Omega Watches

Omega – the last letter of the Greek alphabet symbolizes perfection and accomplishment of a task. The story of the Omega Watches began in 1848 at La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Omega was founded by Louis Brandt at the age of 23 when he decided to open a Comptoir d'établissage, a sub-contracting sales office for watch manufacturer where the watch components were assembled into the finished products.

In 1880, Louis-Paul and Cesar Brandt shifted into a small factory in the city of Bienne /Biel, and this was done due to the accomplishment of a greater supply of manpower, communications, and energy. With the production of their first Omega series-produced calibers in 1895, the pocket-watches Labrador and Gurzelen achieved an accuracy of within 30 seconds a day.

Within a period of four years and with a production rate of 240,000 watches produced annually, Louis Brandt and Fils became the largest producers of watches in Switzerland. Their notable Omega caliber became an outstanding market performer when it went into production in 1894. The primary reasons for its salability were its easily interchangeable parts along with its simplicity of construction. Henri Rieckel, the company’s banker suggested the name “Omega” for their latest watch - which got an overwhelming success and thus the name was adopted as the sole name for all the watches of the company from 1903.

Both of the Brandt brothers died in 1903, leaving the fate of Omega company under the control of four people including Emile Brandt who was only 23 years of age and the oldest amongst the others.

Omega acquired popularity over the years and achieved an enormous amount of success. The British Royal Flying Corps chose Omega watches as their official timekeepers for their combat units in 1917 and so did the American army in 1918. In 1932, Omega became the first to be trusted with the official timekeeping of all disciplines at the Los Angeles Games.

One of the significant achievement by the Omega was the world record of accuracy, which was granted to them by the English observatory of Kew-Teddington in 1936. They were also awarded the Olympic Cross of Merit for "exceptional services to the world of sport", in 1952.

Now let's take a look at Omega prominent models and learn about some more of Omega success story.

Omega Seamaster

The Omega Seamaster was created with the sole purpose to challenge the toughest conditions and to take hold of the moment which provided the most exciting experiences for men. Introduced in the year 1948, this Omega Seamaster model is notable for its precision, strength, and resistance which makes it a favorite choice for many sportsmen. And this list includes one of the world's best swimmers of the 1990s, Alexander Popov; The fictional character James Bond and many others.

The Omega Seamaster consists of a number of angles and curves which differs the way light is reflected from its case and still, it does not include any sharp corners, which makes it perfectly comfortable to wear. Seamaster watch is also one of the most dependable watches for deep diving due to its luminescent coating on the hands and markers. Thus suitable for being the Omega Dive Watch.

Let’s have a glance through this model’s history and its achievements:

• 1932: Omega launches its first water-resistant watch named Omega Marine. It was water resistant up to 135 meters and was the first in the Omega Seamaster family.
• 1948: Omega produces its first Omega Seamaster. It was galvanized by the waterproof qualities of Omega Marine along with the popular The 30 mm model.
• 1962: A North American pilot and submariner claimed that after an accident he found his Omega Seamaster in a completely working condition at a 45-meter depth. Whereas the surprising fact to be noticed is that the watch guaranteed waterproof only up to 30 meters.
• 1981: A world's record in scuba diving was broken by Jacques Mayol who was equipped with nothing but the Omega Seamaster watch.
• 1995: America's Cup was won by the team of New Zealand in which Sir Peter Blake and each crew member of the team wore an Omega Seamaster 300 on their wrists. And thus it was declared as the official timekeeper for America's Cup 2000.
• 1967 Omega Speedmaster

Omega was the first watch brand to make it to the moon on July 21, 1969. This was worn by Buzz Aldrin as he stepped out unto the moon’s surface during the Apollo 11 mission. The same model was also brought along by Neil Armstrong though was left on the Lunar Module. He decided to keep it there because the Module’s electronic timing system was defective. Aldrin’s exact watch however was said to have been stolen along with other personal belongings upon his return. Fortunately, Armstrong’s Speedmaster was saved from the same fate and is now with Washington D.C.’s National Air and Space Museum.

Those who would like to own a piece of history would be pleased to know that the design has not changed much since Omega Speedmaster line debuted in 1957. Otherwise known as the Omega Moon Watch, today’s Speedmaster Professional Chronograph model is also powered by a manual-winding mechanism. The most recognizable difference would be the bracelet, which appears to have been made of velcro for the American astronauts. Present day models come with steel bracelets, is 42 mm in diameter and is water resistant up to 50 meters. The Smithsonian’s space curator Dr. Jennifer Levasseur is quoted as saying, “Omega has always been the official watch of NASA. That is particularly true when it comes to spacewalking. No other watch has ever been flight-qualified by NASA.”

1948 Omega Seamaster

From the far reaches of space to the bottom of the planet’s oceans, Omega can validly claim it has been a part of such voyages. The company introduced the Seamaster, its longest running product line to commemorate its 100th year anniversary. It was a post-war dive watch which interestingly has its roots in the Omega Marine model of 1932. The Seamaster went on to be a part of historical diving achievements. Here are some of its different models:

• Omega Seamaster 300 - Worn by Jacques Costeau and his team in 1963 during the Precontinent II experiment to confirm that divers can live underwater for extended periods of time in the Red Sea
• Seamaster 600 - Part of the 1970 Janus II exploration setting a world-record dive of 253 meters in the Ajaccio Gulf
• Seamaster 1000 - Attached to the Beaver Mark IV’s robotic arm as it dove to the depth of 1,000 meters

Today, the Seamaster is popularly known as the James Bond watch. It first appeared on the wrist of Pierce Brosnan in 1995 when he starred Golden Eye. This was a Seamaster Professional 300 model. The present day 007 Daniel Craig alternates between a Omega Seamaster Diver 300M and a Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M. This product line however is also associated with the 1971 Seamaster Ploprof design. It was initially water-resistant up to 600 meters though is now able to withstand depths of up to 1,200 meters.

1952 Omega Constellation

It has undergone some changes since 1952 though has maintained its elegant looks and extremely precise movements. There were different finishings available. The Constellation came in gold and steel while the Constellation Deluxe appeared only in gold. It was the Constellation Grand Luxe however that provided a more refined look which had a gold and platinum finish. The collection eventually evolved into 1982’s Constellation Manhattan with its iconic four griffes which appeared to be holding the watch bezel in place. There are different variations of this design today. It comes with Constellation Manhattan’s quartz movement technology and its refined feel.

1967 Omega De Ville

This was originally part of the Seamaster family in the 1960s before it eventually branched out into an independent line in 1967. Its simplicity and classic design aspects give a timeless quality to it. Omega combined this with modern elements to produce an award-winning watch collection. The De Ville was given the Grand Prix Triomphe de l’Excellence Européenne as well as six “Golden Roses” during the Baden-Baden design awards in the 1970s. In spite of these accolades, it is one of the most underappreciated among Omega’s watches today.

Its current De Ville Prestige design would indicate that its past recognition is still very much deserved. The collection undoubtedly upholds the classy and stylish aspects that this best-selling watch was quite known for. It maintains a date display at the 3 o’clock position and is a handsomely balanced timepiece.