The Most Interesting Detail on Omega’s New Sports Watch Is Hiding in Plain Sight

The Olympics-inspired Seamaster Aqua Terra has a very clever design quirk.

blue omega watch against a yellow background

Published June 18, 2024

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Updated June 18, 2024

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Omega has been the Olympics’ official timekeeper for decades. That means that every four years, we’re treated to a deluge of special-edition watches inspired by the games. Most often, Omega‘s Olympic watches contain references to the host city or a touch of gold to represent a gold medal.

With the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris right around the corner, Omega has just released a special-edition Seamaster Aqua Terra inspired by one of its athlete ambassadors, 24-year-old pole vaulting sensation Armand “Mondo” Duplantis.

At first glance, the sports watch looks like any Aqua Terra, but hiding in plain sight is a clever athlete-inspired detail that, in hindsight, is so obvious I can’t believe I’ve never seen it done before.

Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra “Mondo”

$6,300 at Omega

No Ordinary Seconds Hand

In place of the Aqua Terra’s usual arrow-tipped seconds hand, Omega has fashioned a new seconds hand that looks like a vaulting pole. The center-mounted pole is coated in yellow lacquer with a luminous white tip in Super-LumiNova that’s meant to represent the pole’s handle.

The detail is an extremely subtle way to pay tribute to a particular sport, and instantly ranks the watch as one of the most clever ambassador tie-in watches I’ve ever seen executed by Omega or anyone else.

blue omega watch dial closeup — The pole-shaped seconds hand is a clever and subtle way to incorporate an ambassador’s influence into the watch’s design.

In addition to the athletic equipment-inspired seconds hand, the watch contains a few other references to Mondo. Namely, the watch’s colors of blue and yellow represent those found on the Swedish flag. Swedish-American Duplantis was born and raised in Louisiana but competes for the Scandinavian nation in international competition.

Duplantis has been an Omega ambassador since 2020 and is the current world record-holder for both indoor and outdoor pole vaulting, as well as the defending Olympic champion. He’s just 24 years old but has already broken a world record 8 times in his career. Later this summer, he’ll aim to set a new record with this Omega on his wrist.

omega watch on the wrist of a pole vaulter — “Mondo” has set world records before while wearing an Aqua Terra, so I expect to see this one on his wrist in Paris.

Pricing and Availability

Outside of the athlete-inspired touches, the watch is your typical 41mm Aqua Terra. It’s mounted on the model’s excellent integrated stitched rubber strap and is powered by Omega’s Calibre 8900 automatic movement, which is a co-axial Master Chronometer with a date complication and an independently adjustable hour hand for changing time zones on the fly, something which should come in handy when traveling to Paris.

The watch is not listed as limited by Omega, but it is priced at a slight premium over the standard 41mm Aqua Terra on rubber, going for $6,300 instead of the usual SRP of $6,000. It’s available now from the brand’s boutiques.

Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra “Mondo”

Inspired by pole vaulting world champion and Omega ambassador Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, this special version of Omega’s best everyday watch features a Swedish flag-inspired color palette and a seconds hand fashioned to look like a vaulting pole.