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How could Omega help or hurt the vintage market and collectors?

kaplan
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My thoughts:

The end of discounts from AD, and the probable move to a more Rolex-like exclusivity could also lift up the vintage market

The re-issue of the 321 movement and possible re-issue of other iconic watches on the other hand, is the exact opposite in my opinion, moves like that usually kills the collector market, both vintage and new - only those who flip in a booming market profit - Lego did it for example, they started re-issuing sets, and as an AFOL, I was buying and collecting new sets up to that point, but I stopped and sold everything as there was no longer any point as a collector

My expectation: I think they'll help the vintage market on average, but they'll also cap the vintage market too, instead of watches potentially reaching 10X-20X the todays MSRP's - I think they'll be capped at 2X-3X the MSRP's - considering the low prices of vintage watches today, quite a lift up
 
gbesq
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Three observations. First, God forbid that Omega becomes anything like Rolex. Second, wishing for substantial increases in value in vintage Omegas is a double edged sword. Great if you’re already an established collector with a large number of Omegas. Not so good if you’re new to collecting and trying to assemble a collection on a budget. Third, thinking of vintage watches as investments is generally not a very good idea.
 
Dan S
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So "helping collectors" and "lifting up the vintage market" are synonymous in your opinion. 🙄

In my view, an outrageously priced vintage market only draws investors into the market, which certainly doesn't help true collectors with a passion for watches. You may have misjudged your audience.
 
kaplan
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gbesq gbesq
Three observations. First, God forbid that Omega becomes anything like Rolex. Second, wishing for substantial increases in value in vintage Omegas is a double edged sword. Great if you’re already an established collector with a large number of Omegas. Not so good if you’re new to collecting and trying to assemble a collection on a budget. Third, thinking of vintage watches as investments is generally not a very good idea.

It’s not a very good idea indeed, but not the worst thing you can do either, why do you specifically think it’s bad?

Dan S Dan S
So "helping collectors" and "lifting up the vintage market" are synonymous in your opinion. 🙄

In my view, an outrageously priced vintage market only draws investors into the market, which certainly doesn't help true collectors with a passion for watches. You may have misjudged your audience.

My ultimate goal is to bank out in 40 years when the watches are 100 years old, so you got me there 😀

In the current market a decent service costs as much and sometimes more than the watches, so I don’t think that’s very good either - if a vintage watch cost $5000 instead of $500 - we’d all be buying and selling properly serviced and preserved watches and that wouldn’t be too bad either
 
gbesq
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kaplan kaplan
It’s not a very good idea indeed, but not the worst thing you can do either, why do you specifically think it’s bad?
Because the vast majority of watches lose value over time (yes, including many Rolex models). You may get lucky with a particular watch or two, but depreciation and servicing costs are going to erode whatever gains you may realize. If you want an investment, stocks, bonds and real estate offer better opportunities generally than vintage watches.
 
Archer
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If the current trend of Omega parts prices continues, it will kill the market for lower end vintage models. They will not be economically repairable, when one train wheel for a particular movement costs $170, and one winding wheel for another movement is $320 already...
 
gbesq
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Archer Archer
If the current trend of Omega parts prices continues, it will kill the market for lower end vintage models. They will not be economically repairable, when one train wheel for a particular movement costs $170, and one winding wheel for another movement is $320 already...
That would really be a shame because some of the lower end models from the late fifties and early sixties using the 26x manual movements are such great watches. Sending vintage watches to Omega has never been a viable option due to their "make it like new" servicing policies. After having a tritium dial and hands removed (and damaged) on a vintage Speedmaster by Omega service many years ago even though all I had authorized was a movement service, I would never use them again. Obviously it makes more economic sense to Swatch to sell new Omegas at 5k-15k and then service them every 5 years or so at $500-$750. More and more like Rolex, although you still get your old parts back from Omega and they will service a watch that's more than 25 years old.
 
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