| Comparison | Omega | Breitling |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Switzerland | Switzerland |
| Founded | 1848 | 1884 |
| Watches in Database | 3794 | 3590 |
| Collections | 27 | 38 |
| Entry Price | N/A | N/A |
| Average Price | N/A | N/A |
| Top Price | N/A | N/A |
About Omega
Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as Louis Brandt et Fils until incorporating the name Omega in 1903, becoming Louis Brandt et Frère-Omega Watch & Co. In 1984, the company officially changed its name to Omega SA and opened its museum in Biel/Bienne to the public. Omega is a subsidiary of the Swatch Group. Britain's Royal Flying Corps used Omega watches in 1917 for its combat units, followed by the U.S. Army in 1918, and NASA in 1969 for Apollo 11. The Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch is marketed as the first watch worn on the Moon, becoming one of the watchmaker's most iconic models. Omega is the current official timekeeper of the Olympics, having first done so in 1932, in addition to being the timekeeper of the America's Cup yacht race. In 1848, Louis Brandt founded the company that would become Omega in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. He assembled key-wound precision pocket watches from parts supplied by local craftsmen. He sold his watches from Italy to Scandinavia by way of England, his chief market. In 1877, his sons Louis-Paul and César joined him, and the company name was changed to Louis Brandt & Fils. In 1894, his two sons Louis-Paul and César developed their own in-house manufacturing and total production control system that allowed component parts to be interchangeable. Watches developed with these techniques were marketed under the Omega brand of Louis Brandt & Frere. By 1903, the success of the Omega brand led Louis Brandt & Frere to rename their company to the Omega Watch Co. Louis-Paul and César Brandt both died in 1903, leaving one of Switzerland's largest watch companies — with 240,000 watches produced annually and employing 800 people — in the hands of four young people, the oldest of whom, Paul-Emile Brandt, was not yet 24. The economic difficulties brought on by the First World War led Paul-Emile Brandt to work in 1925 towards
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Breitling SA (German pronunciation: [ˈbraɪtlɪŋ]) is a Swiss luxury watchmaker founded in 1884 in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, by Léon Breitling. The company is known for its chronographs and professional-grade timepieces. Breitling's HQ is based in Grenchen, and their production is based in La-Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Since 2022 the company is owned by Partners Group, the fifth most-valuable publicly traded private equity firm in the world. In 2023, Breitling made its first major acquisition, buying Universal Genève. In 2025, Breitling acquired Gallet. Breitling SA was founded in Saint-Imier by Léon Breitling in 1884. When Breitling died in 1914, the business passed to his son, Gaston, and then to his grandson, Willy, in 1935. Willy's children, however, were not interested in pursuing the family business, so the Breitling factory in La Chaux de Fonds closed in December 1978. Willy, already in poor health, died in May 1979. Ernest Schneider bought the Breitling name from the founding family in 1979. Schneider was owner of the Sicura in Grenchen. Production of Breitling watches moved to the Sicura factory, which later changed its name to Montres Breitling AG and then to Breitling AG in 1994. The Schneider family retained ownership until April 2017, when Ernst's son, Theodore Schneider, sold the majority stake (80%) in Breitling to CVC Capital Partners for $870 million. Schneider retained 20% control of Breitling until November 2018, when he sold these remaining 20% to CVC. On 23 December 2022, Partners Group, a Swiss investment and private equity firm, took over the majority of the Breitling shares from CVC. Co-founder of Partners Group, Alfred Gantner, took over the presidency of Breitling's directorial board. The company's mechanical or quartz movements are chronometer certified by the COSC and are usually marketed towards either diving (SuperOcean) or aviation (Navitimer). Aviation models offer aviation functions largely as novelty complications, since s
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