Style Edit: Omega’s Seamaster Regatta is the ultimate watch for sailors, and celebrates the brand’s legacy in the America’s Cup

Oct 4 , 2024

The Omega 46.75mm Seamaster Regatta is a special release for the 37th edition of the America’s Cup. Photos: Handout

This is a watch primed for sea travel – from its striking analogue and digital displays, to its range of nautical features and Quick-Change rubber strap

Omega’s association with the sea runs deep. The Seamaster, a diving watch produced since 1948 that blends suave and classy looks with robustness and high performance, is among its most celebrated collections … and the horological choice of James Bond. Then there’s the Swiss luxury watchmaker’s long tradition of supporting the glamorous world of competitive sailing, sponsoring both individual athletes and entire teams, and acting as a partner for leading races.

Omega’s 46.75mm Seamaster Regatta sports both digital and analogue dials

Among them is the most prestigious yacht race of all, the America’s Cup. Established in 1851 – just three years after the house of Omega was born – it is the world’s oldest international sporting competition and has been the ultimate prize in the world of competitive sailing ever since. The 37th edition of the cup this month will see current holder the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron defend its title off the coast near Barcelona, with Omega again acting as official timekeeper, a role the watchmaker first fulfilled in 2000, after initially becoming involved in the event as a team sponsor in 1995.

The Omega 46.75mm Seamaster Regatta is touted as the sailor’s ultimate tool

To mark its pivotal role in the America’s Cup, Omega has unveiled a timepiece that represents the ultimate multitool for sailors: the 46.75mm Seamaster Regatta, which features both analogue and digital displays. In terms of functionality, this is the watch with everything – a moon phase, a chronograph, a sailing logbook, a temperature gauge, an accelerometer, three alarms and a regatta race function, all powered by the Calibre 5701 quartz movement.

It’s a close relative of the Speedmaster X33 – Omega’s most notable venture into the world of tool watches – which in 2017 yielded a predecessor to the Seamaster Regatta, the Speedmaster X-33 Regatta, made specifically for Emirates Team New Zealand.

The Omega 46.75mm Seamaster Regatta has just about every feature on it

The Seamaster Regatta presents that enviable box of tricks in a package that couldn’t be much more eye-catching. The dial combines functionality and legibility, offering both a black LCD digital display and a set of analogue hour, minute and seconds hands. A backlit mode even makes the latter disappear so that the former can be read more easily.

Omega’s 46.75mm Seamaster Regatta uses Helmholtz resonance to maximise the volume of its alarms

A minute track and indications appear on a dramatically bevelled bezel, while perhaps the most visually striking aspects of the dial are the indications for the moon phase and regatta race functions, which appear in quadrants that intersect it at 3 and 9 o’clock respectively. Not only is the watch visually distinguished, it also makes its presence felt audibly, with a caseback specially designed to create a Helmholtz resonance, which increases the volume of its three alarms.

The Omega 46.75mm Seamaster Regatta features a Quick-Change strap