Omega

There is hardly a name more recognizable among the Swiss watch manufacturers than Omega. It is considered by some collectors and many watch technicians to be one of the best values in the vintage market.  Indeed, Omega is probably one of the few Swiss manufacturers to strike a good chord among the three factors that determine “worth” in the vintage marketplace: name recognition, quality, and value for the dollar.

Moreover, unlike some of the Swiss companies that are extinct or merely operating as importers, Omega is still very much in existence. In America, Omega maintains offices in New York City and a service center in Lancaster, PA. It is a division of The Swatch Group, Ltd. This giant company owns and/or markets 17 watch brands, including Hamilton, Tissot, Rado, Certina, and Swatch.

A Wristwatch Pioneer

The story of Omega begins in 1848, when 23-year-old Louis Brandt began to make clock components in La Chaux-de-Fonds. After his sons Louis and Cesar joined the firm, it was renamed Louis Brandt & Fils Co. A year after its founder’s death, in 1880, it was moved to Bienne, where a watch factory was established using industrial manufacturing methods. By 1894 the company developed a caliber for a pocket watch and named it “Omega 19.” The use of Omega (the last letter of the Greek alphabet) was meant to symbolize the achievement of the ultimate in watch technology.

After the death of the brothers Louis and Cesar in 1903, the third generation came to power and gave the firm the name of “S.A. Louis Brandt & Frere, Omega Watch Co.” The first catalog under the Omega name appeared in 1904, in a printing of 10,000 copies.

Even before the wristwatch emerged as an “acceptable” accessory for men, Omega was at the forefront, promoting the reliability and “masculinity” of these smaller watches. In its 1913 catalog, three men’s models were shown—a tonneau shaped model and two rounds, one time only and the other a chronograph. Omega was a major supplier of military wristwatches to both the Allies and Axis powers during World War I. In 1920, a Spanish catalog featuring 226 watches showed no fewer than 48 different men’s styles of wristwatches—certainly far and away more than any American watchmaker.

Omega has also made history in sports since 1909, when it was the timepiece of record for the Gordon Bennett Cup, a balloon race in Zurich. In 1932 Omega made its debut at the Olympic Games, and since then has been named “Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games” 20 times. Today, Omega sponsors such diverse sporting events as tennis, track and field, swimming, downhill skiing, horse jumping, and sailing regattas.

From 1925 on, Omega developed an important association with the watchmaking firm of Charles Tissot & Fils in Le Locle. The company’s president (and grandson of the founder), Charles, was named to Omega’s board of directors. Tissot had formerly concentrated on the production of luxury clocks for the Russian market; it lost this niche after the revolution.

In 1930, the SSIH Holding Company (Societe Suisse pour l’Industrie Horlogere) was founded, under whose roof Omega and Tissot would, over the ensueing years, be joined by Lemania, Rayville, Lanco, Cortebert, Marc Favre, and Hamilton.

In 1985, SSIH would again merge with another Swiss company and be called SMH. Since that time, another reorganization has occurred, resulting in the current parent company of The Swatch Group, Ltd. Omega’s allegiance with its various “sister” companies is perhaps strongest with Tissot. I am frequently asked, in fact, if Tissot watches are a “poor man’s” version of Omega watches, similar to the way Tudors are regarded as entry-level Rolexes.

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