– Birth of Grand Seiko company. 3180 caliber introduced, accurate to within +12 to -3 seconds a day. 45 hr power reserve. First Japanese watch to receive rating of excellence from Bureaux Officiels de Contrôle de la Marche des Montres. Built in Suwa Seikosha, Nagano prefecture, Japan.
1964
– Grand Seiko Self Dater introduced. Emphasis on practicality with a calendar function and water resistance up to 50 meters.
1967
– 44GS manually wound 5 beat watch developed with highest level of accuracy. Grand Seiko design philosophy developed. 62GS first automatic Grand Seiko made.
1969
– 61GS V.F.A. high precision model introduced, to explore the furthest unattainable limits of accuracy possible, with a monthly rate of +/- 1 minute.
1970
– After accuracy, GS’s next objective was size reduction. The 56GS was automatic and self winding, just 4.5mm in height.
1972
– 19GS V.F.A. Highest precision women’s watch developed. This mechanical watch delivered accuracy rate of +/- 2 minutes.
1988
– 95GS First GS quartz watch. Accuracy of 10 seconds per year, many times higher than other quartz movements.
1989
– 8NGS First GS with 10 bar water resistance.
1992
– 3FGS Grand Seiko quartz model for women with 10 second a year accuracy.
1993
– 9F8 series. Quartz watch with backlash auto-adjust, twin pulse quartz mechanism, instance calendar change, and super sealed cabin within case.
1998
– 9S5 series. First new mechanical caliber in 20 years with cutting edge production technology backing it.
2002
– 9S56 series. First GS watch with fourth hand representing GMT.
2003
– Anti magnetic watch with 40,000A/m level of resistance developed.
2004
– 9R6 series. The advent of the Spring Drive caliber with accuracy of +/- 1 second per day.
2006
– 9S67 series. A mechanical caliber watch delivering superior power reserve level of 72 hours.
2009
– New hi-beat caliber, first for GS in 41 years. 9S8 delivers high precision and power reserve of 55 hours.
2014
– 9S86 caliber combines hi beat precision with GMT function.
2016
– Black Ceramic Limited Edition powered by Spring Drive developed with fully ceramic case. Spring Drive 8 Day power reserve.
Omega has earned the distinction of being the Official Timekeeper at the Olympic Games for at least 27 distinct occasions since 1932. They defined the very technology utilized to track world class athletes as history was being written. It was during the 1932 Olympics that for the first time, a single company was charged with the responsibility of timekeeping.
Before this time, several manufacturers would provide watches, only accurate up to 1/5th of a second. When Omega took over, they provided 30 chronometers which were accurate with split second functionality. The Chronocinema device was used to record finish times with up to 1/100th of a second accuracy. Unfortunately, it took hours to develop film to yield results.
Photoelectric cells were first used by Omega during the 1948 Olympic Games in London. At this tipping point, technology began to outperform humans with regards to accuracy and precision in timekeeping. The “Magic Eye” system provided a photo finish solution that performed like a dream. Race results could now be determined within minutes rather than hours.
Another historical device utilized by Omega during the 1952 Olympic Games was the Omega Time Recorder. This quartz driven chronograph mated with a high speed printer allowed both the keeping of time and printout of results with an extreme degree of accuracy. This timekeeping device was also portable and battery powered.
The Omega Photosprint was released during the 1968 Summer Olympic Games. This device linked race times to photography directly as the time was recorded onto the film strip. The film could be developed in under 30 seconds. The first false start detection technology was released by Omega during the 1984 Olympics.
It would display a runner’s reaction time, pin pointed to the moment the runner exerts a certain amount of pressure against the starting block. Omega would measure to verify that runners don’t takeoff prior to the starting signal. An auditory signal inside the starting blocks made all runners aware of exact race starting time.
In 1992, Omega provided even more accurate timekeeping with Scan ‘O’ Vision, which measured times to the nearest 1/1,000th of a second. It uses linear vertical recording with an integrated timer, making it a modern age photo finish camera used today. To the present day, Omega uses a wide range of time recording technologies including wearable technologies and photo finish cameras.
