Watches - another OCD problem
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I think the author is over-complicating things. It simply is an issue of supply and demand. Rolex is faced with a large demand for their steel watches. In commodities spot market, this issue would be resolved by increasing prices first, then maybe raising production. Rolex is a luxury product and cannot afford to have their prices change too widely. They also remain an exclusive brand so they don't want to flood the market. They may also choose to maintain a scarcity situation in their low margin steel watches to push customers to buy precious metal.
The dealers have to decide what to do with watches that they know would sell at a higher price on the gray market. They also know that many of their customers will resell their watches right away, but they don't know which ones.
I'm not sure what the solution is.
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I dropped by the local Omega boutique last week, and they had the new Seamaster Professional 300M in. It's a nice looking piece, although the ceramic bezel is a real fingerprint magnet, as the photo shows. I think that my favourite dial is the grey, which features in the Time and Tide review, but that was in the shop window, and I didn't want to trouble the staff to get it out.
The Seamaster is about 30% more than the omnipresent Black Bay. I think that it's a step up in materials and finishing and worth the extra money over the Tudor, a point that doesn't go down well with Rolex fanboys.
The He escape valve is so ridiculous that I just can't get behind this watch. Also ridiculous on the rolexes but at least there's no unsightly protrusion there. Even under the extraordinarily unlikely circumstance that someone is saturation diving with the watch there are better ways of handling the issue.
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I agree that the helium escape valve is pointless. I think that it's become a bit of a box-ticking exercise.
I used to have a Breitling, and that had a flush mounted, automatic one. Given the watch was water resistant to a thousand metres, I'm sure that Omega could engineer something more elegant.
@Syd nice Panerai!
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I agree that the helium escape valve is pointless. I think that it's become a bit of a box-ticking exercise.
I used to have a Breitling, and that had a flush mounted, automatic one. Given the watch was water resistant to a thousand metres, I'm sure that Omega could engineer something more elegant.
Right, Seiko had never had one and believes that needing one is a sign of inferior case design Z-snap
Just another thing to break and maintain and in Omega's case ruin the aesthetics of the watch.
While I'm on my rant, all the script on the topic of diving features on Rolex dials is also obnoxious. The worst offender is that godawful ring on the Deepsea, though at least that model ditches the cyclops.
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I agree that the helium escape valve is pointless. I think that it's become a bit of a box-ticking exercise.
I used to have a Breitling, and that had a flush mounted, automatic one. Given the watch was water resistant to a thousand metres, I'm sure that Omega could engineer something more elegant.
Hasn't Omega decided that this is a design signature for the Seamaster line, pointless and ugly though it may be?
And I have a Dievas watch that also has a flush mounted, automatic HEV. It's only water resistant to 500 meters, but it also retails for less than half what an Omega or Breitling does, so I guess that's acceptable.
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Clearly.
Here's an alternative I prefer: SBEX005
Not sure I'm sold on the screws on the bracelet at the case though.
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@mclaincausey - I hate to do that to you, but look at the date window and tell me whether it's correctly centered between the 4 & 5 o'clock markers…
This being said, I like it too...
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@mclaincausey - I hate to do that to you, but look at the date window and tell me whether it's correctly centered between the 4 & 5 o'clock markers…
This being said, I like it too...
Also not sure I like the black BG on the blue face, but excellent point. A surprising miss for a company who usually pays attention to detail.
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I've always liked the Planet Oceans, but that one is especially nice looking. I'm not thrilled with the decision to print a novel on the face, copying one of Rolex's worst design choices.
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Like Chris, I like the PO. I'm not bothered by the He valve. Yes, it's useless, but then again, a mechanical dive watch is an exercise in anachronisms and & pointless over engineering…
I do like the steel and Ti models better than that one, and I find the GMT a bit too ... well ... over engineered and a tad busy.
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The HEV doesn't bother me either (obviously). I actually don't get why people get so hung up on it. You already have an almost identical crown at 3 o'clock…?!?
"I have an ugly crown at both 3 and 10 o'clock but I only hate the one at ten because it's a second one.."
The PO GMT is almost as tall as it is wide...wore it for two seconds before saying "NOPE"
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My dislike for the HEV is more that it's become a design statement rather than an engineering solution. I find rotating bezels more annoying because they get knocked out of position all the time, and that bothers my OCD tendencies.
To be fair I'm not a fan of divers watches for that reason, plus I'm not allowed to go scuba diving on account of my asthma, so they seem pointless.
As for Omegas, they tend to be quite thick watches. The Planet Ocean is typical of this.
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The He valve carries cost in terms of initial outlay and maintenance and does nothing but weaken the case for a diving use case that will never be realized for 99.999% of these watches, when better case engineering would solve the problem. We didn't have the materials when these were pioneered that we do now. It is wholly an obsolete and pointless feature.
It's also ugly but that's not the main issue. It's not "just another" crown, it's asymmetric and throws off the balance of the watch.
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My dislike for the HEV is more that it's become a design statement rather than an engineering solution. I find rotating bezels more annoying because they get knocked out of position all the time, and that bothers my OCD tendencies.
To be fair I'm not a fan of divers watches for that reason, plus I'm not allowed to go scuba diving on account of my asthma, so they seem pointless.
As for Omegas, they tend to be quite thick watches. The Planet Ocean is typical of this.
At least with the bezel there are non-diving use cases as well as being a backup to a diving computer. I use my bezel to time things occasionally, which is why I also like chronographs.
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I disagree with that. Everything on my watches has a function that I use. There may be MORE practical options but they are practical.
Practicality is A, not THE, priority for me. Aesthetic balance is too.
