Tough is the only word to describe the sailors and race boats that took part in the Volvo Ocean Race that concluded earlier this summer. The sailors are tough. The boats are tough. And as I learned firsthand during the race’s stopover in Newport, Rhode Island, Omega’s partnership with this brutally beautiful race around the world runs deep.
In fact, this iconic Swiss brand created the world’s first commercially available divers watch in 1932, and Omega’s have been worn by Jacques Cousteau (and James Bond and Cindy Crawford too).
But when it comes to harsh conditions, the fact that Omega’s have been worn by astronauts on all six lunar landings may been the most appropriate comparison to the harsh conditions that Omega ambassadors—Peter Burling and Blair Tuke—experience during the Volvo Ocean Race.
Last year, Burling and Tuke won the America’s Cup as crewmates aboard Emirates Team Zealand. This year they’ve raced on opposing teams (Burling for Team Brunel and Tuke for Team Mapfre) in this much more extreme ocean endurance race. And of course, they wear Omega’s Volvo Ocean Race Deep Black GMT Seamasters offshore.
You could say they are the ideal ambassadors for a company that wants to demonstrate how tough a high-quality Swiss watch can be. And that makes for good marketing when it came time to announce one of their newest models—the Volvo Ocean Race Deep Black Chronograph Limited Edition—would be available once the race concluded.
The commemorative timepiece is a divers’ chronograph, but its robust design is just as capable of withstanding the extreme pressures of ocean sailing. And since original event first began in 1973, only 73 versions of this watch have been created.
The casebody has been crafted from a single block of ceramic. It’s water resistant to 2000 feet and is driven by the Omega Master Chronometer calibre 9900. Omega also created an oriented caseback through its Naiad Lock system so that the wording and official “Volvo Ocean Race” logo always sit in the correct position.
There’ll never be a shortage of watch brands that want to associate themselves world’s most glamorous yachting events. But the cool thing about the Volvo Ocean Race Deep Black Chronograph Limited Edition is that the connection seems to be way more than just marketing.
But then again, the Volvo Ocean Race is way more than just marketing too. Both Burling’s Team Brunel and Tuke’s Team Mapfre were neck and neck for the overall victory after 9 months of racing.
It doesn’t get any better than that.
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