Omega has a long history as being the official timekeeper of the Olympic Games and part of this partnership is that Omega has to come out with cool new designs every two years as well as open new boutiques so that people have actual access to Omega watches in whichever city is hosting the Olympic Games. These 2010 Games marks the 24^th time that Omega is the official timekeeper.

Next up are the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, hence Omega’s new and first storefront in this country. The store opened last Friday in the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel and features watches from $2,000 to as much as $400,000, but Omega brand president Gregory Swift expects the “heart” of the collection will be in the $5,000-to-$10,000 range. Included in this selection of Omega men’s watches and Omega women’s watches will be some limited edition Vancouver 2010 watches.

Omega hopes to generate millions of dollars in the four months that this new retail location will be open (it will close at the end of March 2010) and the company is putting all sorts of resources into facilitating watch sales, including a multilingual staff of about six people before the Olympics kicks off, and will then double its staff during the Games. “An Omega watchmaker will be on site at all times, with a fully outfitted bench that allows visitors to watch them do their detailed, precision work.”

Omega also has a history of endorsing Olympic heroes and celebrities and making them Omega Ambassadors. The following people are likely to be in Vancouver promoting Omega watches: George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Cindy Crawford, Michael Phelps, Sergio Garcia and Michelle Wie.

Currently, Omega has 75 flagship stores located throughout the world