Horological Meandering

ticktock
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Swings and roundabouts

Hi Thomas,
When I first became involved with the trade in the late 1960s, it was a case of swings and roundabouts - at least in the UK market - as Rolex and Omega took turns to be the favourite brands at their level in the marke. Retailers fought to become sole distributors in their area for first one brand and then the other as each took its turn to be top dog. As far as I can remember, this continued into the early or mid 70s before Rolex took the upper hand. It seems that Omega now have every intention of reviving the reputation they had in the 60s and 70s, although Omega President Stephen Urquhart refuses to say that he wants to challenge Rolex. With typical political correctness he merely says that he wants Omega to regain the status it once had. Antiquorum's Omegamania auction and the launch of the new twin barrel Co-Axial Hour Vision range are seen as major steps along the road. The Co-Axial movement seems to be Omega's not-so-secret weapon. As the cost of servicing mechanical watches continues to rise, the six to seven year service interval of the Co-Axial may prove to be an important factor for some customers. I'd love to know how you see the future fortunes of these two companies.