: the Omega Seamaster.
The Omega Planet Ocean Deep Black Chronograph Seamaster, to be specific, embraces the greeny-blue hue to pay homage to Emirates Team New Zealand (ENTZ). This is a sailing team the Swiss marque has supported since 1995. This is ahead of the 37th America’s Cup taking place in Barcelona in 2024.
About an hour’s drive outside of Barcelona, in the genial coastal town of Vilanova where the first Preliminary Regatta for the forthcoming sporting event took place (as a matter of course, Omega served as the official timekeeper), the black and turquoise watch was unveiled on Wednesday 13 September in the presence of the ETNZ leaders, Omega representatives and a select few members of the international press, including Esquire.
From the outset, the colour palette was the key talking point—a conspicuous combination unmistakably inspired by the New Zealand team’s new motif which is anchored by a turquoise fern.
Raynald Aeschlimann, CEO of Omega, admits that despite turquoise’s deep association with affluence, it took careful thought to find a suitable way to incorporate the colour into the time-honoured design.
“Bringing in that blue was a challenge—I wanted this watch to be recognisable but still in line with what we’ve recently been doing,” he tells Esquire. “We wanted to create something that wasn’t just a collab with another name on the dial.”
Here, the only telltale sign that the watch has been created with the Oceanic sailing team in mind is the logo discoverable on the case's NAIAD Lock rear.
But that’s not to say that the limited-edition release is otherwise identical to your classic Seamaster, because it isn’t.
Touches that make the ETNZ-edition unique include the gradient-effect seconds hands complete with an America’s Cup trophy counterweight, and the 10-minute countdown indicator positioned at 3 o'clock that may be used by the team as they prepare to participate in the competition.
Naturally, Omega hopes that the water-resistant timepiece can aid another win for the titleholders.
“The team has won the cup four times—twice with us, and two other times before our day in the nineties,” says Grant Dalton, CEO of the Emirates-sponsored sports crew. “We’re often asked what’s the motivation to win it again… It's never been won by the same team.”
Beyond its appropriateness for bona fide sailors, the new Seamaster is also an impressive lifestyle accessory for swanky land dwellers, with its brushed black zirconium oxide ceramic case, white lacquer Super-LumiNova detailing (that's watch talk for glow-in-the-dark) and turquoise accents.
Even the packaging is impressive. It arrives in a dual-branded black and turquoise zip case, making for an unboxing experience fit for the movers and shakers of the modern world, counting the defending champions of the world's oldest sporting contest.
Sign up to be notified about the stock of the Emirates Team New Zealand Edition of the Planet Ocean Seamaster over on the Omega webstore. The timepiece, complete with a black and turquoise textile and rubber strap; the turquoise strap, available with or without a satin-brushed ceramic clasp, can be purchased separately.
