If since 2015 Omega has been the brand which has had the best growth in the value of its collector's watches, it is because many enthusiasts have treasured this brand's watches in their collection and are still reluctant to do so. to separate. Omega is the vision of a certain Louis Brandt, founder in 1848 of the "establishment counter" at La Chaux de Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. His creations bear the “Louis Brandt. The quality of its productions is such that success is evident, which gives the capacity to grow rapidly and to become in 1889 the largest watchmaking factory in Switzerland. In 1879, the two heirs of the founder, Louis-Paul and César Brandt, embarked on vast automation programs that enabled Omega to fully industrialize its manufacturing processes. In 1903, the company took the name Omega as a tribute to the success of the "Omega" caliber launched in 1894 (19-line caliber), a movement born from the almost obsessive desire of its founder.
to produce watches with the best movement. of his time. Throughout its history, Omega has never ceased to innovate technically. The brand can be recognized by several innovations and inventions which have clearly revolutionized the history of watchmaking.
Omega was undoubtedly the precursor of industrial watchmaking in 1879. Then boosted by its notoriety, the Bienne brand launched throughout its history an inconceivable number of models each time endowed with major innovations in terms of horology and mechanics such as the silicon balance spring in its time and until today with the Co-Axial escapement mechanism initiated by George Daniels and presented for the first time in 2007 on an Omega watch. This new technology, truly revolutionary for the world of watchmaking, absorbs the problems of balance reversal and lubrication; It was one of the oldest issues that remained to this day without any real solution. Omega is also a human story. The social movements of the turn of the century plead in favor of a reduction in working hours. Omega management will join forces with Tissot to streamline production. The two brands will share the market: the mid-range segment for Tissot; and the high end for Omega.
After the First World War, which saw a number of pocket watches pass on the wrists of soldiers for reasons of use and practicality, around 1917, Omega became official supplier to the Royal Air Force. Praised both for their resistance, but also for their precision, Omega productions set standards in terms of quality and precision and give the brand great notoriety to the point of enabling it to become the official timekeeper of the Games. Los Angeles Olympic Games from 1932, the London Olympic Games in 2012 enabled Omega to celebrate its 25th Games as official timekeeper.
Omega even received the Olympic Cross of Merit for outstanding service to the world of sport. Rewarding an unwavering commitment to research and develop specific precision instruments for the Olympic Games which will measure athletes' performances as accurately as possible. Omega: The pioneer and explorer's watch par excellence Recognized for being associated with the discovery of new spaces since the conquest of space with the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch, Omega since its origin has always supported the advances and extreme sporting exploits of all kinds: In 1934 Amelia Earhart was accompanied by an Omega chronograph when 'she becomes the first female pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo. In 1937, the technological innovations of the watch brand continued with the presentation of the first waterproof watches in order to make up for the delay vis-à-vis Rolex and its Oyster model manufactured in 1926.
During World War II Omega will equip several armies and mainly the British Forces in the Royal Army, Air force and Navy. Omega was also the largest supplier of military watches to the British Air Force (Royal Air Force) The post-war period was marked by the launch of several flagship models for Omega, such as the Seamaster in 1948, which was to be found in the staffing of the Royal Navy and Special Air Service troops. In 1952, the sky was still a space to be conquered and the Omega Constellation watch (1952), then the Omega Speedmaster watch (1957) followed by the Flightmaster model would pave the way for a series of very successful models. During 1968, a Speedmaster watch accompanied the adventurer Ralph Plaisted on a polar expedition to perform various tests and measurements of the functioning of the watches in "extreme cold" environments. A wealth of experience which led the brand a few years later to develop the legendary Omega Speedmaster Alaska Project Chronograph designed to operate at temperatures close to absolute zero (-270 ° C)
A year later, in 1969, Armstrong and his Omega Speedmaster chronograph landed on the moon during the Apollo 11 expedition "a small step for man, but a giant leap for mankind." The notoriety of the Speedmaster chronograph, already important among pilots and personalities of the sixties (Jacques Brel for example) will increase to become the best seller of the brand. At the same time after having pushed the limits of the sky, it is at the bottom of the sea with the team of Jean-Yves Cousteau with Omega and his Seamaster 600 Ploprof (for Professional diver) is about to open the way of a another record. This diver's watch designed to avoid disturbing the precision of its movement by helium during deep dives is known to be more waterproof than a submarine and more reliable than valve watches from Rolex. And it is on the wrist of COMEX divers that the Seamaster 600 Matt Dial will break a deep diving record during the JANUS and JANUS II missions at -253 meters.
In an equally glamorous register conducive to the 1980s, a Seamaster diving watch accompanied Jacques Mayol in 1981 during his record for diving without respiratory assistance to a depth of 101 meters. After space, the big blue is the new frontier. The 1990s were marked by the presentation of the self-winding wristwatch with a central tourbillon (1994). And in 1995 Omega became the watch brand of famous agent 007, James Bond in the skin of Pierce Brosnan in Golden Eye. The brand also surrounded itself during the decade with renowned ambassadors such as Cindy Crawford (1995) and Michael Schumacher It was at this point that, aware of the notoriety of its models, the Brand integrated into the Swatch Group will begin production of limited series which retrace the history of the brand and its conquests. Today the Speedmaster Pre-moon serves as the new Rolex Daytona in auction houses and it is not uncommon to see the auction soar for a limited-series Omega Speedmaster Apollo or Skylab.
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