HOW MANY WATCHES DOES OMEGA MAKE PER YEAR?

Omega, a watch brand that really needs no introduction. The brand has proven itself within the watch world time after time with timepieces that remain a classic. Regardless of how much money or other watches a person has in their collection, Omega will always remain highly respected. To make watches to the high level Omega does, it requires time, skill and plenty of resources so how many watches a year does Omega make? Today, we’re going to show you how many watches Omega makes per year, why they make that number and how they compare to other Swiss watch brands..

Entrance of an Omega building with a red carpet and guests gathered for an inauguration

To start, it is important to understand that the number of watches Omega makes per year is the total they produce from all their different watch models added together. It’s harder and requires more time to make a chronograph movement than a simple time only or time and date movement. In terms of the number produced, it’s very hard to give an exact number of watches produced each year but it is estimated to be around 500,000 watches. This makes Omega one of the highest producing watchmakers in all of Switzerland, which says something as so many brands come from there. But how? How can Omega make that many watches, bearing in mind all of them are finished to high standards, compared to other swiss brands like Tudor (who make 200,000 watches per year) and Breitling (who make 150,000 watches per year).

Omega might only make watches in Switzerland but it does have multiple facilities, more than most Swiss watch makers which enables them to produce more but still maintain high standards. It’s hard to know exactly how many watches Omega make per lineup but there are rough estimates.

Take one of their most famous watches of all time, the Moonwatch, they roughly produce 10,000 Moonwatches per year. However, they make more than 190,000 watches in their seamaster line per year.

This is because it takes a lot longer to make a chronograph movement and because of the added complex nature of it, hence they cannot make as many as a simpler dive watch with only a time and date function. But Omega does try to spread the amount of hours it can spend making watches evenly across its different ranges.

A fair way to make their watches and it then naturally means the watches that are easier and less complex to make will have a higher production output compared to the their more complex watches.

Omega Seamaster Diver 300M with white dial on a white rubber strap, on the wrist above a pool

Omega De Ville Tourbillon in Sedna gold with black dial on a black leather strap in its box

Specific models of Omega watches

If you’re looking for one of the more special pieces from Omega, like a tourbillon, they make very few of them due to the incredible length of time it takes to produce one of them. The intricate dial, exquisite movement and case all take extra time to make as they do a lot by hand. Omega have estimated that when you buy one of their tourbillons, you can look down on your wrist and know it has taken over 500 hours to produce this watch. You can also now begin to imagine why brands such as Pattek Phillipe, Audemars Piguet and A Lange und Sohne make so few pieces per year when all of their timepieces are handmade! Watches like the Omega de ville tourbillon require watchmakers to have plenty of experience as well before constructing a masterpiece like, small things like this add to the incredible quality.

If ever you've searched the production numbers for a watch brand you may have noticed that Rolex produces more watches, around 1 million a year, compared to Omega’s half million a year production. Yet Omega owns more facilities and larger ones at that than compared to Rolex so how does Roelx manage it? We are not here to dare enter the debate of which is better because they are two different brands that make very different watches, but what we can say is on average it takes longer to make an Omega than it does a Rolex. This does not make one brand better or worse than another, it just means its outputs will be different. If you look at a Rolex submariner and an Omega seamaster professional, look at the dials, the case and the bezel and see which one you think has more detail. More often than not you’ll see that the Omega has more groves on the dial, more swapping case lugs and finishings on it compared to the Rolex which will add to the time it takes to produce the watch.

Omega Seamaster Diver 300M with white wave dial and black ceramic bezel on a steel bracelet, on the wrist

To summarise, you’ve now seen that Omega produces around 500,000 watches per year which makes it one of the highest producing Swiss watch brands. With its enormous facilities Omega has the ability to produce many watches but more importantly across their entire range, not just thousands of simpler watches and only a few complex ones. Additionally they also make very complex watches such as a tourbillon, for a watch brand based in Switzerland that can produce high volumes of high quality timepieces but still offer the pieces like a tourbillon is nothing short of impressive. Omega also happens to be a brand we take care of more than anyone else when it comes to a perfectly fitted rubber strap. Our rubber straps are designed to hug your Omega’ case perfectly and comfortably sit around your wrist, so if you're looking to make your watch sportier or to give your bracelet a break from all the wear and tear, head over to the ZEALANDE website to get yours today.