This Movement Created the Omega Brand—and Its Having a Comeback

The story of how Switzerland came to dominate the mechanical watch trade boils down to a handful of pivotal inventions, among them the introduction in 1894 of a movement, known as the 19-ligne Calibre, that would change the course of watchmaking history The 19-ligne Calibre differed from its contemporaries in two critical ways: It was produced through an industrialized process-in series, using cutting-edge methods-and it incorporated interchangeable components Christened Omega, after the last letter of the Greek alphabet-a reference to its makers' ultimate accomplishment-the 19-ligne Calibre was produced by brothers Louis-Paul and César Brandt, whose father, Louis Brandt, had founded a small watchmaking workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds a half-century earlier.

The movement was so well-received that in 1903, the Brandt brothers changed the name of their company to Omega In late January, the brand honored the 125th anniversary of the groundbreaking movement that lent it its name at an intimate event at the Omega Museum in Bienne At the event, Omega displayed the De Ville Trésor 125th Anniversary Edition, a 40 mm version of its classic gents' watch featuring the brand's first manual-winding Master Chronometer movement, a red enamel dial and a caseback embellished by an 18k yellow gold medallion engraved with a decorative pattern, known as damaskeening, found on some of Omega's original 19-ligne movements.

Also on display was something of a 19-ligne Calibre redux, a revised movement featuring original bridges, mainplates, escapements and bimetallic balance spring-retrieved from the vaults of the Omega Museum-as well as updated components including a 21st century-style barrel, mainspring and screws, all designed for a new half hunter pocket watch coming to market in the near future. . Source