Watches - another OCD problem
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My wife and I were at the fancy mall the other day and I went into the Omega boutique to kill some free time. Now I have very mixed feelings about Omega’s boutiques…. First, although I like Omega watches and have owned several, their recent pricing and distribution strategies (boutique model) have left me cold. Case in point I bought a Speedy Moon in 2008 for ~$2750 or so. It’s now $5400 with no discount through their boutique. Their salespeople also dont know bum diddly about watches, Omega brand history, or anything else really. So that being said I wouldnt buy a watch from Omega direct unless I wanted to piss away a discount and 10% in taxes.
At any rate, I went in to look at and try on a RailMaster. Like a lot of you, I dont like fauxtina but I do like the case size, legibility, and the tool watch stylings. If I do buy one, it’ll be in the Caribbean, duty free and at a discount. I just cant stomach paying an extra $1200 for the prestige of buying from an Omega branded store.
But in the store, it’s shocking how much stuff Omega has put their name on.....glasses, travel goods, perfume, and jewelry. Pure overpriced drivel...stick to watches Omega I thought. So I headed to the exit and saw.... this killer braided black nylon bracelet with titanium hardware. Kind of cool I guess....might look good on my wrist.... It locked me in like a tractor beam.
Long story short, I broke all of my rules and plunked down the cash for it. It’s completely overpriced, ridiculous, and otherwise awesome. My wife was surprisingly all for it too.
You win this time Omega….
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I’m really surprised nobody is talking about this one
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/omega-speedmaster-caliber-321-stainless-steel-ed-white-introducing
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Could be the $14,000 price tag [emoji37]
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It's a shame. I like the 39.7mm size, and the ceramic bezel. I'm fine with the old movement, and then they had to fuck it up…
Agreed [emoji26]
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My wife and I were at the fancy mall the other day and I went into the Omega boutique to kill some free time. Now I have very mixed feelings about Omega’s boutiques…. First, although I like Omega watches and have owned several, their recent pricing and distribution strategies (boutique model) have left me cold. Case in point I bought a Speedy Moon in 2008 for ~$2750 or so. It’s now $5400 with no discount through their boutique. Their salespeople also dont know bum diddly about watches, Omega brand history, or anything else really. So that being said I wouldnt buy a watch from Omega direct unless I wanted to piss away a discount and 10% in taxes.
it's fairly standard for luxury brands and luxury watch brands to increase prices year on year due to inflation. whether or not a boutique discounts them is entirely up to the ADs to decide. it's been 10 years on. generally it's roughly a 10% increase year on year for most luxury brands. a rolex submariner back in 2008 would roughly be about 5-6k i reckon, a far cry from the 10-11k today..
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Yes but I dont think it was that gradual. It was a limit the supply chain and then jack up the prices move. Not related but Rimowa did the same thing 2 years ago. A 600$ trunk went to 950$ almost w/i 2 weeks.
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Yes but I dont think it was that gradual. It was a limit the supply chain and then jack up the prices move. Not related but Rimowa did the same thing 2 years ago. A 600$ trunk went to 950$ almost w/i 2 weeks.
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i can't say i've followed omega's prices closely enough to know how often . the increase was. but based off the past 10 years for rolex, i can safely say it's almost been a year on year increase for certain models that i follow closely. which is usually a sub or gmt..
omega's new models are starting a very weird trend. it is almost as though they felt the need to keep up with rolex and wanna be like them. felt as if you saw a cool kid in school and tried very hard to imitate and be like that person. which i felt have caused them to lose their identity..
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@Anesthetist the Railmaster with the blue dial doesn't have any fauxtina on it. Here it is on the denim strap.
@DougNg I like the Speedy with the 321. The price is about the same as the Daytona at retail, but with a hand assembled movement, and the possibility of actually getting one without paying over the odds on the grey market!
Omega seem to be doing some interesting stuff. There was the ultralight Aqua Terra a few months ago (which seems hideously overpriced, but I love it), the wrist chronograph with the revived movement, and updating the Speedmaster to their Master Chronometer standard.
Speaking of chronographs, I'm liking the newly announced Zenith Defy 21 Land Rover edition. More details at Hodinkee.
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I don't see any value added to having the movement assembled by hand, by a single watchmaker. It smells of marketing BS to justify low volume and high prices.
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I don't see any value added to having the movement assembled by hand, by a single watchmaker. It smells of marketing BS to justify low volume and high prices.
Looking at the photos of the 321, it seems better finished than the 1871, though not as fine as a haute horlogerie piece by the likes of Patek or Vacheron. (There's a comparison shot between similar Omega and VC movements in this article at Hodinkee.)
I think that the labour cost is an excuse to push the price up, but Patek have built a business out of doing that.
I get the appeal of the 321, but it's not on my shopping list. I'm glad that it exists, though.
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That’s amazing Giles. Congrats!
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I have done a little bit of research, the black dial one which is ref 3710/1a is probably a better watch. It retains the original monoblock case design (more modern version have a 3-part case with sapphire caseback), and is only 8mm thick even though it has the IZR complication….
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I don't see any value added to having the movement assembled by hand, by a single watchmaker. It smells of marketing BS to justify low volume and high prices.
It is bull. You can regulate a £28 Russian hand wound watch to be 2 seconds a day out, not service it for ten years and it still bloody runs fine lol. The Swiss are professional con artists
