When it comes to museums operated by watch brands, the Omega museum in Bienne is definitely one worth a visit (and if you’re not planning a trip to Switzerland, there?s a website as well: www.omegamuseum.com). It is located just across from Omega HQ, admission is free, it?s open on Saturdays as well as during the week, and ? best of all ? you get to see hundreds of watches, clocks, movements, and instruments displaying more than a century of the brand?s fascinating history.
Of course, among all these exhibits are quite a few dive watches, given the Omega watch brand?s rich history in manufacturing watches for underwater use.
Along with a comprehensive lineup of past and current Omega Seamaster watches, we discovered four prototype watches on display at the museum that we felt were worthy of attention. Here they are, along with photos: 1. Super Compressor? case prototype

This ?Super Compressor? case prototype from 1969 with a 52-mm diameter and a flexible caseback intended to be used in helium-saturated environments. Probably because the Omega Seamaster 600 from that time was put ?through our helium test [?] This test showed that the 600 is one hundred times as air- and water-tight as the Apollo spacecraft.” Omega did not pursue the concept of a helium release valve further until the 1990s.
2. Omega Seamaster 1000 prototype

An Omega Seamaster 1000 prototype with a very unique bezel inlay and an unusual dial/hand combination. The watch was used by COMEX during...