OMEGA

OMEGA is today a brand name without which the world of luxury wristwatches would be unthinkable. The luxury watch brand, known among other things for producing highly functional timepieces for divers and astronauts, has enriched the industry for well over 150 years with an accomplished blend of sporting functionality and aesthetic elegance. The brand now belongs to a listed luxury goods group that also counts Breguet, Blancpain and Longines among its houses. Great names from the world of the beautiful and the wealthy, among which OMEGA takes its place entirely convincingly. Accordingly, an OMEGA watch on the wrist radiates not only a sense of style and a sure instinct for timepieces, but also success, financial freedom and a love of luxury. It is an image the company has honestly earned over many decades and, by now, almost two centuries.

The history of the later company OMEGA began in 1848 with Louis Brandt, who devoted himself to watchmaking in a small workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds and had expressly committed himself to producing exceptionally precise watches. He quickly succeeded in proving his skill and first made a name for himself in Switzerland. Before his death in 1879, his watches had gained standing across large parts of Europe. These were correspondingly large footsteps for Brandt's two sons to follow when they took over the business. That they were able to live up to the expectations placed upon them was borne out over the years that followed. The move to Biel was followed in the mid-1880s by the first serially produced calibre, which convinced the critics with its quality. 1894 then brought the next milestone: the Brandt brothers launched their own 19-ligne calibre bearing the name \"Omega\", from which the present company name derives. In doing so they created a movement that was particularly easy to service, simple to handle and yet immensely precise - a novelty that found favour. By this point the two brothers' watches had already become a symbol of precision, which made OMEGA models the logical choice for timing sporting competitions.

From the early 1900s onwards, OMEGA watches were called upon ever more frequently to measure time at sporting events. A task for which these exceptionally accurate watches were made. The use of the models in sport was finally raised to a new level in 1932. That year OMEGA took on the timekeeping at the Olympic Games for the first time, held in Los Angeles. It was the beginning of a tradition that continues to this day: to date, OMEGA has been involved as timekeeper at the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games on fully thirty occasions. Away from Olympic events, too, OMEGA has always had an affinity with sport and is there whenever every fraction of a second counts. Whether in the most varied athletics disciplines, in swimming, among golfers or in sailing: whenever sporting excellence has to be documented with precise timing, an OMEGA chronograph is the proven choice. Alongside the great elite athletes and competition organisers, sports fans and amateur sportspeople naturally also choose OMEGA chronographs and Master Chronometer models. While the watches used at the Olympics score above all with their accuracy, the amateur sportsperson increasingly appreciates the looks of the ladies' and gentlemen's watches. With far more than one collection, OMEGA has demonstrated that first-class functionality and refined design are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary: in legendary OMEGA models such as the OMEGA Speedmaster Professional or the Seamaster Planet Ocean, reliable functions and exquisite looks clearly go hand in hand.

The path from the small watchmaking workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds to a world-famous brand is, in the case of OMEGA, lined with numerous innovations. Vision and the courage to create something never seen before appear to be two indispensable ingredients in the recipe for success of the label founded by Louis Brandt. Reason enough to take a closer look at some of the most ground-breaking achievements from the house of OMEGA. The Brandt brothers' first great innovation made waves in 1892, and thus almost a century and a half ago: the wristwatch with minute repeater. The master watchmakers behind OMEGA thereby brought to the wrist a technique previously reserved for tower clocks and pocket watches. The watch, which could render the time audibly, was - as we know today in hindsight - not something destined to prevail with the broad public. Nevertheless, it removed every last doubt about the ability of Louis Brandt's sons, for integrating a minute repeater into a wristwatch demanded considerable skill. 1931 saw the next major novelty in the form of an automatic movement with two weights. The prototype presented by OMEGA featured a winding system working in two directions, which made the watch more efficient. This ingenious technology, which would establish itself in the following decades and remains in use to this day, is certainly among the OMEGA inventions that had the greatest influence on the watch world. Compared with the next achievement, however, the 1931 prototype seems almost modest once again, for in 1947 OMEGA presented the first watch with a tourbillon for the wrist, thereby succeeding in translating one of the trickiest mechanisms in watchmaking into the handy wristwatch format. In 1999 the company then released a downright revolutionary development: the Co-Axial escapement. After the watch industry had followed one and the same standard of escapement for more than two centuries, OMEGA set a genuine change in motion. Since then the Co-Axial escapement has allowed - entirely fittingly for the company history that led to this achievement - a new level of reliability in the escapements of watch movements. In the more recent past, too, OMEGA has been able to build on the wealth of innovation that marks its history. In 2013 the manufacturer presented the Co-Axial 8508, a movement that magnetic fields of up to 15,000 gauss cannot harm. Given the increase in magnetic influences from modern technologies in everyday life, this is to be regarded as a pioneering development, showing that OMEGA knows how to combine the tradition of precision with solutions to the problems of our modern age.

Alongside influential inventions such as the Co-Axial calibre and its close ties with sport, OMEGA is also known for its proximity to space travel. With its Speedmaster collection the manufacturer of luxury watches is, so to speak, at home in space, and can proudly claim to have produced NASA-certified timepieces. The first OMEGA watch to fly into space belonged to the astronaut Wally Schirra and accompanied him on his Mercury mission in 1962. Around three years later NASA certified the Speedmaster chronographs and thus fired the starting gun for further stays in space. The Speedmaster received the nickname \"Moonwatch\" in 1969. The reason behind it is quickly explained: the Speedmaster Moonwatch was there live when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon on the Apollo 11 mission. A moment for eternity that brought enormous fame not only to the astronauts but also to the OMEGA Speedmaster \"Moonwatch\". And in 1970, too, when an oxygen tank exploded aboard Apollo 13, which famously never reached the Moon, the Speedmaster played its part in bringing the crew back to safe ground unharmed. Today OMEGA campaigns for sustainability in space and for the removal of space debris, working with ClearSpace and Privateer to that end.

You do not have to fly into space to see a genuine OMEGA at work in its natural habitat - it is enough to dive in! The OMEGA diver's watch is also a firm part of the repertoire of this manufacturer of luxury watches. With all manner of water-resistant models, such as the OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra or the Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M, OMEGA supplies professional divers and devoted collectors with watches that defy every current.

The accuracy of Swiss watches has long been confirmed by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute - COSC for short. For this purpose the chronometers undergo various tests and are examined for precision over 15 days under demanding conditions. Only watches with a mechanical movement produced in Switzerland are admitted to certification. Around one million chronometers receive the COSC certificate each year. What sounds like a great many at first accounts, on closer inspection, for only six per cent of the timepieces manufactured in Switzerland each year. Even though COSC certification therefore definitely carries considerable weight, more and more watch producers take the view that it alone is no longer sufficient to assess modern, technically sophisticated chronometers. They have therefore initiated the development of complementary and more advanced certifications. For this OMEGA calls upon the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology, abbreviated to METAS. METAS certification, which has existed since 2015, comprises a total of eight test procedures with around 280 individual steps and examines essentially the accuracy, the durability, the water resistance and the robustness with regard to magnetic fields that the watches must demonstrate. Watches that hold their own in the ten-day test series receive the METAS \"Master Chronometer certificate\" and may be designated (Co-Axial) Master Chronometer. In principle the option of METAS certification is of course not open to OMEGA models alone. Other brands can also have their products certified accordingly. There are, however, a number of prerequisites by which it is decided whether a watch qualifies for METAS certification. If a model wishes to face the tests, it must for example already be COSC-certified, have a Co-Axial escapement and withstand at least 15,000 gauss. A watch that is METAS-certified and calls itself a Master Chronometer is therefore always COSC-certified as well, and thus meets requirements that go beyond those of the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres. The OMEGA watches that have been able to meet these high demands and are certified \"twice over\" include a number of Seamaster Aqua Terra, Seamaster Planet Ocean, Speedmaster (Moonwatch), De Ville and Constellation models.

High-quality watches that impress with their functions, their looks and their history repeatedly find their way onto the wrists of world-famous stars, are worn on red carpets and appear in renowned film productions. It is hardly surprising, then, that one OMEGA watch or another has already been seen on cinema screens around the world and has found its way into the watch collections of successful celebrities. The screen hero who comes to mind first when it comes to OMEGA watches in film is unmistakably James Bond. On the arm of 007 Daniel Craig, in the 2006 cinema hit \"Casino Royale\", are the Seamaster Diver 300M and Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M models. The latter model appeared again in \"Quantum of Solace\" in 2008, this time on the classic stainless steel bracelet. In 2012 perhaps the world's best-loved spy celebrated his next box-office triumph with \"Skyfall\", this time accompanied by an OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra with a dark blue dial. In the film \"Spectre\" James Bond wears the Seamaster 300 SPECTRE Limited Edition, and in \"No Time to Die\", released in 2021, the Seamaster Diver 300M 007 Edition - two very special models that belong in the watch collection of every James Bond fan! Alongside James Bond, or rather Daniel Craig, who is also seen wearing OMEGA watches away from the films from time to time, Nicole Kidman, Eddie Redmayne and George Clooney are among the best-known OMEGA wearers of our time. In doing so they choose luxury watches that once won over John F. Kennedy and Elvis Presley.

Anyone who wishes to follow James Bond and many other famous watch enthusiasts and invest in an OMEGA watch is spoilt for choice. Every single collection from the Swiss brand brings its own particular qualities and possesses a charm all of its own. Browsing the available collections and examining watch after watch closely, one finds hardly a model that fails to meet the highest demands of design, quality and craftsmanship. The decision is therefore ultimately to be made on the basis of personal taste. Here OMEGA can serve almost every preference, for depending on the collection the models are at times very sporting, at times thoroughly elegant, at times understated and at times refreshingly striking.

Well-known OMEGA models such as the Seamaster Aqua Terra diver's watch, the Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon, the Speedmaster Moonwatch or classic references from the Constellation and De Ville collections awaken the interest of collectors, investors and watch enthusiasts all over the world. High demand means that it may not be at all easy to secure precisely the OMEGA watch that best matches your personal ideas. It is worth its weight in gold to know that you have a strong partner for the watch purchase at your side! We at HORANDO are exactly that partner and a first address for watch enthusiasts in search of their new OMEGA. At HORANDO our customers can rely on these weighty advantages: a broad selection of high-quality models that is updated regularly, and straightforward, trustworthy handling of the entire purchase process. In addition we stand for comprehensive advice and first-class service, to ensure that every customer finds the perfect watch to meet their requirements.

Whether as the inventor of the Co-Axial escapement, as the maker of the first watch on the Moon, as the originator of the Master Chronometer certificate or as the watch brand that enjoys the trust of James Bond: the OMEGA brand possesses virtually countless facets, every one of which could hardly be more dazzling. Over the decades a small company has developed into a luxury brand that has brought forth far more than one iconic watch model and, with valuable innovations, has made an important contribution to the development of the watch industry. Accordingly, every Speedmaster Moonwatch, every Seamaster Aqua Terra or Planet Ocean, every Constellation, every De Ville and every OMEGA vintage watch is a very special treasure that tells an impressive story.