Fresh from the showcase here at SwissWatchExpo, I am here with a collection of Omega Seamaster
chronograph, specifically the Regatta series of chronographs. These are a little more obscure,
a little more specialized type of wristwatches that Omega has been making for many years,
that's a big part of their brand DNA. It's some excellent and very rare,
limited edition pieces in this line as well, that I'm excited to share with you.
For those of you who don't know, Regatta series is one that is meant to celebrate yacht racing,
and many of the yacht racing teams that Omega has sponsored over the years. I've had to do a bit of
research about this sport, as you can imagine, located here in landlocked Atlanta. Yacht racing
is not exactly a popular pastime here or one where you could go even see many as a spectator.
So I've had to do a bit of research, but it's a very fascinating type of race. A very
fascinating the way that wristwatches are used in the actual racing of these regatta yachts,
and Omega has made some fantastic chronographs to both celebrate and engage in that type of racing.
The first one I wanted to show you here is a beautiful looking Titanium
Seamaster chronograph. This one to commemorate the America's cup,
a very prestigious yacht race. I believe it takes place in Bermuda amongst some other
places. This here is one of the more simple ones, which is why I wanted to start with it.
It has all of the chronograph functions you would know. It has the sleek chronograph hand as well as
the sub-dials at three, six and nine. Specifically the sub-dial at nine is the 30 minute timer.
Then we have the second hand here at three and the 12 hour timer at six. Now,
what you might notice is a little different about this is the series of holes or bubbles
in the case here that are starting to fill up with blue as the chronograph engages and keeps
recording time. This is a specific function that you are going to find in a Regatta chronograph
because it is not only counting forward, but actually counting down because in regatta racing,
you actually do have a five to 10 minute sort of waiting period before the race actually starts.
As a captain of a team, that's going to be, piloting the boat as it were,
you would actually need to time that countdown very specifically before the race starts.
So unlike a traditional like race car chronograph, where you simply need to know
how quickly a car has, you know, overtaken a certain speed or covered a certain distance, you
actually need to specifically time down from five to 10 minutes until you can even begin the race.
That's exactly what this function does, and this watch does it in a couple of ways. The 30 minute
chronograph, as you'll actually see, it actually has the numbers in blue and red - blue up to five
minutes, and then up to 10 minutes in red before the rest is in white. This also is meant to time
down the different stages of the race, which you need to do. That's something you're going
to find on all of these. After five minutes, this is going to fill up with blue and the chronograph
is going to keep running, and that is when the race "starts," and now they will start
filling up with red. Now you are moved on to a different phase of the race, and now you are
timing a different phase. So something you'll see in all regatta watches in some form or another,
is the ability to separate different stages in the race as the chronograph is still fluidly moving.
This is the most simple one I have here in our collection, even though it is a beautiful
looking stainless steel or titanium, I should say. Because for the most part, regatta racing
watches are meant to be very lightweight, very performance based. Here's one that is
another regatta series that is a little more traditional and a little more similar to the
standard Omega Seamaster chronograph. This is, you will recognize, does have the ceramic bezel
and this isn't an all stainless steel case. So a little bit heavier, not quite as performance
minded. This is really more of an homage to their heritage as a regatta racing watch.
So this one, it doesn't have the different color scheme separating the different phases of the
race, although it does have this beautiful looking yellow trim, very reminiscent of some Breitling
Superoceans I've seen, but of course you still have this iconic Seamaster chronograph shape here.
We do have the separate stages though, dissected in different yellow stages on the sub-dial here.
This is just a beautiful watch for people who are either fans of regatta racing or fans of the
regatta line and want one for themselves. This is certainly not something I imagined a professional
yacht racer would be wearing. But if you're a fan of regatta watches or fan of Omega chronographs,
or to be honest, just a fan of a yellow trim, which gives a bright, bold color onto this dial,
you certainly don't need to use this as a regatta watch or really know that that's
what it's for unless you were really paying attention to the finer details
of the watch. The last two I have here are a little more specialized and very specific to
yacht racing. They're actually specific watches meant to commemorate Omegas sponsorship of the
Emirates-New Zealand yacht racing team, which is one of the more successful ones in recent history.
This here is a really beautiful, unique version of the Seamaster. You'll notice
it has the really slim chronograph pushers right here. You almost wouldn't notice they were there,
and they're actually located on the opposite side of the crown. That's mostly because this is not a
watch that's meant to be wound or time set while you're in the middle of the race. These are going
to be two very distinct and different functions. You're either winding and setting the watch,
or you're engaging the chronograph because you're in the middle of a race.
This, again, you will see the red-blue color motif pattern in these bubbles here on the dial.
That's going to obviously count down before the race starts and then begin counting up when the
race is actually in progress. You still do have these beautiful looking sub-dials here.
Very minimalist look, because you are fitting a lot of information into this dial. So you can't,
none of the sub-dials can really operate a lot of space. As you'll see, we only actually
have half of the counter counting up from 30 minutes at nine o'clock here. This is a really,
really sharp looking watch. It's really bold looking, and I love the color pattern,
very Panda dial-esque, even though it's not exactly black, white and the chronograph face.
But this is a great watch, one that could definitely be used for yacht racing. If
you're a fan of New Zealand's Regatta team, this is definitely a collectible watch you
are going to want to own. The final watch we have here we wanted to show you though,
is by far the most impressive and the most specialized regatta racing watch that Omega makes.
This is actually a Speedmaster X33. That's right, not a Seamaster, I might've misspoke earlier when
I said these were all Seamasters. This is actually an offshoot, part of the same family of the X33
chronograph line that Omega made in conjunction with NASA. The original X33s were meant to
sort of time for being in space, and required very specific timings and multiple functions.
They sort of applied that same spirit to Regatta racing, which while the stakes might not be quite
as high as space travel, does require a lot of specialization and timing and a lot of different
functions. We really don't have time to get into everything this watch can do, but this
is a digital movement with a split analog and digital interface. For good measure, they threw
in a perpetual calendar because why not. This is really a watch that can do just about everything.
It's incredibly lightweight titanium. It really feels like I'm holding nothing in my hands at all.
You have this rubber nylon strap, which is definitely meant to wear in or above water.
One of the main complaints that people have about this watch is because it's a Speedmaster
and not a Seamaster, it's actually only been pressure rated to go 30 meters below water.
So this is by no means a dive watch, and it's not meant to be used that way. But the way I
see it is, if you are in the middle of a regatta yacht race, and you find yourself 30 meters below
the surface of the ocean, you got a lot bigger problems than just the race you were running.
This watch could really do a lot. Both the countdown and the count
up functions are not a single part of the smooth chronograph movement.
They're actually engaged separately, which is pretty fascinating. I have it currently
on power saving mode, which is what happens when you pull the crown out,
cause again, this is not a mechanical watch. So the crown doesn't function
at all, like any other Speedmasters or Seamasters for that matter. But if you were to push it in,
you can actually start engaging the countdown time and it'll start a five minute timer.
Actually you can hear that chirp there, you can actually program this thing to have a different
alarms and customizable alarms sounding off during different stages of the race for different
checkpoints, different buoys you might cross, or of course, the end of the countdown and the start
of the actual race, and of course, the time you were looking to make for the actual race. This
also does have a perpetual calendar in case, for some reason, you stopped racing and just
want to know what time it is forever without ever having to adjust your watch ever again.
This is a really impressive piece. It's a very limited production, and this is incredibly
specialized for either actual captains of a yacht racing team or people who really do just want the
ultimate regatta racing watch. This is something that is definitely meant to be used in the field,
and really is the ideal watch for someone who are looking to race under those incredibly intense
conditions. Obviously these are, as I said, incredibly specialized - one might even say
esoteric line of watches. But if you're into yacht racing, or if you are at all fascinated
in a chronograph that can do something a little different, or even display in some unique colors,
more so than you would find on just a regular old speedy. Nothing against them of course,
you know I love them, but this is a very, very special line of watches. It's something Omega is
very proud of and I hope you can sort of see why now. We've got all these for sale right
now at SwissWatchExpo.com. Of course, like and subscribe to the YouTube channel if you haven't
done that yet. Give us a call or shoot us an email. If you've got any questions about these
watches at all, we would be happy to answer them and a ship went out to you right away.
Okay.