History of Omega

In 1948, at the age of 23, Louis Brandt set up his workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds. In 1879, Brandt died and his sons Louis-Paul and Cesar switched from an assembly workshop to manufacturing. In 1885, the first mass produced caliber was created. In 1892, the first minute-repeater watch was created and manufactured. It was capable of sounding on the hour, quarter hour and minute at the touch of a button. In 1894, the 19-line Calibre Omega was created by Francois Chevillat. In 1901, a watch was made to be mounted on a motorcycle. It would attach on the gas tank. In 1917, the first pocket watch with braille numbers was designed. In 1934, when Amelia Earhart flew over the Atlantic, she insisted on having Omega chronographs onboard. In 1937, the first water proof watches were announced. In 1943, automatic watches were introduced. In 1952, the Omega Constellation was created and in 1961 the Omegascope was developed. In 1968, the Ralf Plaisted Polar Expedition with temperatures below minus 50C took place. The expedition was taken to figure the exact location of the North Pole. He used his Speedmaster and sextant to fix the location for the first time in history. In 1975, The American Soyouz Mission took place where the American Apollo and the Soyouz shuttles came together using a bridge and their synchronized Speedmaster watches to set the time of the meeting. In 1994, the first self-winding wristwatch with central tourbillion was created. In 2000, Omega created live timing for the European Swimming Championships in Helsinki. A fan from anywhere could check the results by way of the internet from the Omega timing site. In 2008, Omega was the Official Timekeeper for the twenty third time in the Beijing Olympics. In 2010, Omega developed the Ladymatic, a women’s mechanical watch.