Coming up is my 40th birthday and I'm scratching around for inspiration for a long-term watch. I just popped along to my local high-street jewellers to see what they had. The first one had a secondhand but recent Rolex Sub for about £4k that was in mint, unrestored condition, with box + papers.

Although it felt and looked lovely, Rolexes have always left me a bit cold so I walked on. I'd consider a birth-year Rolex but I'm nervous about buying something so special without really knowing what I'm doing.

The second jeweller was the typical provincial, contemporary, luxury boutique. On show they had the yawningly-familiar Breitlings, Tags, Omegas etc. that many people assume are the pinnacle of the luxury watch market. Initially I wasn't going to stay long, but the shop owner pulled out a couple of Breitlings and some Omegas to show me. The Omega that caught my eye was a black/steel Speedmaster Chrono with Omega's Co-axial movement.
http://www.omegawatches.com/gents/speedmaster/moon...
I'm not overwhelmed by the understated styling but the feeling of the movement and the technical qualities reeled off by the shop manager were impressive. The same movement is available in the Planet Ocean Chrono, whose styling appeals a lot more:


I'm sitting here wondering what exactly I want from a watch at this sort of level, and I've started feeling that Omegas might be a bit like my Audi: Perfectly good, capable, competent and with a reassuringly expensive price tag. But they seem soul-less and - dare I say it? - dull. I wonder whether I'd regret choosing an Omega instead of a more off-beat brand once the initial excitement has faded. I still love my Audi for all its qualities, but it doesn't excite me any more. I wonder whether I'd get more pleasure from owning a watch with none of the aspirational facets to its brand: no tie-ins to fictional British spies, or overbearing sponsorship of action sports. Those links put me off more than they encourage me.

Browsing Jurawatches.co.uk I'm constantly drawn to Sinn and Fortis, and I love my Hamilton Khaki GMT that I wear every day. I'd welcome thoughts and opinions from people who've got Omegas at this sort of price level and from people who chose something else instead.

Don't spend that kind of money. Buy a 2500-series (previous model) Planet Ocean for about £1500; that'll get you a one-owner, B&P minter with bracelet. You'll need a few hundred more for the chrono, but I'd stick with the classic three-hander myself. Watch nerds can (myself included) work themselves up into a froth about the new 8500-series movement and the screwed links, but personally I don't like the new liquidmetal bezel and couldn't justify the massive price difference.

As for how it feels, my PO XL has supplanted my PAM164 as my daily beater. Mind you, I drive an Audi...

964Cup you're bang on.

OP, don't drop a wad of cash on something that doesn't do it for you. Keep on looking, you'll know when you find it.

Strange. It has an interesting movement but screams Chinese design. Seamaster bezel + Railmaster hands + Ploprof hands.

If you aren't overwhelmed by the style and it is only the practicalities of the technical abilities of the watch that is doing it then perhaps it is not the watch for you.

Personally I would go for something a bit less common than the Rolex/Omega/Tag for a 40th birthday.

i've had seamasters and speedmasters,i always thought of them as 'nice' but not 'special' if you get my drift. i have 2 fortis,a fliger chrono and a standard white faced fliger, these are 'keepers' and get worn a lot more than the other 40 odd in the safe.i love the fact they arent as well known as omega(i've never seen another being worn yet in 6 yrs of ownership)still have compariable levels of craftmanship and quality feel to them,i love the history of the company as it is again compariable to that of omega(space missions).however,i have a breitling navitimer also,which to me,is my 'meca' of timepeices,it gets a lot of wrist time and never fails to give a feeling of being 'special'.
i would agree that the omegas are a bit 'audi'
i would put the fortis as being a bit leftfield,that bit rarer,maybe a clk amg black?
i would put the navitimer as being classic but not blingy,maybe E type jag.

Branding is a double edged sword sometimes I think; brands can easily jump the shark and put people off by their associations but by and large the majority will take things at face value and 'buy into' that association - but are the people being 'put off' also throwing the baby out with the bath water and are the people buying being 'easily led'?

Take Omega, their lineage is impeccable in that they have been a continuous watchmaker, their history is replete with association to NASA and the Space Program, quite genuinely. They have started making their own movements and are making a genuine advancement in 'horological' terms.
The down-side is they also have an association with a film brand (which strikes some as a bit cheesy) and they are so damn popular - not common but within that price bracket they are almost a default choice and basically it's a watch that can be bought in any high street.
So, do you regard or disregard the 'brand'? Do you look at the watch itself or do you dismiss it as being 'too common', 'too easy', 'not special enough'.
Is the image influencing you negatively just as much as it is intended to influence the majority positively?

Here's my take on it. It's all about considered, personal choice.
First of all I'd say know what you like and what you don't like. This may involve a bit of thinking/looking.

For example, and this is a personal take on a watch I haven't really studied but know vaguely: Things I like about the PO Chronograph; firstly the work they've done with the movement and all that escapement stuff. Secondly I like the way they've got the chronograph information laid out - look at the hour and minute chronograph hands on the same subdial in a 60' scale - very inuitive, quite different from the bulk of chronographs and shows some thought has been put into it. I like the fact it is a relatively uncommon luminous chronograph - although reading them in the dark may be a different matter. The dial is quite sparten for a chrono which I like, but I'm less sure about the use of orange, especially on the '12'. I like the arrow hands on older watches but I don't like them too much on modern watches. The pushers are interesting with their differing finishes but I'm really not keen on the extra HEV crown. The hands sit sensibly on the appropriate markers and it is nicely symmetrical with the date at 6 o'clock...

I could go on for ages about case, dial, bezel, finish, full lume vs bordered lume, raised indices vs. printed etc etc but I think you get my drift.

Once you've looked hard at it like that and compared it to other watches and disregarded the brand entirely you'll have a better idea on why you would enjoy having it. Then, at least, you can go for it with your own mind made up about whether it is a good watch or not, irrespective of how the brand, or other people to some extent, inform you.

You've had a look at Sinn for example, for me personally they strike some very resonant chords in terms of eye-ergonomics, attention to technical detail, in-depth engineering and sober functional design. They aren't (all) driven by in-house or fettled mechanisms, just quite common, mass produced ones, but do you know what? They are reliable, sensible and solid movements all the same; nothing special but do the job well. Again, I could go on and on here...

But anyway, these are some of my thoughts, based on my priorities and experiences, but I do think the more effort that people put into judging and deciding what they like and don't like then the more they'll get out of their purchase, whatever the brand happens to be.
My only caveat is 'x' factor, sometimes you just see something and go 'oh yeah' without really knowing why, or you get an affliction which means that you start to admire one particular feature or make or movement and can over-look many a rational fault, but by that stage, you are beyond help..

There's only one person you have to please though...

ETA - wow, I didn't know they were that much...there's a whole world of choice at that amount OP, good luck!

Thanks, andy_s. That''s a very useful, considered post and I appreciate your input.

I've got an Omega and an Audi!

In all fairness, i knew which one i wanted for about 15 years before i got it and the Omega was the watch my Dad owned and was always really fond of, so i guess that played a part in the process.
ETA: Just to clarify, it's not my Dad's old Omega, That would have been nice, had he not lost it at sea!

I've got a 14 years old Omega Seamaster quartz JB and a Jaguar! Neither really get any comments which is great because I'm not seeking any! Both are very reliable and do an excellent job.

I also have a Porsche, as in a Porsche Design PO 11 watch which I've had for maybe 10 years or so. Occasionally it gets a comment or two, sometimes a glance with a quizzical look. Maybe only the anoraks acknowledge what's on my wrist.

Personally I really like the option of wearing either the Omega or the Porsche, so maybe the OP should spread his resources around and get two "watches of distinction"!

R.