Omega watch De Ville, an early "waterproof" watch, with automatic movement and date, in 14k goldThe forerunner of Omega was founded at La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland in 1848 by 23-year-old Louis Brandt, who assembled key-wound precision pocket watches from parts supplied by local craftsmen. He sold his watches from Italy to Scandinavia by way of England, his chief market. After Louis Brandt's death in 1879, his two sons Louis-Paul and César, troubled by irregular

    Omega watch deliveries of questionable quality, abandoned the unsatisfactory assembly workshop system in favour of in-house manufacturing and total production control.[edit] RelocationDue to the greater supply of manpower, communications and energy in Biel/Bienne, the enterprise moved into a small factory in January 1880, then bought the entire building in December. Two years later the company moved into a converted spinning-factory in the Gurzelen area of Biel/Bienne, where its headquarters are still situated today.Their first series-produced calibres, Labrador and Gurzelen, as well as the famous Omega calibre of 1894, would ensure the brand's marketing success.

    [edit] MergerLouis-Paul and César Brandt both died in 1903, leaving one of Switzerland's largest watch companies — with 240,000 watches produced annually and employing 800 people — in the hands of four young people, the oldest of whom, Paul-Emile Brandt, who was not yet 24.Brandt was the great architect and builder of Omega.[1] His influence would be felt over the next half-century. The economic difficulties brought on by the First World War would lead him to work actively from 1925 toward the union of Omega and Tissot, then to their merger in 1930 into the group SSIH, Geneva.Under Brandt's leadership and Joseph Reiser's from 1955, the SSIH Group continued to grow and multiply, absorbing or creating some fifty companies, including

     Omega watch  Lemania, manufacturers of the most famous Omega chronograph movements. By the seventies, SSIH had become Switzerland's number one producer of finished

Omega watch three in the world.[citation needed].

      [edit] Financial takeoverWeakened by the severe monetary crisis and recession of 1975 to 1980, SSIH was bailed out by the  banks in 1981. During this period, Seiko expressed interest in acquiring Omega, but nothing came out of the talks.Switzerland's other watch making giant Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG (ASUAG - supplier of a large range of Swiss movements and watch assemblers) was in economic difficulty. It was the principal manufacturer of Ébauche (unfinished movements) and owner, through their sub-holding company GWC (General Watch Co), of various other Swiss watch brands including Longines, Rado, Certina and Mido.After drastic financial restructuring, the R&D departments of ASUAG and SSIH merged production operations at the ETA complex in Granges. The two companies completely merged forming ASUAG-SSIH, a holding company, in 1983.Two years later this holding company was taken over by a group of private investors led by Nicolas Hayek. Renamed SMH, Société de Microélectronique et

     d'Horlogerie, this new group over the next decade preceded to become one of the top watch producers in the world.[2] In 1998 it became the Swatch Group, which now manufactures Omega and other brands such as Blancpain, Swatch, and Breguet.Omega watch diamonds now carries new luxury watches including the Omega watch Stainless Steel SS Rolex Explorer I with black dial (14270), the Mens White

    Omega watch Rolex Explorer II (114270), the Mens Black Dial Stainless Steel Rolex Explorer II (16570), the Mens Blue Dial 18K Gold Rolex Yacht-Master (16628), the Mens Two Tone 18K/SS Rolex Yacht Master (16623), the Men's Stainless Steel & Platinum Rolex Yacht Master (16622), the Mid-Size Rolex Yachtmaster (168622), the Ladies 18K Gold Rolex Yachtmaster (169628), the Ladies Stainless Steel & Platinum Rolex Yacht-Master (169622), & the lady Two Tone 18K/SS Rolex Yacht-Master (169623).