The Olympics is without a doubt one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world, a true display of human physical and mental potential. It is also the world’s oldest sporting competition, dating back to Ancient Greece. Accurate time keeping is absolutely essential, and since 1932 the Olympics Committee has chosen one company for the task: Omega. Yes, you heard that correctly. Omega watches.

A Brief History of Omega

Omega is a luxury watchmaking company which was established in Switzerland in 1848. Prior to being chosen by the Olympics for timekeeping, the company had already been selected by the Royal Flying Corps of England in 1917 as official timekeepers, and would later be chosen by NASA in 1969.

Although Switzerland is home to many notable watchmakers, the watchmaker specialized in Chronometry, which allowed them to design watches that are ultra-precise. The company frequently competed in Observatory trials, performing exceptionally well. For many years, the brand produced more chronometers than any other company in the world, and played a key role in a number of innovations.

Omega At The Olympics

1932 marked the first year in which a single company was given sole responsibility of timekeeping for the Olympics. Omega distributed thirty chronographs which were calibrated with exceptional precision, which at the time was revolutionary since previously most watchmakers could only produce watches which were capable of only 1/5^th the accuracy. Earlier timekeeping attempts resulted in various inconsistencies which for the Olympics was unacceptable.

By the time, it came on the scene they were capable of producing pocket watches which were outfitted with chronometers which were Neuchatel Observatory certified, and had an accuracy of 1/10^th a second. They also featured functionality for split seconds.  Electronic devices had not yet been invented for judging (this task was still done completely by humans), so it was necessary to deal with both human error and bias. Each of the judges was given an Omega watch, which allowed them to accurately measure the time individually.

Timekeeping Developments

By the late 1940s Omega begin to display even more technical advances for the Olympic Games. World War 2 had recently ended, and many of the technical advances discovered during the conflict were applied to timekeeping. At the St. Moritz Competition in 1948, Omega for the first time introduced a timing system which was photo electric, which was nicknamed Magic Eye. In London it was used in conjunction with a camera featuring a photo finish, and was so advanced that it removed the need to use humans for timekeeping.

The equipment Omega representatives brought to St Moritz weighed an estimated four tons, or nine thousand pounds. The team consisted of five men who setup portable offices which could be used to shift between the different event stages. By 1952 Omega introduced the Time Recorder, a system which consisted of a quartz powered, electronic chronograph combined with a rapid speed print mechanism that allowed Omega to time events and print the result within 1/100 seconds.