Omega is a famous luxury watch brand, and if you are a watch passionate, chances are you know what we are talking about. The brand has achieved rock-star status, from James Bond to NASA and Olympics; everyone is wearing Omega watches from various models.
But why the name Omega?
Louis Brandt founded the company in 1848 in Switzerland. In 1877, his sons Cesar and Paul joined him and they decided to name the company Louis Brandt & Fils. In 1894, they produced a movement that achieved global success because it proved to be easy to repair and to provide the time in an accurate way. The movement was known under the name Omega calibre and because of its success in 1903, the company changed its name into Omega Watch Co.
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What are the things people do not know about Omega watches?
An Omega watch was worn during the first surface expedition to reach the North Pole
Ralph Plaisted may not be a famous name, but he was the first one who reached the North Pole. He was an insurance salesman from Minnesota and a snowmobiler fan. He liked so much to spend time outdoors he decided to be the first person who reached the North Pole on surface. He rode his snowmobile and he was armed with an Omega Speedmaster when he arrived. His team was the first one who received the confirmation that they reached the destination in 1968.
An Omega watch was taken into space
In 1962, a group of astronauts hit a watch shop in Houston shopping for watches they would take with them in the upcoming Mercury program. They have purchased multiple Omega Speedmaster models that were later tested by NASA to check if they maintain the time accuracy after they come back from space. NASA tested the watches in a brutal way because they wanted to see is the model is easily destroyable. The tests were made on watches from Omega, Longines-Wittnauer and Rolex, but Omega was chosen the winner. It is considered a brand qualified to be taken in space missions.
Omega is James Bond’s favourite brand
Over the years, we have seen multiple James Bonds wearing different watch brands, but the last movies have promoted Omega as the favourite watch of the character. The first James Bond who worn an Omega Seamaster was Pierce Brosnan in 1995. Since then the 007 agents have been seen multiple times wearing the same brand, but different models. In Spectre, Bond wears the new Omega Seamaster 300, that perfectly completed his look.
The Omega watches worn by James Bond actors are often the subject of auctions. If it were to analyse the auction results, it can be easily noticeable that Omega Seamaster Planet Oceans holds the first two places. The watch used in the Casino Royale movie was sold at the CHF 250,250 price.
But James Bond is not the only movie where the main character wore an Omega watch, other models have also appeared in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, War of the Worlds, The Omega Man, The Bounty Hunter, Seven Years in Tibet and the list could continue.
