Omega

and b) that Swatch is in need for more younger customers.
This means that two weak positioned, lame ducks join forces - not a good strategy if your analysis is correct. loose - loose is the call here, with the bigger hit for Omegas future brand value. Rolex or PP would never ever join forces with Swatch or any other plastic watch brand just for that reason

First of all, Patek and Rolex are Independents whereas Omega is OWNED by Swatch or did we seem to forget that ??

Second, I will place a friendly wager with ANYONE to say that Swatch will literally sell out of these Swatch Speedies faster than they can make them.

Thirdly, if you think this is a lose lose, then there is nothing more I can say to change your mind as it would be a waste of time to do so.

The problem with most of us "OLD school" collectors, me included, is that we think people buy or collect watches the way WE used to do it. If we take a step back and see how the watch market works today, this is far from correct.

The Swatch group is in the business to make money. I can only see this as an opportunity for Swatch to earn more while also driving more interest towards Omega, especially the Speedmaster, for those who do buy these Swatch Speedies.

Lastly, I see you really appreciate and own MANY Montblanc watches. Since Montblanc is under Richemont ownership, are you telling me Richemont could not do the same to them?

Just look at what they have already done to other Richemont owned manufacturers such as IWC, etc...

I will stop here as I do not want to offend anyone but looking at it from a macro perspective and purely at the numbers, this is a SMART business move by Swatch regardless of what anyone thinks, and this is coming from someone who owns + 20 Speedmasters !! 🙊🙈🙉

why so p...ed?
In my post I solely mentioned the future brand value of Omega and not the short-term revenues of Swatch (brand or group). Thus I referred to PP and Rolex (brand value destruction). It's always easy to stretch your grown brand and accelerate short term sales - but it is very hard to rebuild brand value and trust. CEOs and their consultants are eagerly willing to sacrifice their brand value to revenues when they are financially under pressure - that's what's happening here.
Re Montblanc: Richemont has done a lot of stupid things since 2015 and being an avid long term collector of fountain pens and SOME watches I have intervened with the top management on this for the recent years to rebuild the strategy. You surely don't know, but in the 70ies and 80ies Montblanc wanted to save their business life by moving their pens into the plastic / cheap segment (ballpoints, school pens etc). Short term revenues were quickly eaten up by loss of brand image. In a very risky move at the beginning of the 90ies they decided to diminish that strategy and go back to their roots: highest quality pen making. It took them more than 10 years to get rid of their school pen image and come back to track.
That will happen to the Omega brand when they continue this path.

I'm not sure for a branding purpose why omega logo, speedmaster logo and speedmaster shape would be so prominent on a few hundred dollar Swatch. It looks cool. But these will sell because someone wants to spend 250 to look like they have a 6k speedmaster. I'm sure their marketing people have done the math- getting Swatch customer makes more money then any amount they lose by alienating omega customers. Likely puist omega customer will just shrug their shoulders. Maybe they were afraid to offer different case and dial color at 6k because a purist would say...not a moonwatch! Oh well, my speedy is not a moonwatch anyways.

100% Champ

besides being rather cheap looking

I'll take Neptune and Uranus and use as good beater, when I need one on the go..
Regards

Since India doesn't have a Swatch Boutique, this collection is not available here. 🤗

It is their business, so they can Beta Test this out. Time will tell. Wishing them the best. -John

Mercedes + Trabant 

I own a modern 321 and I can't wait to buy one of these as soon as they become available. I can't think of anything more controversial omega could have come up with. I am not sure wether this was a good idea or not for the brand's image but I am so hyped at the same time.

It's a smart move to promote and celebrate an iconic watch turning it into an affordable quartz counterpart.
I'm still looking for more precise details, but the case, the bioceramic, is made of 2/3 of zirconium dioxide and 1/3 of the coloured resin.
This does not sound cheap at all.

If any speed collector feels disappointed, I'm not, honestly.
Accidentally just few days before watches and wonders to begin 😎😎😎😎😎

Why not under the Swatch name, but labelling it with Omega and Speedmaster names is killing a myth, which is a pity.
Best,
E.

While I do find these watches interesting, I'm not going to buy one. I don't like quartz watches and I already have a 321 in my collection.

There are literally MILLIONS of counterfeit Rolex watches floating around that look 95 - 98% of what an AUTHENTIC Rolex model looks like and no one seems to think they cheapen Rolex or any other brand 🤦🤦
Same could be said for FAKE Omegas, etc...

If you like the Speedmaster for what it is, then I do not see why you would care about this collab.

Ask yourself this question.

Did Vianney Halter cheapen his brand by collaborating with Schwatz Etienne?

Did Kari cheapen his name or brand by selling his dial and cases to Sartory Billiard or any of the micro Indies that sell for sub 10k?

If you think this new collab cheapens your recent Speedmaster purchase, I would advise you to sell it immediately on the Collector's Market and never look back.

I thought watch collecting was about passion and having fun.

Seems nowadays people are too stuck on "exclusivity, brand value, resale value, etc..." 🤦🙉🙈🙊

I do not want to sound arrogant but I have to say this and get it off my chest.

I think you know I have hundreds of watches in my collection and many of them are 10X - 100X ++ the value of a standard Speedmaster 3861.

Does that make me think any less of any of my Speedmasters?

HELL NO !!

In fact, 3 of my favorites in my collection of modern chronographs are the 50th Anniversary Moonshine, Snoopy 3, and EW321.

They are MULTIPLES less expensive than many of my other pieces but who cares 🤷‍♂️

In the end, it is about the enjoyment of owning these pieces, not what they sell for or what people want to think.

Give you an example:

One of the biggest reasons why I admire Ed Tonkin so much is not only his incredible and diverse collection, but also the fact that he can wear a SIMPLE G shock one day and a watch that has a 7 figure value the next day.

I don't see any difference here with this Swatch Speedie and any other watch, let alone an Omega Speedmaster.

Rant over, going to bed as I just cannot wrap my head around people complaining about how Omega is ruining their image with a simple and fun collab 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Lastly, these would pass the Yokozuna approval without a doubt so I am fine with that 🤣🤣😜😜😉😉

I agree with your thesis. Every watch should be valued on its own attributes and desire, not if you can get the look for less. That is a WIS general attribute- not chasing something just to buy and appear "richer". It is unfortunate that these are so similar, and with the straps and cases colors, almost cooler than a regular speedy. And this is coming from someone who has most watches that are "undesirable" because I don't chase trends. I bought my quai de Ile over a blue overseas, so I clearly have a mental problem 😅

We see through the extraneous to enjoy this hobby. Other forums can argue the price or speculation or who has the best assets, but we just like watches. The novel watch mechanism, the piece unique, as much as the sentimental story, or the persinal enjoyement. They have a place here. I don't like the idea of a partial copy speedmaster being put out at 5% the cost. I don't think they need something so similar. And for me a brand like omega seems above that is the purist battling rolex. However, they actually utilize much more marketing and sponsorships with the Olympics and bonds movies, etc. But in the end someone will buy it and post for us to see, it will look good and I will congratulate then. For it brings them joy. There is a WRUW thread from today with 7 figures of watchs which I love seeing people actually wear these beauties. But there is also a thread on a quartz omega that was inherited- both equally fun to read about.
Also- after a few Manhattans, this may seem more philosophical to me than in actuality 😁