OMEGA SEAMASTER BULLHEAD “RIO 2016”
Continuing our COUNTDOWN TO RIO series, a preview of the sports, athletes and gear we will be seeing next August at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, take a look at the Omega Seamaster Bullhead “RIO 2016” watch. This commemorative timepiece celebrates the Olympic games, highlighting the colors of the Olympic rings with its blue leather strap, and yellow, green, red and black stitching. This color theme is continued on the 60-minute rotating inner bezel, designed to reflect the unity and harmony the Olympic rings signify. There is a 30-minute recorder at 12 o’clock, a seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock and a date window at 3 o’clock.
Omega is the “Official Timekeeper” of the Olympic Games and has been since Los Angeles 1932 when 30 stopwatches were used to time the events to 1/10th of a second. From the evolution to photoelectric timing to 1/1000th of a second, automatic start gates, photo finishes, swimming touch pads, and on screen television time clocks — what athletes are accustomed to when competing and spectators when watching the Olympics, have all been a part of the Omega history of sport timekeeping.
Reflecting a piece of this history, Omega first released this style in 1969. Only 316 of the Seamaster Bullhead “RIO 2016” pieces are being produced. Stamped with the Rio 2016 Olympic Games logo on the caseback, this commemorative watch is sure to become a collector’s item.
CLOCKWISE TOP LEFT: ONE OF 30 ORIGINAL STOPWATCHES USED IN 1932 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC GAMES; 1960 ROME, PHOTO FINISH 400M FINAL. FILM IS USED AS TIME STRIP AND INTEGRATES PHOTOGRAPHY WITH TIMEKEEPING; 1956 CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, FIRST TIME STARTING GATES WERE USED IN ALPINE SKIING AND START TIME WAS AUTOMATICALLY TRIGGERED; BEIJING 2008, FAMOUS 1/100TH SECOND VICTORY BY MICHAEL PHELPS OVER MILORAD CAVIC IN 100M BUTTERFLY FINAL; 1956 MELBOURNE, THE SWIM EIGHT-O-MATIC, THE FIRST SEMI-AUTOMATIC TIMING DEVICE WITH DIGITAL DISPLAY; 2012 LONDON, ELCTRONIC STARTING BLOCKS.
