NOT a disguised FS post!

In the interest of keeping true to a One-in-one-out promise......I am trying to leverage a trade with this one as bait, so trying to establish why this sister to the Omega bullhead is significantly less valuable despite being the "same" case and movement. Welcome any opinions.

 

The Omega name has far more recognition by buyers probably is the reason for lower values. Why is a Heuer Autavia significantly less expensive than a Paul Newman Daytona? (though these days, it's catching up) They both have the same movement and cases that are fairly similar. Or why is an old Hamilton or Zodiac Valjoux 92 chrono that was not only identical to a Heuer Carrera 3647, but was actually produced by Heuer, worth far less?
People want Heuer on the dial; people want Omega on the dial

 

Lets be more extreme..... why steel Rolex daytona from similar year with ordinary dial fetch much less than similar watch with Paul newman dial?

 

Lemania is to Omega as Tudor is to Rolex, the budget alternative.

Or, in other words, the priceworthy choice. But with less status involved.

I'm curious to know more about the trade you're trying to establish? Me for one, would very much like to trade that one in!

 

In terms of reputation maybe, but it seems to me that the situation is quite different.
Omega use Lemania movements, while Rolex use their own and Tudor use ETA movements. It is not the same relationship at all.
I would say it has more to do with the fact that by entering the SIHH Lemania was confined to making movements and thus isn't particularly known.

 

I get your point. And I did no technical comparison. I'm fully aware of the quality of the Lemania movements

 

People are paying a 300% premium to not have the in house version!?
The market is silly but reason don't bite.

 

Good point @gatorcpa!
The same applies for Heuer badged Lemania. In the late 70s/early 80s Heuer was owned by Lemania.
Only difference between several of the models are logo on the dial and case back.
Lemania badged ones was made in very small series, Heuer in the thousands. Still the Heuer name ads a solid premium.

 

For once I disagree with you. Firstly Rolex and Tudor does normally not have the same movements.
Lemania actually made most all Omega chronographs. The full assembly took place in l'Orient and not Bienne.
A key reason to why Omega is struggling to provide extracts for several Speedmasters' is that they never entered the Omega facilities at all.
In the case of Tudor vs Rolex they are positioned as low cost vs premium.
For SSIH Omega was the high end, Tissot the budget alternative.
Lemania was the tool watch and complications specialist. From 1932 and way into the 70s Omega did not produce a single watch with more than three hands and a day/date indication themselves. All else was designed and made by Lemania in l'Orient.

 

Anders. I cannot see any disagreement. You are misinterpreting my post.

I expressed myself sloppy, or/ and made a far to easy comparison.

In watch-shops in Sweden back in the days, they sold Omega aswell as Lemania and Tissot. At least when it came to the "ordinary" watches, Omega was priced at 100 when Lemania was 75 and Tissot was 50, or less, for technically the same watch. The only thing motivating the price difference was the status of the brand. Thus the brands with less status being the budget alternative.

 

Hi Martin. Good points!
I am far too much focused on the technical stuff to think in terms of status.
Personally as well.

 

Heuer was under the ownership of Lemania after they kicked out the family. Jack Heuer writes about this in his autobiography.
This was after Lemania was sold out of SSHI.

Quote from his book:
"Since most other ébauches factories were by now also in trouble, the only
viable Swiss solution for us at that moment was a company called Lemania
located in the Vallée de Joux, one of the cradles of the Swiss watchmaking industry.
For years Lemania had belonged to the omega group and had
produced omega’s chronograph and stopwatch movements – until omega
decided to close the Lemania factory in 1981 because of the watch crisis.
Lemania had then been taken over by an unknown group of investors who
had put a certain mr. Claude burkhalter in charge. i quickly got in touch with
him and we came up with the first draft of a solution."

"on Friday, 4 June 1982, i had another one in a series of telephone conversations with Claude burkhalter, the Ceo of Lemania. he told me the entire refinancing would be taken over by Lemania, without help from ebeL and without any investment from my family. he added that roventa-henex was to
convert its ChF 350,000 credit with heuer-Leonidas into shares and went on
to say that all this had been decided by piaget, Lemania’s main shareholder."

Mr Heuer was later sacked from the board.

Not until a few years after TAG purchased Heuer did Jack Heuer return to the company.

 

SSIH was out of the story by then. Piaget and a couple of other string pullers took over Lemania from SSIH in 1981. Heuer Leonidas was taken over by Lemania in 1982 and sold of to TAG in 1985.

 

SSIH ==> Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère

 

Not entirely correct wiki, but a good start.