February 26, 2025
Decades of Technical Evolution - Henri Gerber & His Opus at Omega (1928-60s)
Marcus Siems @siemswatches
Collector, Author, Data Analyst
When was the last time you described your watch vividly? Going on and going, blathering about all the details, concepts and trivia associated with our precious collectible. How the rotor sounds, the lugs bend or the dial plays with the light... But do you know the people working towards our haptical, visceral, auditory and visual pleasure (or displeasure)? Our love and appreciation for these objects is not only felt but also made by humans.
We start to learn more and more about designers ([Genta], [Rubeli], [Grima]) and case maker ([steel], [Geneva], [La Chaux-de-Fonds]). But how much do you know about the executives, visionaries or inventors of these watches? The technical staff behind some of the most innovative products of 20th Century horology is mostly forgotten. And it's a pity as today the same type innovators, the mechanical masterminds, are celebrated heroes shaping the future of technical evolution and guiding personal tastes ([George Daniels], [F.P.Journe], [Daniel Roth], etc.).
So why don't we start with Henri Gerber?
What do these two have in common? They're both made by Omega, are both yellow golden and on top both feature movements developed under the supervision of Henri Gerber - Technical Director at Omega between 1928 to the 1960s. Photos Goldammer Archives.
1) Henri Gerber - the Man
Gerber was born 1899* and already in young years a talented watchmaker ([source]) and finished watchmaking school in 1919. His school watch - a superbly decorated silver pocket watch chronograph - was handed in at the 1921 Neuchatel Observatory chronometer contest as No. 1402 and certified ([source])! He ultimately claimed the title of technician-watchmaker ("Horloger-Technicien", [source]). The journey took him to Omega where in 1928 Gerber took over as new Technical Director and would oversee the innovations from one of the most important Swiss watchmakers for over 30 years.
Henri Gerbers schoolwatch from 1919. It is a silver pocket watch chronograph with tulasilver decorations, enamel dial and Geneva striped movement finishing. The watch was certified as chronometer No. 1402 at the 1921 Neuchatel Observatory competitions. Photos Courtesy of Cortrie Auktionen (BidSpirit).
2) Omega 30T2 - The Workhorse
Gerber would help bring to life countless watches and technological marvels throughout the years but I want to narrow the focus on some of the most pivotal generations of movements that came out of the manufacturing halls in Bienne. And every vintage Omega collector knows the famous cal. 30T2...
It is a 30.5mm wide example of sturdy, easy to regulate, and manually wound ingenuity. Developed by Henry Kneuss, Henri Gerber's second in command, and introduced in 1939 it was extremely successful out of the gate: The British Ministry of Defence ordered 110,000 examples throughout WWII, which catapulted the 30T2 to be Omega's biggest contract at the time ([source]). In relation that's about 10% of Omega's total output during the war years.
Early example of an Omega cal. 30T2 SC (center-second) from 1939. This example comes with a nice black gilt dial with orange colored printing and Roman numerals. Photo from Goldammer Archives.
The 30T2 stayed steadily in production until 1963. In 1949 it was renamed into the 260 (sub-second) and 280 caliber family (center-second). Over its 24 years of existence about 3,000,000 cal. 30T2 were made in total ([source]). It is thus as long lasting as Gerber himself.
3) Omega 300s - The Bumper Evolution
Only four years after the manually wound 30T2, Omega launched their first automatic movement - the 30.10 and 28.10. Potentially inspired by the success of Rolex's automatic watches Omega and Gerber approached Charles Perregaux in 1942, who lead the Bienne team to automatic glory by summer 1943 ([source], [source]).
A late 1940s example of an Omega bumper-automatic watch: A ref. 2481 with cal. 351 center-second. Photo Goldammer Archives.
The problem that Perregaux and Gerber had to work around? Rolex held the patent for the 360 degree full-rotational system - the standard layout for automatic watches till this day - and thus the issue was not only to built any automatic movement but one that wouldn't infringe any patents. The so-called bumper was the perfect workaround. Introduced already several years earlier by John Harwood ([source]) the rotor would hereby not rotate a full circle (360 degrees) but between 200-270 degrees and "bump" into springs attached to the watch case.
A 1950s example of an Omega bumper-automatic watch: A ref. 2493 with cal. 332 sub-second. Photo Goldammer Archives.
Interestingly, Gerber and the Omega marketing team would turn the faith of the "inferior" technology around. First of all Gerber himself supposedly liked the bumper idea - the rotor was heavier and could more easily wind the watch ([source]). Second, the peripherally attached bumper-rotor meant that the the movement and thus the fully assembled watch could be held a lot thinner than the Rolex equivalent. The bumper style watches - already on the high-end side of the catalogue - were actively marketed as "thinnest automatic watch available in the world today" ([source]).
However, a powerful and heavy rotor also meant that the impact of the bumper on the case would result in a massive shock to the movement and the hairspring. Here, we see the mind of Henri Gerber shine: Already in 1946 Gerber would hand in a patent for a new system to secure the movement within the case (US2623350A) enabling heavier rotors without compromising on accuracy.
1948 advertisement for the 100th anniversary of Omega and the "Centenary" watch - a bumper automatic piece described in the text ([source]) as the "thinnest automatic watch ever produced". Advertorial Courtesy of HIFI Archiv.
The bumper movement family was renamed in the new Omega system of 1949 into the 300 family: 330s (30mm, sub-second), 340s (28mm, sub-second), 350s (28mm, center-second). It remained in production until the mid-1950s and over 1,300,000 bumper movements were made, including over 500,000 chronometer certified examples ([source])!
4) Omega 500s - The Full-Rotor
But, as we know now, no matter how clever you design a bumper, the full-rotor technology was the future. Rolex's patent protection was lifted during the early 1950s ([source]) and several brands were swarming the market. Among them was Omega and Henri Gerber who presented their first full-rotor automatic watches in 1954 ([source]).
One of the most elusive and well-known early full-rotor automatic watches from Omega - the pre-commercial ref. 2850 Seamaster XVI with the cross of merit for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. This one comes with smaller cal. 471. Photo Goldammer Archives.
These initial full-rotor movements fall in the 500 caliber family and were envisioned by Marc Colombe and Eduoard Schwaar, under Gerber's supervision, and later updated with an improved balance spring by Jacques Ziegler. The very first member of that family was (surprisingly) the smaller sized cals. 455 (16mm women's size) 1953, and 471 (25mm) in 1954 and followed suit by the 500 in 1955 (28mm) ([source]). The 500 was however not only larger but displayed several other improvements like a swan-neck regulator, beryllium balance and a flat balance spring ([source]).
An early full-rotor Omega Constellation - the ref. 2852 in yellow gold with arrow markers and pie-pan dial. Photo Goldammer Archives.
Combine all of these features and you'll see how far ahead Omega has been in the implementation of innovative materials. The Constellation - a collection that featured only the creme de la creme of Bienne's watchmaking artistry - was extremely popular during the 1950s and in part due to the 500 family (patents CH317190, 331275).
Another part of the success however was that Henri Gerber understood that a top-notch watch does not only need to be accurate but also durable. During the 1950s you'll thus also find many watches equipped with another invention from Gerber - a specialized rubber gasket that can be fitted into screw-down as well as snap-on case-backs (patent CH315164, [source]).
One of the most dramatic vintage watch advertisements and one of my personal favorites (ref. 14365 DeLuxe originally delivered in a sterling silver box). "Racing with the stars" is a testimonial to the unparalleled accuracy of the Constellation collection that stays as unaltered as the motion of the celestial bodies. Advertorial Courtesy of HIFI Archiv.
The 500 series ran for a good 6 years until 1960 and amassed a total of 1,075,000 pieces many of them chronometer certified. The 500 series was in 1958 succeeded by the 550 series - the last major movement project for Henri Gerber under the helm (in collaboration with Marc Colombe; around 5,800,000 calibers made until 1969 [source], [source]).
5) Gerber's Legacy
After almost four decades Gerber passed the torch to Alfred Rihs as the new Technical Director in the mid-1960s ([source], [source]). Henri Gerber might not be as known as other figures in the vintage watch world but under his supervision and direction Omega stipulated itself as a power house of reliability, accuracy and wearability (see also [here], [here], [here]). From the late 1930s to the 1950s 50% of RAF aircrews were equipped with Omega watches ([source])! Around the same time Omega went through the period when waterproofing first became a hot horological topic (see also the Marine, [here], [here], [here]) and soon the new normal.
During the 1950s we would also see the height of the arms race towards the most accurate and precise movements at the Observatory competitions ([source], [source], [source])**, and commercially Omega would be responsible for somewhere between 30-50% of the issued chronometer certificates annually ([source]).
One of - if not The - rarest Olympic watch ever made. A 1956 XVI Seamaster 2850 pre-commercial with black enamel dial! Photos Courtesy of Carese Antique Watches.
Finally, let's not forget one particular Omega marketing stunt that we might frown upon today but that roots in a grand coup during the early years of Henri Gerber's tenure: Olympic watches. In 1932, exactly one Olympic cycle after Gerber took office, Omega started their timekeeping responsibilities for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles ([source]). And as corny as it may be today, this title held weight 93 years ago.
However subtle the nuances might be, the influence of Henri Gerber and his vision for Louis Brandt's brand is verifiable... through patents, collaborations and assignments Gerber shaped Omega through vital decades of growth. You may never have heard the name before but Henri Gerber is probably as important to modern watchmaking as any other figure of the last Century.
Footnotes
* There's another Henri Gerber (1869-1938) that came to some horological fame as a chronometer regulateur, and a quite masterful one (1st chronometer certificate in 1904, 1104 in total over his 30+ years with 544 chronometer prizes & 22 first prizes! [source]). He's often mentioned as being the same person but as you can tell from the period is not. I can however neither confirm nor deny any family relations to Omega's former Technical Director.
** before Quartz watches would ultimately dominate this race forever ([source]).
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