Having secured a silver medal at the Paris Olympics 2024, former Olympic and World javelin champion Neeraj Chopra also made headlines for his wrist watch during the finals. While receiving his silver medal, Chopra was seen sporting an Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150 M Ultra Light – a watch that costs a whopping Rs 52 lakh.
Chopra was recently roped in as a sporting ambassador for Omega, the official timekeeper of the Paris Olympics, so it came as no surprise that his chosen wrist accessory would be a Seamaster, a version of which also served as the official watch of the quadrennial sporting event.
For those wondering why the Aqua Terra commands such a high price, it’s because, much like its wearer, the watch is “built different”. Designed for sporting comfort, the watch debuts using an alloy called “Gamma Titanium”, which has been predominantly used in the aeronautical industry. To help it shed those precious extra grams, Omega also equipped it with a lightweight dial made of grade 5 titanium that’s been sandblasted to create a matt effect. Powered by the OMEGA Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8928 Ti, it is the first Omega watch to feature a movement made entirely out of titanium. It also gets a telescopic crown, which can be stowed inside the case when not in use, to make the design more streamlined and prevent scratches. When worn with the fabric strap seen around Neeraj Chopra’s wrist, the watch weighs only 55 grams. As the name suggests, the watch is water resistant up to 150 metres.
This marks the 30th Olympics event for which Omega has functioned as the official timekeeper. Bringing over 450 tonnes of equipment to the event, Omega has over 92 years of experience perfecting the monumental task of timekeeping an event like the Olympics, which consists of 392 Olympic events across 32 sports. In addition to being Omega’s sporting ambassador, Neeraj Chopra became the second Indian (after Yuvraj Singh) to be appointed Laureus Ambassador. Laureus is a global sports-based charity that works to improve the lives of young people.
