Omega watches 1848 – 2008
Omega was founded by Louis Brandt in 1848 and the brand has been making history ever since. Whether putting a man on the moon, being worn by James Bond, serving as official timekeepers at major sporting events, or inventing the co-axial excapement, Omega has been making horological history for over 150 years.
20th Century innovation
Omega was founded in 1848 and was one of Switzerland's first industrial manufacturers of
wristwatches by 1900. This put them at the forefront of the 20th century watch industry and established them as leaders in one of the worlds' most advanced and challenging watch markets.
In the early 1960's NASA started using Omega chronographs,
switching to automatic chronograph wristwatches
in 1969.
Walking on the moon
The moon landing on the 20th July 1969 was one of the greatest achievements in human history. To celebrate this momentous event, Omega joins the world in celebrating the first moon landing by releasing the Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch Apollo 11 40th Anniversary Limited Edition watch. Powered by the Omega Calibre 21 movement, which is the same movement used in the original moon landing timepiece.
The Omega Speedmaster was the watch Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin wore on the first moon-walk. The Seamaster also helped to salvage an almost disastrous mission by allowing the Apollo XIII crew to time the critical rocket burns to put them on a safe trajectory back to Earth. All subsequent manned NASA missions have also used this hand wound wristwatch.
The commemorative watch also features screw details, a black dial, sub dials, an Apollo 11 medallion, an emblem of 02:56, the exact time that Apollo touched down and features a dial protected by hesalite for ultra toughness.
Sporting times
Since 1932 Omega has served as Official Timekeeper for the Olympic games 23 times, including the recent Beijing games in 2008. Omega has also acted as official timekeeper for world-class international sports championships in athletics, swimming, golf & sailing to name but a few.
20th century revolution
Following on from these interstellar achievements and through ongoing research and development, Omega has developed such extraordinary achievements as the revolutionary Co-Axial escapement, designed by the English watchmaker George Daniels. Launched in 1999 the Co-Axial is today considered to be one of the 20th century's major innovations in mechanical watch making as it is the first mass-produced watch incorporating the Co-Axial escapement.
The Co-Axial escapement functions with virtually no lubrication, thereby eliminating one of the shortcomings of the traditional lever escapement. Through using radial friction instead of sliding friction at the impulse surfaces the Omega Co-Axial escapement significantly reduces friction, theoretically resulting in longer service intervals and greater accuracy over time.
Invest in a piece of history with an Omega watch available now at Ernest Jones.