The Omega Watch

The story of the Omega Watch started in 1848 when a young man by the name of Louis Brandt  started a workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds and began making precision pocket watches. Watchmakers and craftsmen from the local area would supply Brandt with the parts to make the watches and he would create the final pocket watch. Brandt continued with his watchmaking activities for most of his life and passed away in 1879, when the business was passed over to his two sons, Cesar and Louis Paul Brandt.

The name "Omega" eventually came from an Omega watch created in 1894, a simple to maintain and reliable watch that impressed the company's banker, Henri Riekel, who suggested the name that was to stick with all future watches made.

The Omega watch came of age after the British Royal Flying Corps chose the Omega as their official timekeeper. This was closely followed by the U.S. Army in 1918. Omega continued throughout the following decades to win prizes for their timekeepers performance. Of special note is the decision by the U.S. space agency NASA to use the Omega Speedmaster Professional as their official timekeeper.

Omega ventured into the new world of the quartz watch in 1974 with the Megaquartz, an incredibly accurate timepiece that paved the way for a series of quartz watches.

The Omega brand has cemented itself in horological history with its highly regarded timepieces and unique styling. The world waits eagerly for its next creations!

Omega Watch Chronology

1848 - Company started by founder Louis Brandt.

1879 - Company passes to Cesar and Louis-Paul Brandt.

1880 - Cesar and Louis set up a factory to produce a new line of watches.

1889 - The brothers become the largest watch producers in Switzerland with over 100,000 per year.

1892 - A partnership with Audemars Piguet produces a first for a wristwatch, the minute repeater.

1894 - A simple, easy to maintain watch becomes the name bearer for the company, named by the company's banker, Henri Rieckel, Omega is born.

1917 - The Omega is chosen by the British Royal Flying Corps as their official timekeeper.

1918 - The U.S. Army adopt the Omega as their official timekeeper.

1919 - Omega Chronometers win at the Neuchatel timing competiton.

1965 - NASA adopts the Omega Speedmaster Professional as their official timekeeper.

1967 - Omega produces its one millionth chronometer Omega watch.

1969 - Neil Armstrong takes his Omega Speedmaster Professional to the moon.

1974 - Omega produces the quartz "Megaquartz" an incredibly accurate wristwatch.

1983 - Omega gains its 100,000th official rating certificate for its quartz chronometer.

1999 - Omega intorduces the "Calibre 2500", a new type of timekeeping mechanism requiring less maintainance than has ever been possible.

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