Omega
In 1848 at La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland the 23-year-old Louis Brandt created an assembly workshop from which the present Omega factory grew and gradually gained renown. He manufactured key-wound precision pocket watches from parts supplied by local craftsmen. After Louis Brandt's death in 1879, his two sons Louis-Paul and César took over control of the business, moving the company from La Chaux-de-Fonds to Bienne in 1880 where it has been located ever since.
In 1890, the company created a new calibre with a simple but reliable construction which could be serviced with ease. It was dubbed "Omega". In 1894, "Omega" was registered internationally as a company name, giving birth to the only watch brand to be named for a calibre.
Louis-Paul and César Brandt both died in 1903. The company was left in the hands of Paul-Emile Brandt who was the great architect and builder of Omega. His influence would be felt over the next half-century.
The economic difficulties brought on by the First World War would lead Paul-Emile to work actively from 1925 towards the union of Omega and Tissot, and then to their merger in 1930 within the group Société Suisse pour l'industrie Horloger (SSIH).
It was during this time that Omega's reputation for accurate wristwatches was enhanced by a string of observatory precision records which remains unparalleled to this day.
From 1955 under his leadership and that of Joseph Reiser, the SSIH Group continued to grow and multiply, absorbing or creating some fifty companies. By the seventies, SSIH had become Switzerland's number one producer of finished watches. In 1985 Omega became part of The Swatch Group and holds a place of privilege as one of its most prestigious brands.
Omega is famous for creating history with its watches. The Omega Speedmaster Chronograph was chosen as the official watch worn by American astronauts. NASA put the Speedmaster through a series of stringent tests, along with five other chronographs. The Omega passed all of them with flying colours and was the only one qualified by NASA for all manned space flights. It has been a part of every NASA mission since Gemini III in 1965 and on the 20th of July, 1969, when Buzz Aldrin stepped on to the lunar surface, the Speedmaster strapped around his uniform sleeve became the first watch on the moon. The Speedmaster Professional continues to be a part of every NASA manned space flight.
Omega has been timing sporting events since the 1909 Gordon Bennett Cup balloon race and was the first company to be entrusted with the official timekeeping of all Olympic disciplines at the 1932 Games in Los Angeles. Omega's association with the Olympic Movement has led to numerous pioneering developments in the field of sports timekeeping and the company will continue its Olympic activities in Vancouver in 2010 and London in 2012.
2008 marked the introduction of the world's first Omega Vintage Store incorporated within the Somlo Antiques store at the Burlington Arcade, London.
