The Omega Story
The Omega watch story begins in 1848, when founder Louis Brandt began hand assembling key-wound precision pocket watches from parts supplied by local craftsmen in his principality La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the northwest corner of Switzerland. However, the Omega name didn't appear until 1894, after Louis Brandt had passed away and his watchmaking traditions were taken over by his sons, Louis-Paul and Cesar Brandt. Omega watches have long been associated with glamorous screen and sports stars--the Omega Seamaster is famous for being the watch of choice for James Bond--with current ambassadors including Pierce Brosnan, Nicole Kidman, tennis player Anna Kournikova, and swimmers Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe.
But Omega is more than just a fashionable watch. In 1965, the Omega Speedmaster chronograph was "flight-qualified by NASA for all manned space missions" as the only wristwatch to have withstood all of the U.S. space agency's severe tests, including passing grades for extreme shocks, vibrations, and temperatures ranging from -18 to +93 degrees Celsius. The greatest moment in the Speedmaster's history was undoubtedly 20 July 1969 at 02:56 GMT, when it recorded man's first steps on the Moon's surface as part of the Apollo 11 mission. Today, Omega is known for its rigorous testing of new movements, cases, and bands. Each new Omega movement is tested on the wrist in existing Omega models, while various laboratory tests are conducted to determine temperature-resistance, shock-resistance and vibration-resistance.
OMEGA has long supported the able yachtsmen of Emirates Team New Zealand and the Sea master Diver 300M ETNZ boldly celebrates the team's campaign to claim sailing's greatest trophy, the America's Cup. This chronograph features a sand-blasted grade 5 titanium dial with applied indexes coated with white Super-LumiNova that emits a blue light. There are three sub-dials on the dial: a small seconds sub-dial at 9 o'clock, a 12-hour recorder at 6 o'clock and a 30-minute recorder at 3 o'clock which also indicates the five-minute countdown to the start of a regatta. The matt black ceramic unidirectional rotating bezel has a polished diving scale whose indications have been created in relief using laser ablation. The watch is presented on a rubber strap and it is equipped with the OMEGA Co-Axial caliber 3330.