Omega History

By visiting our OMEGA Catalogue you can see the models that we have currently in stock

OMEGA is the last letter of the Greek alphabet and symbolizes accomplishment and perfection - qualities that have been inherent in every OMEGA watch since the company's foundation in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1848.

1848: The assembly workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds was created by 23-year-old Louis Brandt. Louis Brandt assembled key-wound precision pocket watches from parts supplied by local craftsmen

1879: After Louis Brandt's death, his two sons Louis-Paul and Cesar took over control of the business

1900: Omega is awarded with the Grand Prix at the Paris World Fair

1903: Louis-Paul and César Brandt both died leaving one of Switzerland's largest watch companies - with 240,000 watches produced annually and employing 800 people - in the hands of four young people, the oldest of whom was Paul-Emile Brandt

1920’s: The economic difficulties brought on by the First World War would lead Paul-Emile Brandt to work actively from 1925 toward the union of OMEGA and Tissot then to their merger in

1930 within the group SSIH

1936: Awarded with the world precision record of 97.8 points at the Kew-Teddington observatory in England

1952: After going on to be the official timekeeper at no less than 21 Olympic games, bringing numerous innovations to Olympic sports, Omega was the first electronic timekeeping at the Helsinki games

1952 – Awarded the Olympic Cross of Merit for its outstanding contribution to sport. On account of its precision and reliability

1962 - The Speedmaster Professional was first flight tested in space by Walter Schirra aboard Sigma 7, October 1962.

1965 - Omega’s Speedmaster watch was chosen by NASA as its official chronometer

1969 – Omega was the first watch to be worn on the moon, when, on 21 July 1969, Neil Armstrong made his giant leap for mankind.

1970’s: SSIH had become Switzerland's no 1 producer of finished watches and no 3 in the world

1981: The banks bailed out SSIH due to the severe monetary crisis and recession of 1975 to 1980

1985: The holding company was taken over by a group of private investors. Immediately renamed SMH, Societe suisse de microelectronique et d'horlogerie, the new group achieved rapid growth and success to become today's top watch producer in the world.

1994: launched the world's first self-winding wristwatch with central tourbillion (1994)

1999: The revolutionary coaxial escapement sur developed in conjunction with renowned English master watchmaker George Daniels first offered in limited series

1990’s – Present: Named Swatch Group it now includes Blancpain and Breguet. Dynamic and flourishing, OMEGA remains one of its most prestigious flagship brands.