I mentioned last week that my wife and I were in Switzerland for the weekend, I had wanted to take a trip to the Omega Museum for many years and the stars finally lined up correctly to make that possible for us. The kids stayed at home being entertained by Nanna and Grandad, just the two of us for a change, perfect

We were staying in Basel, which is a nice old city straddling the River Rhine, A very wide river which was notably running very, very high due to unprecedented rainfall in the region. Switzerland is beautiful and I believe a very good place to be a citizen, with a high GDP, high average salary and good infrastructure and social amenities but mein Gott is it expensive!!

I´m in hospitality and have never been anywhere like this....a coffee €5,50 ( And I´m not talking @Mad Dog DD 1/2 gallon, but a small European version!), €2 for a chocolate for with your coffee! Going out for dinner is wallet busting at the cheap end, with a simple pizza Margarita, burger and chips and 4 small San Miquel beers coming in at €83 . Shock inducing on middle ground, €23 starters and €50 mains and I believe substantial mortgages can be needed at the Michellin star level, which we thought it prudent not to test

Here are a selection of my photo´s, the museum rotates its exhibits on a regular basis, so perhaps some different pieces compared to other respectable member´s visits. Enjoy!





!920´s desk/shop chronometer and a lovely 8 day clock with Neptune´s fork hands and a maritime theme






Here a real 60´s looking desk clock, with golden nugget styling!



A nice pair of Cosmic TDMP´s





Cloisonne enamel





I think these stopwatches are modern and in precious metals, they were in a kind of annex with some other modern stuff.




A nice case of Seamasters with an Ultima and display material



Steel, black waffle and RG indexes



Stepped pie pan



I´m not sure of the reference, a lot of the exhibits weren´t labeled , which would be my only gripe, but looking good anyway on a golden 7077



Olympic 1956 enamel



I hadn´t seen this one before either, again I don´t know the reference but I want one! Great for a squirrel hunter like me with that massive acorn on the dial



Constellations






This one as I posted last week has a few, how shall we diplomatically say it.....issues








And here for a certain kind of 1950´s gentleman, not my cup of tea, but certainly a rare piece, a platinum and diamond Grand Luxe.



Unfortunately and slightly disappointingly there were no waffle or cloissone Constellations on display, maybe next time!

On to Part II..

 

My travel is very restricted (medical) at present. Seeing your pics has certainly given me lots of motivation to improve so that I could contemplate a similar trip. Thanks - good photos and notes.

 

Great post!

 

Thanks for all the great pics! I'll take that platinum Constellation...

When my colleagues from Belgium come to visit me here in the States, they can't get over how cheap the food is. A few years ago, I brought my then-boss to the nicest restaurant around and he was shocked that the bill after a very nice meal was under $100.

 

I was very happy to get back home where everything is about half the price or less than in Switzerland.

 

Fantastic report, Thanks for sharing

 

Hi cristos, reference the Olympic chronographs, you wrote "I think these stopwatches are modern and in precious metals, they were in a kind of annex with some other modern stuff."

This is shown in AJTT (Item 2540), dating from 1995, a limited re-issue edition (150 units) of the 24’’’ Olympic chronograph from 1932. This one has Cal.206. They were in yellow gold (Ref. BA 145.0064 – PIC 5400.10) and platinum (Ref. AT 145.0064 – PIC 5410.30) – precious metal as you say. There was also a skeleton version.

 

It's on my bucket list

 

That’s awesome! Thank you for sharing!

 

I gotta make my way there one day. Looking forward to part 2.

 

https://omegaforums.net/threads/visit-to-the-omega-museum-part-ii.42206/

 

Thanks for Sharing!

 

Thanks a lot for the post - definitely possible for me as I regularly visit friends in Switzerland.
FYI, it is certainly possible to dine without getting ripped off in Switzerland. But yes, prices can be exorbitant in some places.

 

@cristos71 wrote " the museum rotates its exhibits on a regular basis "

Looking forward when they completely rotate into the new location in a building across the street

 

I was here a week ago, took a European backpacking trip solo! I stopped by at Basel for Baselworld 2018 then I traveled across Europe, came back to Biel and stayed in an Airbnb(the guy hosting worked at Rolex). Walked through Bien, which the town was a museum on a good day in itself. Had an amazing time, and great for a final stop.

I spent 3 hours there easily, gawking at the watches and following the audio guide. Was an amazing experience. Took some photos, but they were phone photos so nothing professional!

 

Thank you for sharing..but still have to go to visit.

 

A definite must go. From my experience, Biel had the warmest/kindest people that I visited in Europe, except it was hella cold(nothing we're not used to here in Canada) and expensive. It's a town of watch enthusiasts since a lot of them are employed by watch makers. Definitely going back for my next Euro trip.