besides the other arguments that other forum members have made, the biggest thing I got from moustache-like-me @M'Bob is that Rolex still have that share of the mind that Omega has not been able to break.
Those 2 parents didnt come asking where they could buy a Snoopy Speedy or a GlobeMaster/AT/SM, etc -- they came asking for a Submariner.

Rolex might be a very conservation company re. product offerings but they have mind-share, like it or not...........

 

Good to know - but we are talking apples and oranges as my question was more in line of asking --say to a random group of [pick a number] of 18-25 year old lads-- if they knew what a mechanical watch is. I bet most of them would not know what a mechanical watch is.

 

Yeah, Cartier just surpassed Omega for #2 slot behind Rolex on the backs of Gen Z and Millennial buyers

not only do these generations know in equal proportions to other generations, they’re increasingly fueling the industry (and my anecdotal experience is that women in those generations know and are buyers in a larger percentage than older generations)

 

The Omega vs Rolex comparisons were warranted when considering ~1900-1970s. Both companies were innovative, pushing the envelope, creative and competing for contracts.

Rolex, on the back Wilsdorf, sought chronometer certification of their wristwatches achieving the first swiss certificate for chronometric precision, developed a water resistance wrist watch case, produced a perpetual spinning rotor, included the date wheel in wrist watches and in 1953 released the GMT, the submariner, milgauss etc.

Omega had the worlds first minute repeating wristwatch, set precision in all six trials at Geneva Observatory, prototyped the first automatic movement to use weights, earned official time keeper of the olympics in 1932, released the first commercially available divers watch.

We had the seamaster vs submariner, ploprof vs seadweller, railmaster vs milgauss, the fight for NASA.

To me it appears one has continued to be innovative while the other has remained stagnant. The two companies could not be more dissimilar today.

 

as a fellow 28 year old I can confirm that is because we are, in fact, getting old just another sign for us to deny amongst the others

 

Back to the first question: Ask Jacek to source 2x Subs in near new condition in the USA for the parents. Then the budget will be possible. Regarding the drift of this thread: if you need an innovative and more contemporary "Rolex" without the need to brag , buy Tudor. You can always say, Tudor is a branch of the Rolex group. Older models have it stamped on the outside of the back.... I bought a Tudor Pelagos left crown with red writing , Titanium with a very, very good Titanium Band new a few years ago. That has become no worries at all daily Beach, working, travelling watch. Has replaced a few others, I sold. Affordable. Vintage look. Tool watch par excellence. Not expensive. That is the Rolex, you can wear without a worry. I only kept my Mil sub and an pointed crown guard sub. All others ar sold and not missed.

 

Like Omega, Cartier sells way more ladies watches than Mens watches.

Was chatting to a saleswoman at a Omega boutique in Japan (airport) and she mentioned they had sold 8/1 womens watches that day.

 

Touches on a relevant point about Asia more generally, too: all those Millennials and Gen Z underpinning the last several years of sales? Mostly from Asia, largely China.

I try to be self-conscious that this forum isn’t really best positioned, culturally, to judge the “success” of these companies’ moves done with Asia in mind.

Not at all to say S+O was done only or primarily with Asia in mind (there were only 6-8 eligible Swatch stores in China), but more as a general matter.

 

I've recently gotten to know a crowd of young (20s and 30s), deep-pocketed watch enthusiasts in Hong Kong who are *very* knowledgable and enthusiastic about mechanical watches.

What's interesting to me is that while some harbor predictable obsessions with hard to get Rolex sportwatches, AP ROs and PP Nautiluses (Nautili?), they also collect MB&Fs and know about independents I've never heard of, and like some of the newer designs from Omega, such as the Speedmaster Chronoscope or the Moonphase Speedmaster in blue ceramic.

Some like and respect vintage watches as well, but generally they like and crave the new stuff. Me, I'm a Moonwatch guy and they all think that's cool (very OG) but they have much different tastes and they buy, then maybe sell, then buy some more to try out all the new things that come along.

And they were almost all very keen to pick up the Moonswatch.

 

True. Tokyo also a heaven for watches.

 

I agree, the watch culture in HK and SG is pretty next-level. Until recently I thought the obsession with watches in HK at least was largely confined to Rolexes. Certainly among vintage collectors, Rolex dominates. There are shops that basically only cater to collectors of vintage Rolex. The gentleman who cuts my hair owns a killer vintage Sea Dweller, an all-gold 1970s GMT and a 1990s Zenith Daytona.

This particular group I have recently gotten to know has surprised me with their non-Rolex interests. They compare notes on the latest Ming watches, Habring collaborations and Bvlgari Octo Finissimo perpetual calendars. Quite something.

I love Tokyo for vintage watches as well. There are shops with beautifully curated selections. Prices tend to be better in HK but you also have to be warier of frankenwatches, alas.

 

I am a newbie to the watch world but have recently had an interest in vintage watches. I bought my gateway watches as I call them- Hamilton, Gruen, Benrus, etc. and have been wearing them daily. I finally pulled the trigger on a Seamaster on the forum here and upon showing it to my son he said immediately, "why didn't you get a Rolex?". He is 22 and pretty hip to the fashion trends as he has more than one $200 Supreme t-shirt among others.

I do not believe he knows anything about mechanical versus quartz but he definitely has never heard of Omega and definitely knows the name Rolex. I personally could afford a Rolex but there is a stigma to wearing a Rolex that a poor kid that grew up in a trailer park in Michigan has no interest in perpetuating. Definitely not judging anyone that wears them just a personal thing to me. I love my Omega because it is not a Rolex.

 

I wonder if they know how often a service is recommended and what it costs.

 

Impossible to know since young people are so averse to the internet, what with it being a series of tubes and all that hooey.

 

The Gerald Genta brand illustrates the longstanding breadth and depth of the SG watch market. The name is only really known in watch circles yet there was a GG boutique in SG as far back as the 80's and I recall in the late 90's the Genta brand being heavily pushed on TV and in print.

 

Having dealt with many 20-25 year olds from different generations and all walks of life I will refrain from making the conjecture that because every friend of mine is well in tune with X topic then, everyone in that demographic group also shares the same level of knowledge about the topic. I can't say anything about old people sharing myths on Facebook because I have never had an account there.