The course of the creation of the watch brand known as Omega today followed a very different path than that of the Cartier brand, although they were developed during roughly the same period of history. The business, which eventually became the parent company of the Omega brand was begun in 1848 by Louis Brandt who assembled pocket watches from parts made locally in La Chaux-de-Fonds. In 1879 the business passed to Brandt's two sons Louis-Paul and Cesar and in turn in 1903 to their four heirs, the oldest of which, Paul-Emile Brandt, was aged 23.



During the period from 1930 to 1950, the company produced its most memorable line of watches, which are prized as examples of vintage watches by collectors today. During this same period, the company grew to be the third largest watchmaking company in the world. During World War II Omega watches were the wristwatch of choice for pilot and military use. The Omega Constellation, the Omega Speedmaster, the Omega Seamaster Waterproof Sports watch and the Seamaster Diver watch were created during these years.

There is no doubt that endorsements by the famous and rich have helped to provide Omega watches with the fame which they still carry today. One important endorsement came from the astronauts of the first mission to the moon. Omega Speedmaster Professional Chronograph was chosen by NASA for the moon mission, thwarting the hopes of Bulova who had to settle for the fame of instrument panel clocks and spacecraft time keeping mechanisms. It was uncertain originally how the mechanical movement watches would operate in zero gravity conditions. The Omega Speedmaster came through with flying colors and was selected for the wristwatch of choice on all future manned missions. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin was wearing this model watch when he first set foot on the moon, making it the first watch on the moon.

Since 1995, the Omega has been associated with James Bond movies, since the 1995 movie with Pierce Brosnan in the title role. The producers wanted to update the look of Bond's watch from the previously used Rolex to a more modern Euro man look. The second deciding factor in going to Omega was their willingness to participate in various promotional activities plus placement of products in the movie. The more conservative Rolex corporation did not want to be a part of such marketing campaigns either for the movie or the watch line. The current James Bond Omega is the Seamaster 300M Professional Chronometer. Several commemorative '007' watches have been released by Omega over the years since 1995.

Currently, the company which owns the Omega Line is the largest watchmaker in the world. Omega is the famous flagship of the company known as the Swatch Group since 1998.

Replica Omega watches are available in many of the popular models including the Seamaster, and the Seamaster 007 and a fraction of the price.