Swatch X Omega

Cienciano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118838745#Comment_118838745

I'd find it difficult to believe it sells at that price

breadmond

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118840556#Comment_118840556

As opposed to what brands? The luxury watch market is 95% based on rich sheep who just want a status symbol on their wrists.

I personally think that this was a very savvy move from the swatch group. The amount of PR this has generated will get thousands of young people who probably never thought about Omega watches before looking into the brand. Outside of the dedicated watch enthusiasts the vast majority of the younger generations never give watches a second thought beyond Rolex (which they'll probably never own in the current market) and smartwatches.

It's also very refreshing to see a brand releasing something that's desirable and honestly very nice without it being a limited edition that will only be available to a select few.

I saw someone earlier in the thread sniffing at Casio but honestly that's probably the main brand other than Rolex that any person under 30 knows anything about. If I was them I'd be releasing a few premium versions inspired by the F91/A158 as these have actual street cred and I could see a metal a158 in silver or gold doing very well for around €100

dakar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118840556#Comment_118840556

In fairness, if the Damasko is for general farm work, and the PP is for feeding cattle, surely this would fit in the watch box for sheep?

Unless Sweedmaster catches on as a nickname, in which case it’s strictly tillage…

Wibbs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118840735#Comment_118840735

I saw someone earlier in the thread sniffing at Casio

That was probably me Bread. ☺️ I was much more sniffing at the so called "watch experts"(bugger all of them are. Nearly all newbie wideboy horse traders) talking about Casio as "god tier" to cynically make them seem more grounded and living in the real world by namechecking a "cheap" brand aimed at those in the 30-40 years old bracket. Before the watches for fun and profit hype took off the same BS on a smaller scale was going on years ago about brands like Seiko and Vostok, and Swatch too.

Casio were and are the mainstream quartz watch. The G-Shock concept was one of the big innovations in watches of the last century and in the 80's and 90's Casio was king and as you note even today are still in the minds of those under 30.

Anjobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118840556#Comment_118840556

“Through quiet reflection, and great dedication

Master the art of karate

Lo, we shall rise up

And then we'll make the bugger's eyes water

Bleating and babbling we fell on his neck with a scream

Wave upon wave of demented avengers 

March cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream”

Be careful, sheep may not be all they appear…

funkyouup

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118840790#Comment_118840790

Its a slippery slope, next we will have lads milking the cows wearing reverso's.

scwazrh

Calling @893bet .. Can you educate this post about the proper watch attire for working around the farm ??

Nolimits

Has anyone here actually seen these in person? On other forums etc, anyone who has seen them have been almost universally disappointed, I've seen them described as looking like kids watches a few times.

893bet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118841663#Comment_118841663

I would be a laughing stock on the farm in that! Cows would piss and **** and **** themselves more than normal.

893bet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118841720#Comment_118841720

Was that the goal? The hope for omega owners to buy these for their kids to try lock in the next generation?

I don’t think so. We are looking at this from the Omega point of view so obviously the watch quality won’t measure up. I think the focus is on elevating swatch a bit.

scwazrh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118837961#Comment_118837961

“Maybe Swatch have decided to back out of the mid tier as luxury segment competition?”

I never thought of it that way but it makes sense. Omega can’t win against Rolex who have until the last few years always been their main competitor .With Tudor moving in to metas certified movements they are going to be their competition and my money will be on Tudor surpassing them.So maybe be the plan is to take over the lower value market and possibly come back to the luxury end as a long term plan with a more solid foundation.

Wibbs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118841820#Comment_118841820

It could also more insulate them from the inevitable grey values market reset and just the general fashion changes that occur over time. AP's RO is "In" at the moment, it was pretty much nowhere on the radar three years ago. IWC were once riding high and are near invisible today. Panerai were hype central for a time too. Further back it was Brietling and TAG.

Models like the Sub and Speedy were always solid background "good watches" largely immune to fashion trends down the years(up until prices went daft tthey had always been my two main goto models when non watch people asked me what to get). Now Subs are front and centre and Speedies are a bit of a mess of "special editions".

IMHO Rolex would prefer they went back to always solid background watches selling a million a year, without the hype, and with the ability of actula customers to buy them at retail. Grey prices do little for Rolex and the lack of supply is a negative for actual retail customers who will become jaded and peak fashion always results in jadedness anyway.

Omega's luxury end will keep selling, with only the "true collectors" getting twitchy about the Swatch thing and they'll get over that too. The Swatch tie in massively expands their market and marketing and leaves the door open to others from the Omega range and other Swatch brands. Plus they're a lot cheaper to make and volume prodution likely means a decent twist on profits too. Plus they can gear up new models much more quickly than with mid and high end mechanicals.

Nolimits

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118841776#Comment_118841776

I don't think anyone looking at it was expecting an Omega for €250 and yet almost universally they came away disappointed.

I'm just saying, it might be best to go see one in person if at all possible before buying.

scwazrh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118842104#Comment_118842104

I think that’s exactly what people are expecting . It’s a moonwatch for €250 and it says omega . When they have it in their hand and realise it’s a hunk of plastic they will be disappointed .

blue5000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118840658#Comment_118840658

I think the same could be said for a lot of consumer goods. I happened to watch a video on YouTube about a guy buying a pallet of returns to Amazon, he was raving about what a great deal he got when he found a pair of ear buds ‘worth’ $200.

It made me realize that 99% of the tat sold by Amazon is crap that nobody really needs. This watch is in the same category IMHO. I am looking forward to meeting someone wearing an Omega and asking them if that’s one of the new Swatch watches.🤪

scwazrh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118842226#Comment_118842226

Obviously plenty of morons out there so .Would this hype be there if omega wasn’t written on it ? Of course not , people think they are getting a moonwatch for 250quid .I’d gamble that in the hand it feels like exactly what it is .

As for thinking people are stupid .. maybe watch the video you posted earlier and make your own decision.

scwazrh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118842329#Comment_118842329

So because people do the same thing for trainers and phones it makes it acceptable?You really think it’s like this to get a swatch ?Take the blinders off and think about it logically, swatch could have done anything they wanted and still not achieve these results .It’s the omega connection that is making it a success.People are buying a cheap watch associated with an expensive watch and an expensive watchs’ history..No one is going to buy more omegas because of the swatch association.Wait and see how many people post online about being disappointed with it.

Wibbs

For the craic I went on ebay to look at actual auction results on these things and ah jaysus... 😮😀

Now that's a brace of them, but the general current "value" appears to be around a grand each. It seems the Sun, Moon and Mars versions have a premium above that.

The Power of the New. The new iPhone/Apple product effect. As OmegaSwatch, sorry Gene 😜 notes same for runners and all sorts of consumer stuff out there. And yep it'll get Swatch a fair chunk of cash into their tills and have some spillover into other models in their range.

Now I think it's daft. Many would, but as we've seen over the last few years it's not just limited to cheap placcy fashion stuff. You see similar daftness with some women's handbags* and other fashion items. At one time the "values" of pashmina(sp?) scarves were going nuts. No doubt there would be those who look down on people paying a grand for a placcy Swatch who are willing to put down what ten, fifteen times retail?(I can't keep up) because they just have to have a plain looking Rolex that has a tacky dial that also happens to be kinda, sorta the same colour as Tiffany blue. But isn't. It's an investment y'know... Well it was if you bought it at retail.

There's now queer as folk as they say.

*on the you're paying for quality front; I've a book about the place detailing Italian mafia types and their operations and a part of that are fakes. Whole chapter devoted to them. One of the ways to spot some of the fake handbags and shirts and the like was they were better quality and more handmade than the real deal. Plus some of the Italian companies when they were stretched for stock supplied real labels on the quiet to some of these mafia outfits to help with production. Another example was a guy who was a dressmaker and a mafia type asked him to make up something slinky for him. he dressmaker assumed it was for this guys bit on the side because the measurements were smaller than this guy's wife who he'd met. A month later his daughter was watching some US awards show and started shouting for her da to come and watch. And there was some famouse celeb wearing the Houte Couture get up he had knocked out on his kitchen table.

griffin100

With those prices I imagine the fakers are starting to churn them out already. The sooner Swatch get these online the better for them I think.

Bateman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118841820#Comment_118841820

To what degree are Omega and Rolex "rivals"? What Omega products compete with the Sub or the Seadweller, say?

Flinty997

While I like the idea of the cross over. There are other Omega designs I like better than this. I'd prefer to spend that money on Seiko or Citizen I really like for a daily. I know that's not the point of this Swatch but that's the way I'll feel about it.

Wibbs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118842947#Comment_118842947

Omega certainly seem to think they are, or want/wanted to inhabit the same space on wrists and perceptions. QV the cringeworthy James Bond exchange of Craig's first outing as the the titular hero; Rolex? No, Omega. Niiice. I feel dirty now... 😁 Now when that flic came out in what 07? Their prices weren't too far apart and Swatch was positioning Omega as their "mid tier luxury brand"(Breguet/Blancpain as their "high end"), firmly having Rolex in their sights and getting a piece of that pie(IWC and Panerai also inhabited that segment back then). Slapping one on Jimmy Bond's wrist was one of their opening salvos and no doubt an expensive one.

Now things have changed a lot in the interim. IWC and Panerai are nowhere, Omega have stayed roughly the same with their various edition Speedies and Seamasters, RRP prices have gone up across the board and in the last five years or so Rolex grey market prices have gone insane in the membrane. The whole hobby has gone far more mainstream, youtubed and insta hyped and what men are willing to spend has also gone up quite considerably. Patek, Lange, AP, VC and the like were on few radars back then, but since the mid tier RRPs have gone north and Rolex grey prices have gone into orbit, many ended up in the "hang on why should I pay 20k for a secondhand Rolex when I could get into Patek, VC etc for not much more?" And could actually just walk in and buy one without offering their bare arse to the salesman and buying half the expensive trinkets in the bloody shop so they could get the nod on The List(tm), or deal with some horse trader wideboy and pay multiples of RRP, while the wideboys sell mostly to each other driving up the ponzi scheme. Of course now the same VC's and Pateks of this world have been sucked into that black hole too.

So for the average collector, even the very well heeled one looking to get into such pieces and the hype and the instalikes too, the market IMHO has gone too rich, too crazy. This is were I think the Swatch group angle with Omega and Swatch is very clever and why I reckon they're distancing themselves from this arms race and almost certain deflating bubble.

So you're an average punter out there hoovering up the 'Tube and Insta watch scene, but you can only look on for the most part(ages ago I went into the Pride and Pinion subreddit and the vast majority of guys watches pictured were cheap and cheerful Seikos, Chinesium or "god tier" Casios). Maybe you're someone who got into that higher end, spent big chunks of your hard earned and now are wondering what's next and the sniff of ponzi is a concern, never mind the ever increasing buy in. In a few weeks Rolex will be releasing new models. Well when I say new, it's Rolex here, so a slightly different colour bezel and different writing on a dial, slightly different case size. AKA a rehash of the last forty years, but there will be hype. OHMIGOD, the rehaut has a slightly different finish!! And you still won't be able to walk into an AD and buy the bloody things for all the flippers.

Along comes the OmegaSwatch Speedy; in loads of colours so mucho choice and can build a collection, two well known and respected brand names on the dial, mainstream hype near unheard of in watches(I'll bet this will be bigger and more mainstream than Rolex's coming new model rollout), hard to get for the moment, queues around the block all on social media, top level Instabait likes, likely decent supply coming in a month or two, a good chance IMHO of more of the same internal homages to top end Swatch group stuff, non pretentious*, no need of reference numbers and all that nonsense, fashionable and cheerful and likely to kick off a wide community out there, younger, hipper and with more women, who actually own the things and it just knocked the Rolex hype off the top of the charts. For 250 quid. IMHO this is a master stroke from the Swatch group.

*Earlier I saw in my youtube feed the Oirishman in Venice come up and he was bemoaning all this hype and this is the same man pimping Franklin Mint tat that ticks for thousands...

Interestingly i got the wife an expensive Louise Vuitton bag years ago and it has appreciated considerably since as the manufacturing standards then were better. Its bullet-proof and so far is working out at less than 100euro per year and still looks new.

Ditto a z5500 speaker system. This is a highend system, the 1st by the manufacturer, built to Bang and Olufusan specs but sold cheaper to get market share and recognition. They didnt take off but sell circa 5 to 10 times the price second-hand.

So how the fup does a fun cheapo quartz get resold for such high prices?

mrcheez

Nice.. I'm assuming these will be "normal" price available by October anyway? Will set a reminder to myself to pick up a Mars for my bday - or maybe the family can group together on getting one for me ;)

njburke

Anyone else wondering if the modding crowd could franken one of these moonswatchs into a steel case? The Chrono pushers are an additional complexity and the watch may not come apart that easily.

scwazrh

Headlines like that from mainstream media sources in the US are what makes the general public think they are getting an Omega .

Fitz II

I dont think people think they are getting a Omega....but they are getting a cheap hype watch. Sure Omegas are easy to get, and people dont queue up at omega boutiques to get new seamasters, speedmasters etc. So its something that neither swatch or omega can offer on their own. Its the collaboration of having a swatch priced watch, with Omega looks and co branding.....but mostly people smell a easy few quid profit and like the looser, shameless hungry dog's they are all hell breaks loose. Look at the demographic....mostly young fellas trying to get a little piece of this watch scene they see so much of. I doubt they care about Omega much at all.

Flinty997

It's a fun watch. A cheap hype watch. On trend etc. Nothing wrong that.

Wibbs

Belay my previous example from EBay. We have a new peak of mentalism 😯😂

Surely these are mostly flippers for fun and profit? OK you'll have a few who need that dopamine hit from a wristshot in insta or WUS, but c'mon... I'm not up to speed, but isn't a Speedy reduced not much more than that?

God be with the days when I bought my only Speedy, pre moon too, for 5 or 600 punts. And I thought that was taking the mickey. 😁 Considering values since there are a few watches I sold back in the day that leave me with bruises on the back of my head from kicking myself... Though TBH I just didn't get on with them inc the Speedy(just didn't sit on my wrist right, lovely watch otherwise, very accurate), so unless I misplaced one down the back of the couch I would have sold them sooner rather than later anyway. The only watches I timed on the nose to sell and made hay on were a couple of very early Rolex Oysters and one was defo a redial. Tapped out at their peak, or close enough. Pure dumb luck. Shows what I bloody know investment wise. 🤷‍♂️ But even I can tell the above "values" are mad as a March hare on dodgy blotter acid.

Cienciano

People are chancing their arm with those prices. Fair play to the flippers, if they queued for 2 days and can get 3 or 4 times the money, good luck to them. Have to question the sanity of the people spending the money on a plastic watch though