It was in 1848 that the 23-year-old Louis Brandt opened a comptoir d'etablissage, a sales office for sub-contracted watch manufacture. In 1880 the brothers Louis-Paul and Cesar Brandt
rented a floor in a building in Bienne to set up a modern watch-production unit.
Among the names chosen for their products were "Jura," "Patria," "Helvetia," "Celtic" and "Gurzelen."
In 1885, the "Labrador" lever movement achieved the astounding precision of 30 seconds a day.
Only four years later in 1889, Louis Brandt & Fils emerged as the Swiss watch industry's largest company with an annual production of 100,000 units.
But size did not prevent exclusive watchmaking, such as the 1892 minute-repeating wristwatch, developed in cooperation with Audemars Piguet, and probably the first of its kind.
An entirely new pocket-watch caliber became a star performer on the markets when it reached series production in 1894. Its selling points were its simple construction and parts interchangeability. The company's banker, Henri Rieckel, suggested they call it "Omega." The name's overwhelming success led to the abandonment of all other brand-names from 1903.
Omega made its debut in sports timekeeping at the 1909 international ballooning contest for the Gordon Bennett Cup. In 1917, Britain's Royal Flying Corps chose Omega watches to keep the official time for its combat units, and the American army followed suit in 1918. Omega's first victory at the observatory timing competitions came in 1919 when their chronometers won at Neuchatel. This was followed by a score of first places until 1971. Among Omega's noteworthy precision records were those set in 1933, 1936 and 1946.
1957 saw the creation of the celebrated "Omega Speedmaster" wrist-chronograph. After a rigorous evaluation, NASA selected the "Speedmaster Professional" chronograph in 1965 as its official timekeeper. In 1967 Omega received its millionth official chronometer certificate.
At 02.56 hours GMT on 21 July 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to step on the moon. As he made his "one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" the watch on his wrist was an Omega "Speedmaster Professional" chrono-graph. Omega's two-millionth chronometer certificate was awarded in 1972.
In 1974 the legendary "Megaquartz"- marine-chronometer
showed an average daily rate variation of just two thousandths of a second in a tough 63-day timing trial.
On 18 May 1983, Omega received its hundred thousandth official rating certificate for quartz chronometers. A company museum opened its doors on 16 December of that year 1995 saw the presentations of the first automatic wristwatch with a centrally mounted tourbillon. Omega continues to demonstrate mechanical innovation, with its latest world premier in 1999. The traditional brand's new caliber 2500 makes a bid to replace the long-serving Swiss-lever escapement. Omaga's watchmakers have developed the "coaxial escapement,"
a construction by the English master-watchmaker, George Daniels, for series production in portable timepieces. The escapement, | combined with a newly developed free-sprung balance, aims to eliminate the basic impediments to regular timekeeping. Friction has been substantially reduced by redesigning the impulse functions of the escapement. The effect of lubricant viscosity on the amplitude of the balance has - likewise been virtually removed. Unlike the conventional pallet-lever and escape-wheel of the lever escapement, the "coaxial escapement" consists of three components: an escape wheel, a coaxial wheel and a lever with three pallet stones. Service intervals have been extended to around 10 years.
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21.08.2000 by Courtesy of Gisbert L. Brunner