As vaccines begin to roll out around the globe and the world looks toward the end of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most hopeful signs for the near future is the return of major public events like concerts and sporting events. The Olympic Games are perhaps the largest example of this, and strange as it may sound, the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo are currently scheduled to begin on July 23, 2021. As the official timekeeper of the Olympics, Omega has announced a new special variant of the Seamaster Diver 300M to commemorate the start of these delayed games. While this is not the first special Seamaster design celebrating the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (and the future collectability of these watches commemorating delayed or canceled events will be fascinating to watch), this may well be one of the most handsome and wearable Olympic Seamaster models to date. The new Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Tokyo 2020 brings a clean and elemental new colorway to the modern Seamaster Diver 300M design, with a subtle and nuanced nod to the upcoming Olympic Games.

The 42mm stainless steel case of the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Tokyo 2020 adds a blue ceramic bezel insert with a white enameled scale to the classic scalloped dive bezel and twisted lyre lugs of the Seamaster 300M line. In initial images, this is a clearer, more royal blue tone than the navy ceramic used for the standard blue Seamaster 300M, giving a more vibrant overall impression to the design. Outside of the new bezel insert, this is near identical to the standard Seamaster Diver 300M case, featuring the line’s signature 10 o’clock manual helium escape valve and a sapphire display back overlaid with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic emblem. Water resistance, like the standard model, is a robust 300 meters.

While many Olympic iterations of Omega models over the years have resorted to vibrant, intricate dial colorways or unique graphical treatments, the Seamaster Diver 300M Tokyo 2020 opts for a tribute that feels both subtler and more endemic to the design. The engraved white ceramic dial surface has appeared on previous Seamaster models, but Omega pairs this familiar element with blued indices and matching blued versions of the line’s signature skeleton sword hands. The dial text and outer minutes track are in a matching blue, with the exception of the Seamaster script logo which adds a touch of contrast in bold red as a nod to the colors of the Japanese flag. The blue and white dial colorway is both a classic and versatile color combination as well as a tribute to the modernist checkered wreath logo of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics without cluttering the dial with an extraneous logo or commemorative text. It’s one of the rare special variants of a watch that doesn’t immediately read as a special variant, visually, instead simply coming across as a handsome and logical progression of the Seamaster Diver 300M series.

Like the rest of the Seamaster Diver 300M series, Omega powers the Seamaster Diver 300M Tokyo 2020 with its in-house Calibre 8800 co-axial automatic movement. Certified to the brand’s own exacting Master Chronometer standard of accuracy by Swiss government agency METAS, the Calibre 8800 adds a hefty 15,000 gauss of magnetic resistance to the brand’s signature co-axial escapement. Power reserve stands at 55 hours at a 25,200 bph beat rate. The Seamaster Diver 300M Tokyo 2020 is paired with the line’s trademark five-link bracelet in stainless steel.

By taking a subtler approach to a commemorative edition, the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Tokyo 2020 presents one of the most attractive and genuinely wearable variations in the current Seamaster Diver 300M line. The Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Tokyo 2020 is available now through authorized dealers at an MSRP of 5,200 CHF. For more details, please visit the brand’s website.