A brief history of the Omega brand

Omega SA is today one of the most important luxury watch manufacturers. This Swiss company has a very long history: founded in 1848, it immediately produced high quality and luxury watches, soon becoming the protagonists of very important moments in history, accompanying the most famous English spy in the world and being worn by some of the most important movie stars.
The first images that come to mind when thinking about these watches are those of three NASA astronauts who set out to make a unique and fundamental journey into space in the history of mankind: NASA decided to use the " Speedmaster " chronograph for all space missions from the 1960s onwards, including the moon landing; the chronograph was then chosen to accompany the three astronauts, Neill Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, on their journey to the moon. The most important moment for that watch was when Aldrin walked the lunar surface second, wearing the Speedmaster himself (Armstrong had left his on board the spacecraft following the breakdown of the chronograph on board).
The words " The first watch worn on the Moon " ("The first watch worn on the Moon"), and " Flight-qualified by NASA for all manned space missions " ("Recognized by NASA for the flight in all manned space missions ").

From the 1990s onwards, agent 007 James Bond always wears an Omega “ Seamaster ” watch on his wrist. Lindy Hemming, the Oscar-winning costume designer who also took care of choosing the 007 watch for the 1995 film GoldenEye , in which the spy was played by actor Pierce Brosnan, said: “I told myself that Commander Bond, a man of the marina, diver and discreet gentleman of the world, would have worn the Seamaster with the blue dial. "

First years

Before the official creation of the Omega company (ie as we know it today) its founder, Louis Brandt, gave birth to La Generale Watch Co., founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1848; Brandt began by assembling key refillable pocket watches with parts supplied by a local craftsman. He sold his watches from Italy to Scandinavia via England, his main market. In 1894 his two sons Louis-Paul and César developed a revolutionary company production that allowed the components to become interchangeable. By 1903 the success of the "Omega" brand prompted General Watch Co. to transform it into a truly independent company, and Omega Watch Co. was officially founded that same year.

Reorganization

Louis-Paul and César Brandt both died in 1903, leaving one of the largest and most important watch companies - with 240,000 watches produced annually and with 800 employees - in the hands of four young people, the oldest of whom, Paul-Emile Brandt, had not yet turned 24.

Brandt was the great architect and builder of the company: his influence made itself felt throughout the next half century.
The economic difficulties of those years led him, from the beginning of the First World War, to work actively, up to the union of Omega with Tissot; Finally, in 1930, a single group was founded, the SSIH, based in Geneva.
Under the joint leadership of Brandt and Joseph Resier's, from 1955, the SSIH group continued to grow and multiply, absorbing or creating a total of fifty companies, including Lanco and Lemania.

By the 1970s, SSIH had become the number one watch manufacturer in Switzerland and the third largest in the world.
It also reached a very important milestone: Omega managed to outnumber its main rival, Rolex, in terms of sales, despite the latter selling its watches at higher prices. This rivalry between the two Swiss houses was seen as a competition for the title of "king of the Swiss watch brand".

Last years

Weakened by the severe monetary crisis and recession of 1975-1980, SSIH was bailed out by the banks in 1981. During this period, Seiko expressed a strong interest in acquiring the Omega, but in the end it all ended in a stalemate.
In 1985, after SSIH joined another group, ASUAG, the company was acquired by a group of private investors, led by Nicolas Hayek: renamed SMH, ( Société de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie ), this within a decade, the new group has become one of the most important luxury watch manufacturers in the world.