Welcome to Brand Breakdown, a series of comprehensive yet easy-to-digest guides to your favorite companies, with insights and information you won’t find on the average About page.
First watch on the Moon. A classic James Bond model. Worn on the wrist of JFK and Mikhail Gorbachev at their respective inaugurations and on the wrist of Mao Zedong for 31 years. Elvis Presley wore one while cruising in his purple Cadillac, and today George Clooney wears one while cruising on a Vespa. A paradigm-shifting mechanical movement designed by the 20th Century’s greatest watchmaker. The only brand to truly compete with and sometimes even dominate Rolex. A Babe Ruth-style run as some of the most accurate watches in the world, and the official timekeeper for the Olympic Games over and over. This is Omega, one of the greatest Swiss watch companies of all time.
Products in the Guide
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Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional
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Omega Speedmaster ’57
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Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope
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Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon
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Omega Speedmaster Skywalker X‑33
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Omega Seamaster Diver 300M
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Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean
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Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep
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Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M
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Omega Seamaster 300
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Omega Seamaster Ploprof 1200M
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Omega Constellation Globemaster
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Omega Constellation
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Omega De Ville Hour Vision
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Omega De Ville Trésor
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A Brief History of Omega
Omega has been around under one name or another since 1848, but today’s lineup draws heavily on its classic mid-20th-century designs. Though not quite as slow to evolve as Rolex, the company has incrementally developed its watches to feel simultaneously historical (though not anachronistic) and modern (though not trendy).
Founded by Louis Brandt as La Generale Watch Co. in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1848, the firm quickly made a name for itself as an innovator: It developed and debuted the first minute-repeating wristwatch in 1892, a full generation before wristwatches themselves came into vogue following the First World War. Perhaps most significant with respect to horological history writ large was the debut of the “Omega” caliber in 1894, a 19-ligne, crown-set movement whose interchangeable parts were meant for easy service.
La Generale Watch Co. became Louis Brandt et Frère-Omega Watch & Co. in 1903 and began signing its dials with the Omega name based on the success of its movement. In 1917, during the throes of the First World War, the British Royal Flying Corps would officially adopt Omega timepieces, beginning a long relationship with what would become the RAF that lasted for decades. The U.S. Army similarly adopted Omega timepieces in 1918, while the Olympic Games utilized Omega timing equipment for the first time in 1932. The same year, Omega debuted the Marine, commonly accepted as the first dive watch for civilians.