Precision has been the driving force behind Omega since Louis Brandt set up a small workshop in Switzerland’s La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848. Brandt’s sons, Louis-Paul and César, moved the company to Bienne in 1880, where the brand’s headquarters remain today. The company was first called Louis Brandt, then Louis Brandt & Fils (sons), and Louis Brandt & Frère (brothers) before being changed to Omega.

Omega was initially the name of the Brandt brothers’ highly successful 19-ligne series-produced movements, which were appreciated for both their precision and the fact that every component could be replaced without modification by any watchmaker around the world. The brothers loved the name so much that they decided to rename the company Omega in 1903.

The turn of the 20th century saw the arrival of numerous accolades for Omega, including the coveted Grand Prize at the Universal Expo in Paris in 1900, awarded for the company's technological advancements. It was also at this time that sports organizers started commissioning Omega to be their official timekeepers, thanks to the brand’s reputation for precision.

The year 1932 marked the start of the Olympic Games legacy for Omega, which began with a single watchmaker and 30 chronographs. Compare this to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and the latest Scan’O’Vision Ultimate photo-finish camera—which can take 40,000 images per second on the races' finish line—and the advancements in precision timing technology are obvious. Today, Omega’s sports timing is managed by a separate division called Swiss Timing.

Precision was also key to Omega’s foray into space in 1962 when astronaut Wally Schirra wore his own Speedmaster chronograph on the Mercury Sigma 7 mission. In 1965, Omega was invited to submit a series of timepieces to NASA for certification. Four watch brands were in the running, but only one timepiece survived: the Omega Speedmaster, a watch that would go on to join the first men to walk on the moon in 1969. This model is fondly referred to among watch lovers today as the Moonwatch.

Each of Omega’s watch collections has made its mark on watchmaking history, whether it is the Speedmaster, Seamaster, Constellation, or De Ville. It is not only these famed collection names that have impressed aficionados over the years but also the technical innovations that power them, such as the Megaquartz movement, the Co-Axial escapement, the Si14 balance spring, and the Master Chronometer certification program.

Omega is also known for watches worn by James Bond. The collaboration, started in 1995 with Golden Eye, has seen actors Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig wear a range of different Omega timepieces in their roles as 007 in Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, and Spectre.  

Omega became part of what is now known as the Swatch Group in 1985. The Swatch Group was formed in 1983 when the conglomerates ASUAF and SSIH merged to overcome the difficulties posed by the "quartz crisis," or the Swiss watch industry disruption spurred by Japanese electronic watches launched in 1969. Then-CEO Nicolas Hayek Senior took the entity private in 1985. It was named SMH (Société de Microélectronique et d’Horlogerie) in 1986 and renamed Swatch Group Limited in 1998. The current CEO is Raynald Aeschlimann.