Hi to everyone. This is my first post and I'd really appreciate some advice about buying my first luxury watch.

I've recently become interested in nice watches (want to look smarter, fed up of using my mobile to tell the time, etc) and have decided to buy a quality watch (I recently bought a basic Citizen as my everyday watch). After doing some research I've decided that the First Omega In Space fits my needs perfectly. It's not overly expensive, looks great IMHO, has a perfect strap for me (I have a penchant for stylish brown leather boots), it's an Omega Speedmaster and all that goes with that, and finally I have tiny wrists at about 6.25 inches so the 39.7mm sizing is more suitable for me. However, being a newbie, I'm unsure of a few things.

Firstly, I'm from the UK, but live overseas in an environment that is not suited to luxury timepieces, and therefore I would only wear the watch for about a 2/3 months a year when I travel home or elsewhere. The rest of the time it would be in the box. I understand that the FOIS requires hand-winding, so would it be fine to simply wind the watch each time I bring it out to play, or would sporadic use have any adverse effects?

Secondly, and partly related to the first point, I've read that hand-winding can cause the crown and possibly other parts of watches to wear out more quickly than an automatic. Is this an issue with this watch or is it not something to even think about?

Finally, it currently retails new for ￡3520 in the UK and I have seen some secondhand ones online for about ￡3000, but I've also seen it priced new at just under ￡3000 from some reputable online grey dealers in the UK. I would prefer to buy it in person, so I wonder if I could get much of a discount from an AD for a cash purchase. Would authorised UK high street dealers be loathe to offer anything but minimal discounts, or could I rock up to a bricks and mortar store and get a new watch for a price similar to the grey online dealers, ie about 10-15% discount off RRP, if I have the cash in hand?

Apologies for the length of my post and if my questions are dumb. If all goes well, I hope to buy the watch in the UK later this year. Thanks for your time.

 

imo buy it, wear it when you want and it will be fine. service every 7-10 years if you want and just enjoy it. i think you can get discount from some AD's (Goldsmiths etc) but not from the Boutiques.

 

Great looking watch and possibly undervalued in the market at the moment. Don't worry about the winding / service aspect.

 

Ignore all the nonsense you've read online, using the watch as you propose is perfectly sensible... service it as it needs it (5 years would be advisable, as even not worn the oils do dry out).

Contact iconic watches... they're in the UK, have a shop and get some pretty big discounts.

Good luck!

Chris

 

I can only assume that you've narrowed down your selection to a Speedmaster of some sort. If so I would highly recommend this watch. For grey market pricing I can think of few if any better watches at the price you'd likely end up paying. You get pretty much the all of the "classic" Speedmaster design with some touches that I prefer.

I would recommend buying a different brown strap. The strap that comes with the watch looks and feels somewhat cheap. It does age quite well from what I've seen, but I'd still invest in a new strap.

I paid about $3500 US for mine. At the time I could have gone used and saved possibly $500 or an alternative grey source without the warranty and saved $100. I went for the full set and brand new condition and have zero regrets.

I have a 60th anniversary Speedy on the way soon enough and would consider a Speedy Tuesday, still I'm not sure I will/would like them better than my FOIS. I get the argument that Omega makes too many variations of the Speedmaster and other models. I agree with it. However if you get the right ones then I can see getting something different than a Speedy Pro and even getting a second Speedmaster.

 

Thanks for all the replies. Iconic Watches was actually the store I had in mind as they tick all the boxes: great prices, solid reputation on watch forums, and I'm from up north so they are only a 90 minute drive from my home. You mentioning the same store has more or less made up my mind Chris. Watches of Mayfair offer the same watch with a VAT 20% off price of £2671 for non-EU customers, but after delivery costs it comes to about £2800. However, I'm happy to pay a bit extra to buy it in person.

I have a watch enthusiast friend in Australia who recommended a good store (The Watch Gallery in Melbourne if your ever in that neck of the woods) when I was there recently and they had a great deal on this watch that still had 18 months warranty left, but it went quickly for A$4995. Shame because I think could have claimed back almost 10% of the price at the airport using the GST refund system. Still, I think the deal from Iconic will make me very happy.

Interesting what you say about the strap Blaugrana, I'll bear that in mind. Another reason I think this watch is a winner is that it looks very nice with a black leather strap too, so it's quite versatile. I'll be sure to post pics when I finally get my hands on one.

 

Watchfinder.co.uk are normally good for prices. Not quite as cheap as those that don't have watches in stock but if they have one, they'll send it to your nearest store to examine before buying. I bought a Speedmaster '57 from them recently, unused, and saved £1,250 off the retail price. Could have possibly saved more elsewhere but a bird in the hand and all that.....

 

I believe the only size difference between the FOIS and other speedies, aside of the 19mm lug size, is in the removal of the crown guards. The crown guard is included within the case measurement of the "moonwatch Chronograph" as Omega is now calling its new Speedies. So the size is effectively the same, though it does have a smaller looking presence on the wrist I guess.

Great choice imho as a first watch, but I do agree that the strap falls a bit short for me, but I wear my FOIS on a bracelet anyway. To be honest, the leather strap on the ST doesn't seem that special either from what I can see, looks a bit plastic and unforgiving in the pics, but I bet it looks better in hand and will soften nicely in time. I am not in favour of any moving away from bracelets by OMEGA (not that I am sure that's what they are doing) but it's a bit like reducing the size of a Mars Bar but still charging the same amount.

 

In short Yes!

 

What's the long yes? Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeees! Long or short, you're spot on!

 

FOIS is a fine choice for your first Omega. The manual wind and no date are great for a watch that is only worn occasionally.

I for one like the smaller case size (even though that is due to just no crown guards), the straight lugs I like even more!

 

If you want a Speedmaster, then this is a grey first watch in terms of value / price - but definitely sho around including looking at eBay (trusted / reliable
sellers only tho) - I've seen some great bargains. Certainly if I were starting new, I would be looking at this or the standard Moon watch...

Ps - I never wear metal bracelets, only leather, but I'm hairy...

 

That's not you in your avatar then?

 

I can't recommend the FOIS. Sorry if that goes against the grain but I had one and it didn't feel special at all. The crystal reflected like crazy so it was hard to tell the time, and it was quite tall in height so it sat awkward on my 6.75" wrist. The strap included isn't the best either.

I love Omegas but of all those I've had, this and the CK2998 Limited Edition were the most disappointing I remember.

You can't beat the regular Speedy Pro or the Ceramic Seamasters of the current era at around that price point IMO.

 

More good input from folks, thanks.

I appreciate you being frank wayneG. Before I got into learning about watches I had no idea what hesalite was, but I've seen others mention the sapphire v hesalite thing when discussing the FOIS v Speedy Pro. I need to compare the two more.

As for the leather strap, it's interesting to hear what others think about the quality. I'm now realising that rather than go for the FOIS just because it comes with a brown leather strap, I could just as easily get a Moonwatch or something else and then get my own strap. I've decided that I need to consider other options and the best way to do that is get up close and personal with a load of different watches. I'm going to do just that and at the same time see what I think about the crystal.

 

Most of my watches are sapphire, but plexi really does have so much more character. A bit of polywatch every few months and it sorts the light scratches out. Replacement even from omega during service is very cheap as well, compared to sapphire.

The fun of leather straps is buying loads and trying them all out.

Make it fun and you'll have made the right choice. Otherwise it's just another watch.

 

Now a few thoughts and questions about price and how/where to buy it. The figures below are regarding the FOIS, but the thinking works for any watch I might buy. My mind has been on overtime trying to work out the best buying option and I ended up thinking about VAT. Can anyone point out where the following plan is flawed?

As I'm currently a non-EU resident, I'm eligible to buy the watch in the UK and then claim back the VAT at the airport. If I buy from a grey dealer in the UK, I'll pay about the same as if there was no 20% VAT included in the RRP price of ￡3520 for the FOIS. But what if I were to go to a AD or high street store like Ernest Jones, Beaverbrooks, etc, and haggle for, let's says 10% off? That would make it ￡3168. Then if I claimed back the 20% VAT, that would make it ￡2640, almost ￡300 cheaper than from a grey dealer. Even if the actual VAT I get back is reduced to about 10-15% (after admin fees during the refund process you don't get the full 20% apparently), I'd pay somewhere between ￡2693-2851.

So worst car scenario I'd save about ￡70, or up to ￡227. Of course, If I got more than 10% from an AD, the price could drop even more, potentially down to about ￡2500. I'm pretty sure the maths is correct, but how is the watch market in the UK at the moment in the shadow of Brexit? What kind of discount is realistic from an AD?

 

If you are buying anything in the U.K, you will be paying VAT. Why not buy from the grey dealer and claim the VAT back on that purchase?

 

I'd go to a Omega AD and haggle. I got, what, 15% off when buying mine (in 2013). It's not the fastest mover, so if you find a store which have one in stock they could well be looking to offloading it.

A FOIS was my first Omega, too

 

I really like the FOIS and would love to try one on, but as discussed already the size difference between that and the Pro is only down to the Crown guards, you should really try both on before deciding. My wrists are only a tiny bit larger than yours, look to my profile as I've shared plenty of pics with a regular Speedy Pro.

I think 19mm lugs would annoy me slightly, 20mm has so much more options in terms of straps and bracelets.

Good luck whatever you decide.