Last week, I visited Omega’s headquarters in Biel/Bienne, my favorite city with a forward slash in its name. The Swiss city is so intertwined with watchmaking that the top tourist attractions on TripAdvisor are the museums for Swatch and Omega, as well as the former’s drive-through shop where you can order a watch and have it brought out to your car in a burger box. Luckily, my agenda included all of these destinations.
On Wednesday, I lingered at the Omega Museum. By the end of my visit, my Omega bingo card was full of all the obvious candidates: I’d seen Speedmasters that had been to the moon and Seamasters that had starred in 007 flicks. But the exhibits I really fell in love with displayed the full breadth of Omega’s weird-and-wacky oeuvre, dove deep on the brand’s vintage logos, and explored the glimmering, coked-up designs of the ’80s. Below, I’m sharing my 38 favorite watches—plus a few bonus non-watch items—that I spotted while walking through the museum. (Beware: If crappy iPhone photos aren’t your thing, maybe quit while you’re ahead.)
Part 1: Pocket Watches
At the 1900 Universal Expo in Paris, Omega won the grand prize for the accuracy of its entire collection. During that same fair, it also unveiled this pocket watch that mimics the gaudy architecture of a Greek temple. Chronos, the god of time, sits at the center. Did the dial makers have to make him so studly?
