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I don’t get why Omega would do this - my initial reaction is it’s dilutive to their brand and I’m happy I’ve never bought one.

pkulak 5y ago
Huh. So you're glad you didn't buy a really expensive watch that people may no longer think is really expensive?
- CydeWeys 5y ago
  There's no mistaking the Swatch for the Omega for anyone who has any clue about watches at all. The Swatch has a plastic case and comes on a Velcro strap, for starters. But even beyond that, many people who're into watches really don't care what other people think about them.
  - throwawaycities 5y ago
    > and comes on a Velcro strap Fun fact, the real Omega Moon watches given to the Apollo astronauts was also a Velcro band.
    - throw0101a 5y ago
      Plenty of folks also put their watches on NATO and Zulu straps if they think they'll be in 'rough and tumble' situations: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVSWOkxrXjo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVSWOkxrXjo
  - serf 5y ago
    >But even beyond that, many people who're into watches really don't care what other people think about them. that's been precisely opposite of every interaction I've had with watch enthusiasts. in fact, that's been opposite of every interaction I've had with any luxury-goods enthusiast, cars/watches/planes/art , you name it; if it was expensive and rare you're likely going to hear about the purchase at lunch. people don't tend to want to bring up their new 9 dollar Casio or their 1997 Corolla, go figure.
    - CydeWeys 5y ago
      I guess we hang in different crowds then. It sounds like you're hanging out with people who are big on showing off and projecting wealth, rather than real watch nerds who are in it for the "love of horology".
      - alephnan 5y ago
        This. OP’s username checks out though. I’m around people who spends thousands on a single garment from brands that the unacquainted wouldn’t know about, but the trained eye can tell the difference. There’s a saying in fashion, “if you know, you know”. Some people just like well designed and nice clothing, and yes, they want to look cool, but they don’t need people to know it’s expensive. It depends on what OP think of as “luxury”. Maybe for fashion, OP will think of Louis Vuitton, Gucci, but those are Veblen goods as other commenters have mentioned. Ann Demeulemeester, Raf Simons, Dries Van Noten, Maison Margiela, basically all the Antwerpen fashion designers are equally expensive as those “luxury brands”, but the untrained eye would not recognize them. Dover Street Market, not Sak’s Fifth. Vacheron Constantin is an analogy with watches ( in terms of brand familiarity ). With this said, the real elitism is the people who buy expensive stuff with the intention of being esoteric or that people don’t understand/recognize. > people don't tend to want to bring up their new 9 dollar Casio or their 1997 Corolla, go figure. But people do bring up what’s great about Toyota. I think you’re projecting. I’ve spent $200k worth of men’s wear over the past 5 years, but I’ll still praise and highlight Uniqlo, especially Heatech. It just happens to be that stuff from H&M and Zara is trash. And niche, therefore expensive, products are making an interesting or artistic statement, whether that is functional or not. No one is buying these thousand dollar watches for the function. A Toyota is about function. It’s literally designed to be utilitarian, and utilitarian is usually not the most provocative as with art.
throwmeariver1 5y ago
xyzzy_plugh 5y ago
I don't understand this sentiment. I own an Omega Speedmaster and I could not care less that they did this. It's great. They look great. Don't worry, I just went to check, and it's still a good watch.
- astrec 5y ago
  Likewise, although I own a Seamaster. To most people it's just a piece of jewelry and might as well be from Fossil. Those who know, know. Other than the occasional fascinating conversation about what's in their collection, I don't know why it should matter they know (a partial truth given I once lived in Hong Kong where to a certain class it did matter, but generally speaking it does not). This collaboration won't change that.
- ApolloFortyNine 5y ago
  >I don't understand this sentiment. You are paying a substantial premium for the name Omega on the front of the watch. Here is one website that can give you an idea of how much a watch should cost built out of premium materials, but not with a luxury brand name. Steinhart watches being a great example of quality from a non luxury brand. [1] No one really believes the parts that make up a Rolex Submariner are worth $12000. It's worth that much because it's a Rolex. You can actually buy quality forgeries for under $1000 that you'd likely need to take apart the entire watch to prove it's a fake. [1] https://us.gnomonwatches.com/ https://us.gnomonwatches.com/
  - hef19898 5y ago
    I'm more like a TAG Heuer guy, so. Partially because I could never justify Omega's prices for myself. I do love mechanical watches, once I had a chat with specialized limited-edition mechanical watches dealer. Man, did he have nice ones. He also appreciated those non-limited edition ones being worn everyday. I would never ever buy a new Rolex. Maybe a really old one, an antique, but not a new one. To cite the famous actor Nicolas Cage from the master piece movie Gone in 60 Seconds: "I saw three of the at McDonalds yesterday. And that tells me that there are too many people with too much money and not enough taste in this town". Rolex, to me, is like a golden Bentley, only their to show even the poorest dude that you are rich. Money doesn't buy taste or style so. Some Rolex are nice, most seem to be bought by people only to show of wealth. Not to judge so, because there are certainly enthusiasts out there that own the Rolex of there dreams.
jp0d 5y ago
Omega is owned by the Swatch group.
asjldkfin 5y ago
I agree, but to be fair: 1. It has generated significant attention- which has value. 2. Like a BMW 1-series, I imagine the idea is that once people have the "beginner" version, they'll aspire to upgrade to the real thing. It gets people "on the boat". 3. Rolex sells a cheaper version of their flagship watch under the Tudor brand- it's virtually identical and hasn't diluted Rolex's brand value. 4. The funky colors is probably less to do with style and more a guarantee it'll never be confused for the "real" version. That all said, I would definitely still be salty if I owned a Speedmaster. But I applaud Swatch for making bold and interesting moves- which doesn't exactly happen much in the luxury industry.
- throwmeariver1 5y ago
  Salty about what exactly? Put it in words please.
  - asjldkfin 5y ago
    Because it’s a marketing stunt involving an investment I made; an investment I made with the implicit understanding there’ll be some protection for the brand’s dignity.
    - throwmeariver1 5y ago
      How would the brand lose "dignity" by doing a coop with their mother brand? Do you perceive the value of a OMEGA watch by the marketing instead of the watch making?
      - asjldkfin 5y ago
        Let's not be naive, if the market gave a shit about substance over marketing, we'd all be wearing Seikos and driving Toyotas.
        throwmeariver1 5y ago
        I still don't understand what you mean with the loss of dignity what is the loss of dignity? Do you mean that the arbitrary value you put on OMEGA watches should not be compromised by offering a cheaper version?
throwawaycities 5y ago
Omega (along with all other luxury Swiss watches) have had record years/sales since the the lockdowns started in 2020. Omega specifically can’t meet demand and while that might sound like a good problem to have, they can print these moonSwatches, I’m sure the upside to this is significantly greater than any perceived knock on their luxury brand. The industry is talking about this as a marketing tactic to get new watch buyers in the market, but I think that is a bigger unknown than any potential perceived dilution of the brand only if because retail has prepurchased Omega’s future production for the foreseeable future.
CydeWeys 5y ago
A real Omega moonwatch is so different from the moonswatch that it's not a substitutable good at all. No one who was previously interested in buying a real $6k+ moonwatch is going to instead buy the 1/25th price Swatch and call it a day. The Swatch is an homage to the real thing. Homages are common in the watch industry (look at, e.g., the Invicta Pro Diver vs the Rolex Submariner), and here we see a conglomerate leveraging its lower-priced brand to profit off an homage to its own brand rather than leaving that exclusively to others (see e.g. the Pagani Design Speedmaster).
- smackeyacky 5y ago
  FYI if anybody cares, the Invicta Pro Diver might not be a Rolex, and some watch guys will openly mock you for putting a NATO band on one, but it's a fine watch for the price and gives you 80% of the look without having to gamble on a replica if you can't/won't buy a Rolex. I like mine a lot.
wdb 5y ago
I think this is a brilliant idea. I can imagine this would be a fantastic start watch for the younger crowd. Much better than the Rolex shenanigan that's going on their were a mass produced $6.000 costs you $35.000. People are starting to look for alternatives for Rolex. Why $35k when you can get a nice Patek or Lange for the same price with much better build quality and finishing?
- decafninja 5y ago
  Isn’t a Patek even more impossible to obtain than a Rolex?
  - hef19898 5y ago
    A Patek is for guys who want to impress the Rolex guys.
  - wdb 5y ago
    That's not my experience as long you don't want the Nautilus etc.
    - decafninja 5y ago
      But can't the same be said for Rolex as long as you're not after their more popular stainless steel sport models? While not "easy" per se, you could probably score a precious metal or two-tone Rolex at a dealer without a ridiculous amount of difficulty. I'd say you could get a SS Oyster Perpetual or DateJust (barring certain exceptions - i.e. the Tiffany dial) without too much difficulty too, unless things have changed drastically in the past few months.
nowherebeen 5y ago
Market segmentation. People that buy these watches are more likely to buy an Apple watch than a >$40k watch. The people that do will still buy it for fun sake. It might slightly dilute their brand, but the cash cow is going to be massive to justify. This is the same strategy used by single malt whiskey brands. They have bottles that defined them as company, but they also sell tons of un-aged whiskey to the mass audience. They gobble it up because it's got the brand name. Most of their revenue comes from these lower end, higher margin whiskeys.

pkulak 5y ago

Huh. So you're glad you didn't buy a really expensive watch that people may no longer think is really expensive?

CydeWeys 5y ago
There's no mistaking the Swatch for the Omega for anyone who has any clue about watches at all. The Swatch has a plastic case and comes on a Velcro strap, for starters. But even beyond that, many people who're into watches really don't care what other people think about them.
- throwawaycities 5y ago
  > and comes on a Velcro strap Fun fact, the real Omega Moon watches given to the Apollo astronauts was also a Velcro band.
  - throw0101a 5y ago
    Plenty of folks also put their watches on NATO and Zulu straps if they think they'll be in 'rough and tumble' situations: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVSWOkxrXjo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVSWOkxrXjo
- serf 5y ago
  >But even beyond that, many people who're into watches really don't care what other people think about them. that's been precisely opposite of every interaction I've had with watch enthusiasts. in fact, that's been opposite of every interaction I've had with any luxury-goods enthusiast, cars/watches/planes/art , you name it; if it was expensive and rare you're likely going to hear about the purchase at lunch. people don't tend to want to bring up their new 9 dollar Casio or their 1997 Corolla, go figure.
  - CydeWeys 5y ago
    I guess we hang in different crowds then. It sounds like you're hanging out with people who are big on showing off and projecting wealth, rather than real watch nerds who are in it for the "love of horology".
    - alephnan 5y ago
      This. OP’s username checks out though. I’m around people who spends thousands on a single garment from brands that the unacquainted wouldn’t know about, but the trained eye can tell the difference. There’s a saying in fashion, “if you know, you know”. Some people just like well designed and nice clothing, and yes, they want to look cool, but they don’t need people to know it’s expensive. It depends on what OP think of as “luxury”. Maybe for fashion, OP will think of Louis Vuitton, Gucci, but those are Veblen goods as other commenters have mentioned. Ann Demeulemeester, Raf Simons, Dries Van Noten, Maison Margiela, basically all the Antwerpen fashion designers are equally expensive as those “luxury brands”, but the untrained eye would not recognize them. Dover Street Market, not Sak’s Fifth. Vacheron Constantin is an analogy with watches ( in terms of brand familiarity ). With this said, the real elitism is the people who buy expensive stuff with the intention of being esoteric or that people don’t understand/recognize. > people don't tend to want to bring up their new 9 dollar Casio or their 1997 Corolla, go figure. But people do bring up what’s great about Toyota. I think you’re projecting. I’ve spent $200k worth of men’s wear over the past 5 years, but I’ll still praise and highlight Uniqlo, especially Heatech. It just happens to be that stuff from H&M and Zara is trash. And niche, therefore expensive, products are making an interesting or artistic statement, whether that is functional or not. No one is buying these thousand dollar watches for the function. A Toyota is about function. It’s literally designed to be utilitarian, and utilitarian is usually not the most provocative as with art.

throwmeariver1 5y ago

xyzzy_plugh 5y ago

I don't understand this sentiment. I own an Omega Speedmaster and I could not care less that they did this. It's great. They look great. Don't worry, I just went to check, and it's still a good watch.

astrec 5y ago
Likewise, although I own a Seamaster. To most people it's just a piece of jewelry and might as well be from Fossil. Those who know, know. Other than the occasional fascinating conversation about what's in their collection, I don't know why it should matter they know (a partial truth given I once lived in Hong Kong where to a certain class it did matter, but generally speaking it does not). This collaboration won't change that.
ApolloFortyNine 5y ago
>I don't understand this sentiment. You are paying a substantial premium for the name Omega on the front of the watch. Here is one website that can give you an idea of how much a watch should cost built out of premium materials, but not with a luxury brand name. Steinhart watches being a great example of quality from a non luxury brand. [1] No one really believes the parts that make up a Rolex Submariner are worth $12000. It's worth that much because it's a Rolex. You can actually buy quality forgeries for under $1000 that you'd likely need to take apart the entire watch to prove it's a fake. [1] https://us.gnomonwatches.com/ https://us.gnomonwatches.com/
- hef19898 5y ago
  I'm more like a TAG Heuer guy, so. Partially because I could never justify Omega's prices for myself. I do love mechanical watches, once I had a chat with specialized limited-edition mechanical watches dealer. Man, did he have nice ones. He also appreciated those non-limited edition ones being worn everyday. I would never ever buy a new Rolex. Maybe a really old one, an antique, but not a new one. To cite the famous actor Nicolas Cage from the master piece movie Gone in 60 Seconds: "I saw three of the at McDonalds yesterday. And that tells me that there are too many people with too much money and not enough taste in this town". Rolex, to me, is like a golden Bentley, only their to show even the poorest dude that you are rich. Money doesn't buy taste or style so. Some Rolex are nice, most seem to be bought by people only to show of wealth. Not to judge so, because there are certainly enthusiasts out there that own the Rolex of there dreams.

jp0d 5y ago

Omega is owned by the Swatch group.

asjldkfin 5y ago

I agree, but to be fair: 1. It has generated significant attention- which has value. 2. Like a BMW 1-series, I imagine the idea is that once people have the "beginner" version, they'll aspire to upgrade to the real thing. It gets people "on the boat". 3. Rolex sells a cheaper version of their flagship watch under the Tudor brand- it's virtually identical and hasn't diluted Rolex's brand value. 4. The funky colors is probably less to do with style and more a guarantee it'll never be confused for the "real" version. That all said, I would definitely still be salty if I owned a Speedmaster. But I applaud Swatch for making bold and interesting moves- which doesn't exactly happen much in the luxury industry.

throwmeariver1 5y ago
Salty about what exactly? Put it in words please.
- asjldkfin 5y ago
  Because it’s a marketing stunt involving an investment I made; an investment I made with the implicit understanding there’ll be some protection for the brand’s dignity.
  - throwmeariver1 5y ago
    How would the brand lose "dignity" by doing a coop with their mother brand? Do you perceive the value of a OMEGA watch by the marketing instead of the watch making?
    - asjldkfin 5y ago
      Let's not be naive, if the market gave a shit about substance over marketing, we'd all be wearing Seikos and driving Toyotas.
      - throwmeariver1 5y ago
        I still don't understand what you mean with the loss of dignity what is the loss of dignity? Do you mean that the arbitrary value you put on OMEGA watches should not be compromised by offering a cheaper version?

throwawaycities 5y ago

Omega (along with all other luxury Swiss watches) have had record years/sales since the the lockdowns started in 2020. Omega specifically can’t meet demand and while that might sound like a good problem to have, they can print these moonSwatches, I’m sure the upside to this is significantly greater than any perceived knock on their luxury brand. The industry is talking about this as a marketing tactic to get new watch buyers in the market, but I think that is a bigger unknown than any potential perceived dilution of the brand only if because retail has prepurchased Omega’s future production for the foreseeable future.

CydeWeys 5y ago

A real Omega moonwatch is so different from the moonswatch that it's not a substitutable good at all. No one who was previously interested in buying a real $6k+ moonwatch is going to instead buy the 1/25th price Swatch and call it a day. The Swatch is an homage to the real thing. Homages are common in the watch industry (look at, e.g., the Invicta Pro Diver vs the Rolex Submariner), and here we see a conglomerate leveraging its lower-priced brand to profit off an homage to its own brand rather than leaving that exclusively to others (see e.g. the Pagani Design Speedmaster).

smackeyacky 5y ago
FYI if anybody cares, the Invicta Pro Diver might not be a Rolex, and some watch guys will openly mock you for putting a NATO band on one, but it's a fine watch for the price and gives you 80% of the look without having to gamble on a replica if you can't/won't buy a Rolex. I like mine a lot.

wdb 5y ago

I think this is a brilliant idea. I can imagine this would be a fantastic start watch for the younger crowd. Much better than the Rolex shenanigan that's going on their were a mass produced $6.000 costs you $35.000. People are starting to look for alternatives for Rolex. Why $35k when you can get a nice Patek or Lange for the same price with much better build quality and finishing?

decafninja 5y ago
Isn’t a Patek even more impossible to obtain than a Rolex?
- hef19898 5y ago
  A Patek is for guys who want to impress the Rolex guys.
- wdb 5y ago
  That's not my experience as long you don't want the Nautilus etc.
  - decafninja 5y ago
    But can't the same be said for Rolex as long as you're not after their more popular stainless steel sport models? While not "easy" per se, you could probably score a precious metal or two-tone Rolex at a dealer without a ridiculous amount of difficulty. I'd say you could get a SS Oyster Perpetual or DateJust (barring certain exceptions - i.e. the Tiffany dial) without too much difficulty too, unless things have changed drastically in the past few months.

nowherebeen 5y ago

Market segmentation. People that buy these watches are more likely to buy an Apple watch than a >$40k watch. The people that do will still buy it for fun sake. It might slightly dilute their brand, but the cash cow is going to be massive to justify. This is the same strategy used by single malt whiskey brands. They have bottles that defined them as company, but they also sell tons of un-aged whiskey to the mass audience. They gobble it up because it's got the brand name. Most of their revenue comes from these lower end, higher margin whiskeys.