Omega
Omega, or La Generale Watch Co. as it was once known, was founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland in 1848 by Louis Brandt. He started by putting together key-wound pocket watches from parts supplied by local craftsmen. By 1894 Louis-Paul and César, his sons, developed a manufacturing and production system that allowed parts to be interchangeable in different timepieces. These original timepieces were marketed under the brand name Omega (by La Generale Watch Co.) By 1903 their Omega brand took off and they separated the brand as its own company called Omega Watch Co. The same year both had passed away with a company that employed over 800 people. Their four sons took control of the company yet were all under the age of 25 at the time. The company survived and Emile Brandt pushed for a merger with Tissot in 1925 and for a larger merger with SSIH in Geneva by 1930. Business did well and the SSIH group purchased countless companies including Lanco and Lemania who manufactured Omega's chronograph movements and important step to bringing production in house as their father had done previously. By 1970 SSIH became one of the largest manufacturers of watches in the world. The company changed hands a few times merging a couple times before becoming the Swatch Group in 1998.
