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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesOmega’s new Bienne factory, opened on 2 November 2017 at the company’s historic headquarters site, brings watch assembly, bracelet work, shipping, stock, training and quality-control processes together in a five-floor building. Its automated systems handle storage and some repetitive tasks, while craftspeople continue delicate assembly and assessment. It is a production and logistics hub—not evidence that every Omega movement or component is made there.
What the Bienne factory does
Swatch Group announced the building’s opening on 2 November 2017. The company says Omega has worked at the Bienne site since 1882; that history describes the location, not the origins of every part in a modern Omega watch. The new building was designed to bring assembly, training, quality control and technical control into one place. Swatch Group’s opening announcement quotes Omega president and CEO Raynald Aeschlimann describing assembly and testing processes combined under one roof to improve efficiency. That was the company’s stated aim, not a published measurement of productivity gains.
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The factory consolidates several stages identified by Swatch Group: T2 for watch assembly, T3 for bracelets and T4 for shipping, alongside stock and logistics. Staff training is also among the building’s functions. This makes Bienne a place where watches and production operations are brought together, but the available descriptions do not provide a complete map of Omega’s manufacturing or suppliers.
How the building is organized
Swatch Group describes a five-floor building designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, with Swiss spruce construction and an indoor climate and energy concept. The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH’s 23 November 2017 report gives its dimensions as 70 metres long, 30 metres wide and 30 metres high, and describes a combination of Swiss spruce, concrete and glass. Those are published descriptions from 2017, not a current independent building or energy audit.
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The FH report also describes insulation, adjustable exterior shading, LED lighting responsive to daylight and movement, geothermal energy drawing on groundwater, and photovoltaic modules on part of the roof. Together these features were presented as elements of the building’s environmental and energy design.
Automated storage and the flow of work
A central, fire-protected automated storage system runs through three floors. Swatch Group reported that it holds more than 30,000 boxes of stock needed for watchmaking. The FH’s 2017 account adds that two vertical lifts operate at 4 metres per second and were reported to handle 1,400 operations per hour. It also reported an oxygen concentration of 15.2% in the automated storage area, compared with 20% normally, as a fire-protection measure. These figures are from the named publishers’ 2017 descriptions; no later independent validation of current operating conditions is established.
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Automation also supports selected production and inspection work. The FH report says robotic arms assist with repetitive jobs such as measuring, photographing, winding, moving and turning watches. Automated systems check watch identification and packaging documents, and robotic arms carry out laser engraving. This is a division of work, not a replacement of watchmakers: people still perform delicate tasks and assess results.
Where watchmakers and technicians remain essential
According to the FH’s 2017 report, craftspeople set hands and case finished watches, analyze test results and check component adjustment. These tasks depend on careful handling and judgment, alongside the repeatability of automated systems. The factory’s design therefore combines mechanized movement of stock and routine operations with skilled human assembly and assessment.
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Quality control and Master Chronometer testing
Omega and Swatch Group say the Bienne building houses quality and technical control processes, including testing for Master Chronometer certification. Their announcement characterizes the certification as a standard for precision, performance and magnetic resistance. The FH’s 2017 report says the factory had equipment for the eight tests it described and reports magnets capable of exposing watches to a 15,000-gauss magnetic field. That is the reported capacity of equipment at the factory; it should not be read as a claim that every model experiences that field in every test.
Bienne and Villeret have different documented roles
Swatch Group’s production-sites page, accessed 7 October 2026, distinguishes the Bienne facility from Omega’s Villeret site. The page identifies Villeret as a place where Omega produces timepieces and Master Chronometer calibres; Bienne is described in the factory material in terms of assembly, bracelets, shipping, logistics, training and quality control. These descriptions clarify the documented roles of the two sites but do not establish a complete account of where every watch component is made.
Can visitors tour the factory?
The sources describing the production building do not establish whether public tours are currently available. Do not assume that the manufacturing facility is open to visitors or book a tour on the basis of its “inside” coverage alone.
Quick Recap
Sources
- Swatch Group, “Omega’s newest factory is opened,” 2 November 2017.
- Swatch Group, “Swatch Group production sites,” accessed 7 October 2026.
- Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH, “Nouvelle manufacture Omega,” 23 November 2017.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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