Omega Omega or Omega.....

[BerksBoy]

Hi.

Very close to moving up from my 5 year old Tag f1 to a member of the Omega family...

And that's where I need some informed advice.

The Seamaster pro blue dial has caught my attention. However is it worth paying the extra and going from Quartz movement to automatic? (high street prices that's £1280 to £2180). In my mind, the "leap" from the Seamaster pro automatic to Seamaster pro planet ocean is only £200 more

Watch is for general day to day office and social wear... Anyone that can show me the value in quartz to auto and then to planet ocean would be a true gent. Or infact, the value in just getting the quartz SMP either

Cheers
RM

Edited by BerksBoy on Wednesday 21st July 15:58

Edited by BerksBoy on Wednesday 21st July 15:59

[ShadownINja]

You could buy secondhand from a forum (or risk ebay) or go to the likes of Austin Kaye, Blowers or watchfinder.co.uk and save about £6-700. The automatic will be more special although the quartz does feel nice. I think you need to try both. Also depends how much of a watch geek you are - if you are, then you'll already prefer automatics. May hold its value better, too.

[HereBeMonsters]

You've already got a great quartz watch there, get the auto.

(I have both, love them equally. I swear.)

[Incredible Sulk]

ShadownINja said:

You could buy secondhand from a forum (or risk ebay) or go to the likes of Austin Kaye, Blowers or watchfinder.co.uk and save about £6-700. The automatic will be more special although the quartz does feel nice. I think you need to try both. Also depends how much of a watch geek you are - if you are, then you'll already prefer automatics. May hold its value better, too.

I'd say they both 'feel' the same. It's the same case and bracelet as far as I know. OK, the auto has more kudos amongst the watch geeks, but the quartz has its advantages. Accuracy for one. And second hand, they are cheap as chips. If it was me, I'd buy a second hand quartz one and start a collection. Wait a minute, that's what I did!

[Ikemi]

ShadownINja said:

You could buy secondhand from a forum (or risk ebay) or go to the likes of Austin Kaye, Blowers or watchfinder.co.uk and save about £6-700. The automatic will be more special although the quartz does feel nice. I think you need to try both. Also depends how much of a watch geek you are - if you are, then you'll already prefer automatics. May hold its value better, too.

This! The additional cost of the automatic is due to the fact that it has a top spec, modified ETA-2892 movement with the Omega co-axial escapement. If this doesn't particularly mean much to you, then you'll most likely be happy with the quartz ... However I like the fact that the co-axial escapement is a bit different, I enjoy watching the second hand sweep and I love the fact that I know the watch requires me (or at least my movements) to 'live'

As for the difference between the SMP Auto Co-Axial and the PO, I believe it's pretty much the design and bracelet that differs. However the PO is also rated to 600M underwater rather than 300M.

At the end of the day, it's up to you and what you can justify. There are a lot of nice watches to be had on the second hand market, so it might be worth looking there (the websites mentioned above!) and saving some cash! I'd personally (and did) go for the PO, but then again I prefer the styling of the PO over the SMP Auto.

By the way, my PO replaced my TAG Heuer Link Calibre S - A fine, gorgeous looking watch, but the fact that it was a quartz bored me

[CardShark]

I think that you'll find that the Planet Ocean's case is a little chunkier than the Seamaster, probably due to it being able to withstand greater water pressures. From a practical point of view it may not fit as well as the SMP under a shirt cuff, but then I don't own either watch so I'm not speaking from experience here.
Other than that, what the others have already said. You're not really going to go wrong either way, they're lovely watches and are often spoken about on this forum. Best thing to do is get out there and try them on, you may well find that you'll favour one design over the other

Edited by CardShark on Thursday 22 July 07:13

[CommanderJameson]

Orange 45.5mm PO.

Been wearing mine more-or-less daily for 18 months now. Love it.

[The Leaper]

Berksboy,

I bought my Omega Seamaster first edition JB in 1997 and I've worn it almost daily ever since. It's been in, under, down etc where ever I've been and never missed a beat. It is the quartz version because at the time of purchase the autos had a poor reputation among the people I knew who had them. I've had to change the battery twice so I've had it serviced each time, the last time last year at Swiss Time Services, Omega UK's official service company. Cost of the full servuce etc. was £180.

Here's a pic.

As you'll notice, the bezel has a used patina and the watch is showing some wear and tear which I like!

Hope this helps you come to a decision.

R.

[BerksBoy]

Sincere thanks to all for your informed opinions...

I am going to head for brand new so have discounted buying a used model.

Not a watch geek (yet!) however re-sale value is always going to hold some sway with me....

This weekend is purchase time so, with all three tried on and lined up in front of me, I will take the leap

Thanks again for your comments, will be a proud wrist shot posted on monday

[CommanderJameson]

Protip: if you're considering swapping between bracelet and strap, buy the watch on the bracelet.

You will save hundreds of pounds versus buying on the strap and then buying the bracelet.

[Incredible Sulk]

BerksBoy said:

Sincere thanks to all for your informed opinions...

I am going to head for brand new so have discounted buying a used model.

Not a watch geek (yet!) however re-sale value is always going to hold some sway with me....

This weekend is purchase time so, with all three tried on and lined up in front of me, I will take the leap

Thanks again for your comments, will be a proud wrist shot posted on monday

If resale value is a consideration here, I'd steer well clear of the SMP's. They don't hold their value at all well. That being said, you can pick up a 'new' ie unworn second hand one from the usual suspects at a big discount. I wouldn't walk into an AD and pay full retail for one of these. It'll be worth 40% less as soon as you walk out the showroom.

[nick lewis]

CommanderJameson said:

Orange 45.5mm PO.

Been wearing mine more-or-less daily for 18 months now. Love it.

A little of topic but i am just about to buy the same watch with the black strap/orange stitching but just can not decide which one 42mm 45mm as i am getting of the net it's hard to gauge which one, it will be worn every day like yours and don't want it to stand out like a sore thumb.

[CommanderJameson]

nick lewis said:

CommanderJameson said:

Orange 45.5mm PO.

Been wearing mine more-or-less daily for 18 months now. Love it.

A little of topic but i am just about to buy the same watch with the black strap/orange stitching but just can not decide which one 42mm 45mm as i am getting of the net it's hard to gauge which one, it will be worn every day like yours and don't want it to stand out like a sore thumb.

It's not a subtle piece, but on the other hand it's not as inyerface as the pictures might lead you to believe.

[alolympic]

Can someone explain why somebody would pay over £1000 for a watch with a Quartz movement?
You can buy a watch with the same movement, and made from similar materials, in a near identical design, for a tenth of the price.
I would like someone to actually admit that they pay crazy money purely for the brand. There can be no other explanation.
Go on someone, dare ya......

[Ikemi]

alolympic said:

Can someone explain why somebody would pay over £1000 for a watch with a Quartz movement?
You can buy a watch with the same movement, and made from similar materials, in a near identical design, for a tenth of the price.
I would like someone to actually admit that they pay crazy money purely for the brand. There can be no other explanation.
Go on someone, dare ya......

Yes, but you'll always be spending extra (to some degree) for branding - It's the same reason why someone would choose a Sony Vaio laptop over a perfectly good HP unit

You could also apply your argument to the fact that some people choose to pay £1000's more for the likes of Hublot, a manufacturer that uses the same automatic movement as some watches that are a quarter of the price! I would imagine that exclusivity, brand identity, brand history, R&D, as well as the aesthetics, all play a part in someone's decision to spend more than it's really (subjective) worth ...

The SMP Pro is ~£2K. The SMP quartz is ~£1K. Basically you are saving £1K on the movement, but you're still paying for the high quality bracelet, case, finish and all other bits associated with the watch. Some people are just not bothered about the magic that comes with automatic movements and would rather have an accurate watch that does not stop after not being worn for 2 days

I bought a TAG Link Calibre S (RRP: £2,150), which was a quartz watch due to it's main 'party piece'. It was in all respects a fantastic looking, well built watch! However I became a bit more interested in watches and the fact it was lacking an automatic movement bored me, so I sold it and replaced it with a PO

[alolympic]

I own an Automatic. ETA movement I believe, as used in lots of other automatics made by high brand watch makers, but mine cost less than £200 because it is not a premium brand.
I guess my question is a loaded one, as I know peoples choice of watch often comes down to branding. I can just never get over how much money people are prepared to spend for a logo. The price difference with watches is probably more extreme than any other goods I can think of.
One of my mates has just spent a lot of money on an Omega. He knows bugger all about the movement and to be honest, design wise. you will find many similar in an Argos catalogue. So what drove him to it?
What do people expect to get out of the branding? you're not going to become James Bond, you may just impress some other people who are also gulable enough to live at the mercy of advertising.
Each to their own I suppose....

[BerksBoy]

alolympic said:

I own an Automatic. ETA movement I believe, as used in lots of other automatics made by high brand watch makers, but mine cost less than £200 because it is not a premium brand.
I guess my question is a loaded one, as I know peoples choice of watch often comes down to branding. I can just never get over how much money people are prepared to spend for a logo. The price difference with watches is probably more extreme than any other goods I can think of.
One of my mates has just spent a lot of money on an Omega. He knows bugger all about the movement and to be honest, design wise. you will find many similar in an Argos catalogue. So what drove him to it?
What do people expect to get out of the branding? you're not going to become James Bond, you may just impress some other people who are also gulable enough to live at the mercy of advertising.
Each to their own I suppose....

the question is one I am asking myself (hence the post) - "why consider spending 2k on a watch when you could get an argos special for tenner?"

for me it's because I have always wanted one.

as mentioned above,

why buy a 535d m sport BMW when a 3 litre vectra will carry as much luggage?
why get a sony bravia when a tesco tv is a quarter the price?
do you need a hugo boss suit or a asda wedding special?
why bother trying to get a hot wife when the local bike will forfil your needs...

that's life. choices. if you can, and you want, then do.

Edited by BerksBoy on Thursday 22 July 15:04

[CardShark]

alolympic said:

I own an Automatic. ETA movement I believe, as used in lots of other automatics made by high brand watch makers, but mine cost less than £200 because it is not a premium brand.
I guess my question is a loaded one, as I know peoples choice of watch often comes down to branding. I can just never get over how much money people are prepared to spend for a logo. The price difference with watches is probably more extreme than any other goods I can think of.
One of my mates has just spent a lot of money on an Omega. He knows bugger all about the movement and to be honest, design wise. you will find many similar in an Argos catalogue. So what drove him to it?
What do people expect to get out of the branding? you're not going to become James Bond, you may just impress some other people who are also gulable enough to live at the mercy of advertising.
Each to their own I suppose....

Do you spend 'a bit extra' on anything else though, any interests or hobbies? It's reasonably fair to say that there is an element of paying for the name but then that just about applies to everything, not just watches. There are also fair arguments to say that you get what you pay for in terms of build quality, fitness for purpose (I'm thinking of maybe divers watches here, most watches cheap or otherwise are capable of telling the time), design, exclusiveness and technical achievement. I'm not knocking what you've said, I think that most can see where you're coming from, but have a look in your garage, your kitchen, your lounge or in your wardrobe and tell me that there's *nothing* there that you could have paid a little less for.

[alolympic]

Yes, I admit, sometimes I dig a little deeper than I have to when buying something - but it is always on the grounds of quality, or that it really does provide something extra in design - never because of a brand. I hate buying anything that is heavily branded.
Not knocking people treating themselves either - if they are doing it for their own enjoyment.
When it comes to branding though, it is often just about show and this is quite often the case with watches.
The difference in prices between watches is more extreme than anything else I can think of. They sometimes feature watches in Evo mag that cost up to £250,000 - and it still just tells the time. If they look unique though, that is almost more easy t defend than buying a Tag, or Omega, that looks like a Seiko but costs 20 times more.
All I know is, my mate with his new Omega a) doesn't appear any happier than before, b) feels like he has to justify the cost by talking about something silly about it and c) is still often late!
The comparison between cars is more complex, it is very rare for 2 near identical cars to be sold, by different manufacturers, at vastly differently prices (apart from Toyota Aygo and a certain new Aston).

[Ikemi]

alolympic said:

I own an Automatic. ETA movement I believe, as used in lots of other automatics made by high brand watch makers, but mine cost less than £200 because it is not a premium brand.

It's worth pointing out that ETA movements have different grades, which are regulated over different positions to tighter tolerances - The grades are; Standard, Elaboré, Top and Chronomètre.

I believe the Chronomètre grade ETA movements are over £500 each and are used in the Omega Pro Auto/PO. Your £200 watch will most likely incorporate a standard ETA movement ... It all comes down to improving the accuracy of the movement. As said, if you can afford it and can justify the additional cost to yourself (watch collecting is a hobby ), why not spend money on a brand you prefer?

ETA: Can you honestly say a watch out of the Argos catalog or for £200 can rival the build quality of a high end £1K+ watch? I know Seiko are very good, especially the 5/Monster range, but it's still not the same league.

Edited by Ikemi on Thursday 22 July 15:46