zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

Opened July 1999, zOwie is the Internet's first and longest running discussion forum dedicated to Omega brand watches.

Feel free to discuss pricing and specific dealers. But 'for sale' postings, commercial solicitation and ads are not allowed. Full archive of all messages is accessible through options in the Search and Preferences features. Privacy, policies and administrivia are covered in the Terms of Use.

For the answer to the NUMBER #1 most frequently asked question here--for details or value of a specific older Omega watch you have--go to: Tell Me About My Omega.

Learn more about How To Include Photos and HTML In Your Postings.

To contact someone with a question not relevant to other readers of the forum, please click on their email address and contact them privately.

Forgot your Password? RSS

Return to Index Read Responses

Who REALLY Makes Omega's Movements?

I read through a disturbing thread on timezone.com that I thought I'd bring over here to see if anyone can give me a clear answer.

Basically, the thread began with the assertion that Omega does not actually MAKE any of their own movements, but rather that Omega has ETA make all of their movements for them according to their specifications. In other words, ETA makes the co-axial movements according to Omega's specifications and then sends them to Omega to be put into their watches.

We all know that Omega's movements are ETA-based, but everything I have read on the internet and in watch magazines clearly states that "Omega heavily modifies these ETA movements", not "Omega tells ETA how to heavily modify these movements for them and then ETA actually assembles them." In other words, does Omega buy the base movements from ETA and do the extensive modifications themselves, or do they just tell ETA what to do and place an order for X number of a specific movement?

If Omega doesn't actually modify the movements themselves, then aren't they really just a "final assembler", not a full manufacturer? This may be an extreme example since Omega and ETA are both part of the Swatch Group, but to me this is kind of like buying a Ferrari only to find out that the engine was built by Ford according to Ferrari's specifications.

Can anyone provide a definitive answer on this? Thanks.