The Peak takes a look at these timepieces with strength and drive worthy of the 2016 Olympic Games as they vie for a spot on your wrist.
Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 43.5mm Auto Master Chronometer
Aquatics have been a feature at every modern Olympic Games. Swimmers at Rio 2016 will contest in 17 events, all of which will be timed by Omega. The watchmaker has been responsible for introducing many timekeeping innovations at the Olympics, including the automatic touch pads that allow swimmers to, literally, stop time with their hands, thus delivering results faster and more accurately. Omega’s Seamaster Planet Ocean 43.5mm Auto Master Chronometer is another pinnacle in the brand’s timekeeping heritage, fitted with the Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8900 chronograph movement certified by the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS). Water resistant up to 2,000ft, this Seamaster also sees the world début of the silicon nitride ceramic ring and rubber diving scale printed with lustrous LiquidMetal.
Girard-Perregaux La Esmeralda Tourbillon
Accuracy is the key for archers who want to leave their mark on the Olympic Games, and few watchmakers value precision in timekeeping as much as Girard-Perregaux. The brand’s La Esmeralda Tourbillon is powered by the GP09400-0004 movement, an adaptation of one of Girard-Perregaux’s greatest creations, the Tourbillon with Three Bridges, whose emblematic design – including the famous arrow-head bridges – has been more or less unchanged in 130 years. Its pink gold case is inspired by a pocket watch of the same name from 1889, while the lyre-shaped tourbillon carriage houses 80 components and small seconds.
MONTBLANC TIMEWALKER PYTHAGORE ULTRA-LIGHT CONCEPT
The world’s greatest badminton player, Lin Dan, will be seeking to defend his Olympic crown for the third consecutive time at Rio 2016. To help keep time and yet still be light enough for Lin’s quick reflexes on the badminton court, Montblanc created the TimeWalker Pythagore Ultra-Light Concept, the lightest watch ever made. Weighing only 14.88g, thanks to its ITR² Kevlar/carbon elements, the timepiece is powered by the skeletonised titanium Montblanc Manufacture Calibre MB M62.48 mechanical movement, which is inspired by the Minerva Pythagore movement of the 1940s. Seven stars are engraved on the skeletonised titanium main plate used as a dial, representing the Montblanc ambassador’s most important victories.
HUBLOT BIG BANG UNICO USAIN BOLT
The fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, will be running in the Olympic Games for the final time this month in Rio 2016, where he seeks to win the 100m, 200m and 4x100m events for the third consecutive time. His signature lightning bolt serves as the chronograph hand on Hublot’s Big Bang UNICO Usain Bolt, a limited edition that comes in either bold yellow gold or polished black ceramic. Powered by the HUB1242 UNICO Manufacture self-winding chronograph flyback movement with a column wheel that accurately times races, a silhouette of Bolt himself can be seen in the chronograph subdial at nine o’clock.
FRANCK MULLER V 45 SC DT BLACK PXL
Striking and sharp like the épée, Franck Muller’s V 45 SC DT Black PXL retains the brand’s iconic Cintrée Curvex shape but sports an enhanced case and dial with a pixel pattern milled from a mass of steel and treated with black PVD. Powered by the FM 0800 Calibre automatic movement, the dial also features emblematic Vanguard numerals and a date counter at six o’clock
VAN CLEEF & ARPELS LADY ARPELS RONDE DES PAPILLONS
As graceful and nimble as a gymnast performing on the balance beam, the dial of the Lady Arpels Ronde des Papillons by Van Cleef & Arpels features butterflies dancing between the clouds to measure the minutes, while a swallow points at the hours with its wing tip. The butterflies engage in an aerial ballet around the mother-of-pearl dial at the push of the button at eight o’clock. Powered by an automatic self-winding mechanical movement, with retrograde jumping hour, variable speed minutes and on-demand animation module.
