The History of the Omega Watch Manufacturer

Omega is one of the world's leading wristwatch manufacturers but its success is a result of over 150 year’s long commitment to innovation. The story of Omega dates back to year 1848 when 23 years old Louis Brandt opened an assembly workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. After his death in 1879 his two sons, Louis-Paul and Cesar launched a watch manufacture due to questionable quality and delivery issues. In 1885, the brothers introduced the Labrador – the first mass-produced Calibre-Ç with a precision of less than 30 seconds per day and became one of largest watch producers in Switzerland by 1889. However, the production rate of over 100,000 watches per year did not affect the exclusivity and in 1892, Louis-Paul and Cesar represented the first minute-repeater wristwatch. “Omega” first debuted with the development of the 19-line Calibre Omega in 1894. The success of the Calibre Omega (mostly due to its simplicity and easily interchangeable parts) resulted in adoption of “Omega” as the name of all the company's watches. Both brothers died in 1903 leaving the company in hands of four young people the oldest of whom – Paul-Emile Brandt was only 23 years old. Despite his youth, Paul-Emile's played a crucial role in the future growth of Omega. In 1909, Omega made its debut in sports during the Gordon-Bennett Cup, an international ballooning race and became the first official Olympic timekeeper during the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1932. In 1930, Omega merged with Tissot into the SSIH (Societe suisse pour l'industrie horlogere SA). The new company followed the innovation spirit and eventually established itself as the leader in sports timekeeping. The launch of the first waterproof watches in 1937 was followed by introduction of first range automatic watches in 1943 but the greatest achievement in the 1940's was creation of the iconic Seamaster, the first wristwatch with a robust, water-resistant housing that was launched in 1948. The 1950's were marked by introduction of some of the most famous Omega watches of all times including the Constelation and Speedmaster. The latter inspired the Speedmaster Professional which became the first and the only watch on the moon. It was worn by Buzz Aldrin during the historic Apollo 11 moonwalk in 1969. Five years after the “Moonwatch” the company launched another legendary timepiece – the Marine Chronometer, the first wristwatch marine chronometer with an accuracy of less than 2/1000 seconds per day.The SSHI was hit severely by the crisis from 1975 to 1980. In 1983, SSHI merged with another Swiss watchmaking giant, the Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG (ASUAG) into a holding company ASUAG-SSHI. This holding company was taken over by a group of private investors under Nicolas Hayek and renamed Societe de Microelectronique et d'Horlogerie (SMH) in 1985. Within the next decade the group became one of the world's top watch manufacturers. In 1994, Omega developed the world's first selfwinding wristwatch with central tourbillon and five years later the co-axial escapement which was installed for the first time in the Omega DeVille men's watch. Omega watches - since 1998 produced by the Swatch Group continue to impress the world of sport as well as the world of the rich and famous. Omega watches are seen in the James Bond movies since 1995, while the list of Omega ambassadors includes some of the greatest names in sport including Michael Phelps, Ellen Macarthur and Sergio Garcia, and celebrities such as Nicole Kidman, George Clooney, Cindy Crawford and many others. The company also remains loyal to its historic commitment to innovation. The latest masterpiece – the Hour Vision that was launched in 2007 is a result of over 150 years of perfectioning of the co-axial movement which marks the beginning of a new era of accuracy and aesthetics in watch making.