Mechanical watches, hand-wound watches, luxury watches, OMEGA watches are enjoyed by everyone from beginners to experts
"Omega" is a Greek word meaning ultimate.
It is also known as a luxury watch brand, and its popularity shows no sign of waning even now, more than 100 years after its founding.
When it comes to watch brands, well-known brands include Rolex, but among luxury watches, Omega is one that can be purchased at an affordable price (parallel imports start from around 160,000 yen), and is popular with a wide range of people, from those who are new to luxury watches to experts, as it combines high performance and design, and has a history of being used as a variety of official watches.
Although it is difficult to put into words and somewhat abstract, the secret to its popularity is that, compared to other brands, it has a subtle elegance and is not pretentious. There was even a survey that showed that it is more popular with women than Rolex.
So let's take a closer look at why Omega is so popular!
History The history of Omega begins in 1848. Louis Brandt, a 23-year-old watchmaker, established a watch assembly factory in La Chaux-de-Fonds. He initially manufactured pocket watches.
In 1877, Louis Brand's eldest son, Louis Paul, founded the company Louis Brand & Frères, and things started to pick up steam. In 1879, Louis Brand, who established the origins of the brand, passed away, and Paul's younger brother, César, joined the management team.
One year later, in 1880, the company developed a caliber with a mechanical cylinder escapement and released a pocket watch equipped with this caliber.
This gained popularity in the European market, and the high-quality watches also enjoyed success overseas in the United States. In the same year, the brothers Paul and César moved from La Chaux-de-Fonds to Bienne, where the headquarters is still located, to increase productivity as a watch manufacturer. By 1889, the company had grown to become the largest watch manufacturer in Switzerland, with 600 employees and an annual production of 100,000 pieces.
Then came the year of innovation: 1894, with the development of the Omega 19 Line calibre, the first calibre made in a separate production system.
This caliber has had a profound impact on watchmaking beyond Omega.
The 19-line caliber was considered the best technology at the time, and was named "Omega," which means "ultimate." In 1903, the company name was changed to "Societe Anonymous Louis Blanc & Frères Omega Watches," and in 1947, it became "Omega Louis Blanc & Frères," and in 1982, it finally became the "Omega" company that we are familiar with today.
Among the many watch manufacturers, OMEGA is a unique pioneer and revolutionary that is unmatched by any other. The watches that OMEGA produces are known for their high precision and durability, and have been adopted as the official watch of the Olympic Games and NASA, and they continue to produce high-quality watches to this day.
When talking about the coaxial escapement, one thing that should not be forgotten about OMEGA is "technological innovation." Since the days of the mechanical cylinder escapement caliber introduced earlier, OMEGA has continued to innovate technology, one or even two steps ahead of the times, and has continued to take on new challenges to achieve this.
In 1999, Omega put the co-axial escapement into practical use. The co-axial escapement was developed in 1978 by watchmaker George Daniels. Daniels brought the prototype of the co-axial escapement to watchmakers such as Patek Philippe and Rolex, but they did not attempt to commercialize it due to the high level of difficulty involved in development. However, Omega was the only manufacturer to take on the challenge and overcome the difficulties.
The structure of the coaxial escapement is too long to explain in detail here, but to put it simply, what's great about the coaxial escapement is that it extends the interval between overhauls (disassembly and cleaning) that mechanical watches require, which are done about every five years. It is said that watches equipped with a coaxial escapement do not need to be overhauled for ten years. This technological innovation is said to have brought about 200 years of evolution in mechanical watches.
・Amazing Master Co-Axial, a super watch with 15,000 gauss magnetic resistance!
Furthermore, in 2013, Omega developed the Master Co-Axial. This super watch was born, resistant to 15,000 gauss magnetic fields. Conventional mechanical watches were weak to magnetic forces, and would break immediately if a magnet was attached to them.
In today's world, where we are surrounded by magnetic objects (cell phones, computers, refrigerators, etc.), mechanical watches are prone to becoming magnetized and becoming unstable.
However, Omega has succeeded in developing the only watch that can withstand magnetic fields of over 15,000 gauss without breaking. Its durability is so great that it can be placed in an MRI machine or even have a permanent magnet attached directly to it.
Even the Rolex antimagnetic watch "Milgauss" can only withstand up to 1000 gauss, so you can see how significant this technological innovation was. It is said that this technological innovation has further advanced mechanical watches by hundreds of years.
·Model name
Now let's take a look at some Omega models.
Constellation... This model means "constellation". In 1952, a high-precision watch that had no name and was called an automatic chronometer was named "Constellation". It has always achieved the highest results in observatory chronometer competitions, and the case back is designed with a relief of the Geneva Observatory and eight stars. It is also said to be Omega's highest-end line.
Seamaster: A diver's watch, this model is loved by divers, naval officers, and adventurers around the world. James Bond, aka 007, also wears a Seamaster. This is probably because James Bond is a former naval officer.
Speedmaster...The Speedmaster is synonymous with mechanical chronograph watches. The Speedmaster 4th model in particular is famous for the legend of the Apollo 13 disaster in 1970.
With all of the instruments destroyed in the accident, they had to accurately measure 14 seconds to get on track to return to Earth, but in space, where the gravity is completely different, the Speedmaster measured those 14 seconds and the astronauts returned safely. NASA's decision to use OMEGA was not wrong.
De Ville...This model means "street corner." It is a popular line with a classic yet casual design that matches any outfit.
・20th Anniversary of 007
OMEGA has been the official watch for 007 since "GoldenEye" in 1995. And in 2015, 20 years after the brand was adopted, OMEGA will be the watch that adorns Bond's wrist in the 24th 007 film, "Spectre."
Up until now, we have released limited edition models to commemorate the release of movies, in addition to the models worn by Bond, but for this year's Spectre, we will be releasing a limited edition watch actually worn by Bond for the first time in a 007 movie. Only 7,007 pieces will be available worldwide. Don't miss out!