The Omega Watch: An Outstanding Gift
The Louis Brandt company,founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland in 1848, that manufactured the first Omega watch is now buried in a labyrinth of mergers, acquisitions, and takeovers. Still, the trademark remains a strong presence in the watch-making industry. Read more at our vintage omega watch page.
Paul Emile Brandt, a grandson of Louis, acceded to the management of the company from his forebears and broadened their accomplishments. Indeed, he is regarded as the great builder behind Omega. The hardships brought about by the First World War, however, compelled him to work for a merger of Omega and Tissot, another Swiss watchmaker headquartered in Le Locle. This merger, the SSIH Group, turned out to be the (top|primary|number one} producer of finished watches in Switzerland, and number three globally.
The (financial|fiscal|monetary} crunch of 1975 to 1980 led to SSIH’s economic difficulties that it had to be rescued by banks in 1981. In 1983, SSIH merged with the giant watchmaker that owns the Longines and Rado brand names, the Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG (ASUAG). The united companies were now collectively registered as the Holding ASUAG-SSIH. ASUAG-SSIH was bought by a group of private financiers in 1985 and was renamed. In 1998, SMH was renamed The Swatch Group. Through all these, the Brandt family heritage, the Omega watch, continues as one of the Swatch Group’s most respected products. 33
Such prestige comes from the quality, precision, durability, innovations, and attractive design included into Omega watches. This is recognized in space exploration as well as in sports.
An Omega watch, the Speedmaster first flew in space in 1963 with Wally Schirra on the Sigma 7 space mission. It was only in 1965, however, that the watch was officially adopted by NASA as its “Officially Certified Wristwatch for all Manned Space Missions.” Because of this certification, it holds the distinction of being the first wristwatch on the moon.
The Olympics and Omega have teamed up with each other as early as the 1932 Summer Olympics. This partnership was renewed in the 2006 Winter and in the 2008 Summer Olympics. The 2010 Winter Olympics will again be officially timed by Omega.