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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Omega’s caliber 9300 assembly line was in Grenchen, Switzerland, according to a factory visit by Robert-Jan Broer and Bert Buijsrogge published by Fratello Watches on December 1, 2014. Their account describes an automated carrier system moving movements between workstations, where employees installed components, measured results and made adjustments. It is a historical report—not confirmation of how Omega assembles movements today.
What the visitors saw at Grenchen
Broer and Buijsrogge said visitors put on white coats and hair covers before touring the facility. The parts arriving at the line had already been manufactured and finished; the line they visited assembled those parts into movements.
An automated carrier system transported each movement through a series of workstations. Employees installed components at multiple stations, took measurements and made adjustments. The visitors also reported automated laser measurement and said the measuring and calibration equipment had been developed in-house. These details describe the line as observed in 2014, not verified current practice. Fratello Watches’ December 1, 2014 visit report
How automation and hand work were combined
Swatch Group’s 2012 annual report describes a dedicated Grenchen line for 9300 and 9301 chronographs. It says robots handled repetitive operations, while work requiring more know-how and a human touch was done by hand. The report also identifies traceability as a benefit of automation. Its description is corporate reporting from 2012, not a current production specification. Swatch Group Annual Report 2012
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The two accounts present automation as part of a mixed process: carriers and some measuring operations were automated, while people performed assembly and adjustment work. Neither source provides a verified annual output or throughput figure for the line.
The reported route to COSC and back
In the 2014 visit account, a movement was boxed at the end of the described line and sent to COSC for chronometer testing. A temporary dial was fitted for visual checks. After the movement returned to Omega, the report says the dial and hands were removed and the rotor installed. This is the sequence reported by the visitors; it should not be taken as confirmation of Omega’s present procedure. Fratello Watches’ visit report
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During the visit, the authors were also invited to fit two barrels and their bridge to a movement. That hands-on moment illustrates the assembly work described in the article, but it does not establish that every movement or current production run follows an identical sequence.
Caliber 9300 and the 9301 distinction
Fratello’s report says the caliber 9300 was introduced at BaselWorld in 2011 in the Seamaster Planet Ocean Chronograph and Speedmaster Co-Axial. It describes the 9300 as a Co-Axial, column-wheel chronograph and reports its use in stainless-steel and two-tone chronograph models. The article says gold Speedmasters used caliber 9301, with a gold rotor and bridge. Those are the comparison points supplied by the report; it does not establish broader differences in performance or present-day availability. Fratello Watches’ visit report
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The same report identifies a silicon Si14 balance spring and a balance wheel made from a special alloy with a DLC treatment. An official Omega manual for one specific Speedmaster, reference 311.93.44.51.99.002, lists an automatic caliber 9300 and a 60-hour power reserve. That figure applies to the referenced watch and should not be generalized to every 9300-equipped model. Omega user manual for Speedmaster reference 311.93.44.51.99.002
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Omega’s stated reason for the Co-Axial escapement
The visit report reproduces Omega’s explanation from a 2011 caliber 9300 press release. Omega contrasts the Swiss lever escapement’s sliding contact with the Co-Axial design’s lateral impulses and smaller contact surfaces. In the sentence reproduced by Fratello, Omega links that design to reduced friction and wear on lubrication, and therefore to longer service intervals:
“The smaller contact surfaces and the pushing motion, as opposed to the lever escapement’s sliding motion, significantly reduce the friction in the escapement; thus there is less wear and tear on the lubrication, resulting in longer service intervals.”
This is Omega’s stated design rationale, as quoted in the 2014 visit report; it is not independent evidence of real-world service intervals. Fratello Watches’ visit report
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