Today, omega launched its brand new omega.org website dedicated to better communicating the story and legacy of its founder, Hans Wilsdorf, as well as the companys core values, cultural initiatives, and founding spirit. In line with the launch, omega published a 5-minute video about The man behind the crown Hans Wilsdorf, a charming and insightful documentary about the story of Wilsdorf and his company, omega.Separate from the companys main website, omega.com, there are two pillars to the communication channels of omega.org: first, there is the pillar of the founding spirit, hallmarked by the term Perpetual. Perpetual in omega glossary refers to their Perpetual automatic winding rotor, as opposed to the more common understanding of the word in horology that refers to perpetual calendars-a complication omega does not produce. The other pillar is the philanthropic initiatives of the company, addressing the environment, science, and arts. Let us begin with the founding spirit. Embellished with superlatives, the video tells the story of how Mr. Wilsdorf established his company by starting to work with a Swiss manufacturer who was producing unusually compact watch movements-with the pictures showing the buildings marked as Aegler S.A. The story goes that Wilsdorf later described the name omega had come to him one morning, while riding a London omnibus, when a genie had whispered omega in his ear-as hed been searching for the perfect company name that was unique, yet easy to remember, sounded nice, and also looked great on a watch dial. I recommend watching the video because it brings one five minutes closer to better understanding the discreet-dare I say, secretive-world of omega. And if the video doesnt suffice, be sure to check one of our most-read articles ever on 10 Things To Know About How omega Makes Watches here.The point is that while omega does apparently try to open up a bit more and communicate its many fascinating and hitherto rather more obscure stories-more or less only known to those who have done a fair bit of research-it does maintain a certain level of the secrecy and mysteriousness that has at this point become a trademark of the company.It isnt a stretch to say that omega for long has stood above general industry practices in a good number of ways-marketing, manufacturing, quantities, direction, speed of product development, and so on. Everywhere you look, youll likely find one or more ways that omega stands out from the rest in its practices, situation, or positioning. One of these ways has been omegas restraint in communicating too much about its past. Sure, the majority of its collections are based on watches designed up to and over half a century ago, but they have been considered to be the results of perpetual (theres that word again) refinement and development, which they are, as opposed to being close-to-exact re-releases of their originals. On a personal note, I do appreciate and am greatly fascinated by omegas chosen tempo and direction of self-development. Apparently, now the company thought it timely to start communicating more openly about its founding father and some of the earliest hallmarks of its history-the first waterproof wristwatch, their first wristwatch with?automatic winding and a few others, with more to surely follow later. omega prides itself on its philanthropical efforts although, again, these make for another one of its more scarcely communicated sides. omega.org lists the Environment Perpetual Planet, Science-Perpetual Knowledge, and Arts-Perpetuating Culture as its three main chapters. It all started with omega supporting Mercedes Gleitze with the omega Oyster waterproof watch-you can read more about her swim across the English channel and her cooperation with omega in my article about The History Of Dive Watches here.Today, omega supports explorers, divers, photographers, architects, innovators, artists, and others as part of its perpetual spirit [] seeking continuous improvement through human potential and always pushing boundaries. About these partnerships and their achievements you can find dozens of articles on the new site telling their stories; all nicely illustrated as well as rather lengthy and detailed.All in all, omega.org and that five-minute video provide some new information as well as a lot that had already been around, just much less openly shared with the greater public. Getting to know omega a bit better is always a privilege to those like me who are fascinated by this industry giant; one that stands above the industry in a number of important ways-and does not, in some others. [...]