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Kevin O'Leary describes Omega watches as "entry level" and "affordable"

bander04
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ninman ninman
OK, just to make it clear, his opinion is that Omega is entry level and Rolex is top tier brand. Which is honestly a really stupid thing to say.

Omega, Rolex, Breitling and Tag Huer are all at the same level in terms of retail price and quality of watch making.

Rolex, Patek and AP are clearly not on the same level, at all.

I wouldn't put Breitling and Tag Heuer anywhere close to Rolex and Omega in terms of quality of watchmaking. Both Breitling and Tag primarily use out of house movements, while Omega and Rolex both use in-house movements. You can find a Tag Heuer watch at a local retailer for $1-2k, while Omega is typically $5-10k and Rolex are $10k+. You can easily tell when comparing a Tag Heuer and an Omega watch side-by-side that the Omega is clearly a superior build quality, uses higher quality materials, and have better movements.

I'd agree that Rolex is not at the same level as Patek and AP in terms of build quality but they are definitely comparable when you factor in Rolex's brand and marketing behind their watches. If you ask the average person what a nice watch is, 9/10 they are saying Rolex and not AP or Patek.
 
gbesq
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bander04 bander04
I wouldn't put Breitling and Tag Heuer anywhere close to Rolex and Omega in terms of quality of watchmaking. Both Breitling and Tag primarily use out of house movements, while Omega and Rolex both use in-house movements. You can find a Tag Heuer watch at a local retailer for $1-2k, while Omega is typically $5-10k and Rolex are $10k+. You can easily tell when comparing a Tag Heuer and an Omega watch side-by-side that the Omega is clearly a superior build quality, uses higher quality materials, and have better movements.

I'd agree that Rolex is not at the same level as Patek and AP in terms of build quality but they are definitely comparable when you factor in Rolex's brand and marketing behind their watches. If you ask the average person what a nice watch is, 9/10 they are saying Rolex and not AP or Patek.
I'd absolutely agree that contemporary Breitling and Tag Heuer are not as well made as Omega. I'd also agree that Rolex's marketing and brand awareness are second to none -- virtually every adult consumer has heard of Rolex, many would have no idea what AP and Patek are all about. That being said, not to knock Rolex, but I don't think that Rolex builds a watch that is any better than Omega. In fact, I would say that Omega's movement technology is superior, but their marketing leaves much to be desired. When it comes to haute horology, however, Rolex isn't even close to Omega as Rolex doesn't produce any sophisticated complications whereas Omega has produced a tourbillion among others.
 
pdxleaf
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Okay, I will play.

Luxury items are bigger, have more expensive materials, more gems, more flash.

Rolex is not like this definition of luxury. Rolex isn't just a watch, it's a commodity (a declining one at the moment.) It’s been said repeatedly that you can take a Rolex to any war zone and trade it for food, transportation, security, etc... In this example, Rolex is recognized as a thing with value, not as a watch. Like gold bars or pieces of paper or beads. The value is not in the thing itself, but in the agreement that it has value and can be traded. This gives Rolex an advantage in marketing and cost, but not necessarily as a luxury item, at least in my mind.

The definition of luxury is subjective, anyway. I live a pretty luxurious life. I am retired so don't have to work. I have a house, not grand but near a park and allows pets. I have AC in the summer and heat in the winter. I have a small watch collection. My definition is evolving to include health and peace, things I didn't appreciate enough.

What good is luxury if you don't already appreciate what you have? Maybe that's what luxury is, it's anything above and beyond your current happiness.

Now my head hurts. I need to go lay down.

Luxury is too many watches and a dog and a cat.
20231128_204059.jpg 20231127_151203.jpg
 
DrmexicoII
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I drive a merc and have been told it's an old man's car so I'm leaving this thread. I only came here to have a go at Kev and Mikey... 😁
 
gbesq
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pdxleaf pdxleaf
Okay, I will play.

Luxury items are bigger, have more expensive materials, more gems, more flash.

Rolex is not like this definition of luxury. Rolex isn't just a watch, it's a commodity (a declining one at the moment.) It’s been said repeatedly that you can take a Rolex to any war zone and trade it for food, transportation, security, etc... In this example, Rolex is recognized as a thing with value, not as a watch. Like gold bars or pieces of paper or beads. The value is not in the thing itself, but in the agreement that it has value and can be traded. This gives Rolex an advantage in marketing and cost, but not necessarily as a luxury item, at least in my mind.

The definition of luxury is subjective, anyway. I live a pretty luxurious life. I am retired so don't have to work. I have a house, not grand but near a park and allows pets. I have AC in the summer and heat in the winter. I have a small watch collection. My definition is evolving to include health and peace, things I didn't appreciate enough.

What good is luxury if you don't already appreciate what you have? Maybe that's what luxury is, it's anything above and beyond your current happiness.

Now my head hurts. I need to go lay down.

Luxury is too many watches and a dog and a cat.
20231128_204059.jpg 20231127_151203.jpg
Best and most insightful comment of the day.
 
sheepdoll
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pdxleaf pdxleaf
Okay, I will play.
... It’s been said repeatedly that you can take a Rolex to any war zone and trade it for food, transportation, security, etc...

And this differs how from an Omega? I once worked for a Saudi who liked Omegas. He said Rolex does not hold up well in the desert sand.

As for trading watches for food etc. I bought an enameled watch in Prague in the early 1990s. The other collectors said it probably had been traded for food or something somewhere along in it's history. There were a lot of knick knacks for sale in Dresden back in the early 1990s as well. Who knows what their history is?

ANY decent watch can probably be traded in times of crisis when people are not thinking straight. Helps of course if the case is gold. Then it is not the watch.

I suspect the watches I got en bulk sometimes in the late 1980s or early 1990s were from the mid 1940. One was repaired with a paperclip. And while not military marked (other than the A11) parts may have been field repaired. The El Rusto Heuer, may also date to the mid 1940s. So in real practice the idea of crisis management, is not an Improve acting exercise or a LARP game. Ther are no rules.

On the other hand having a Rolex in Central park, could save one's life. (Or so the movies tell us.)

I am always sweeping gold plated (ENIG) electronics contact pins off the floor. As said before I recall when gold once hit 1K I bought a bunch of SD connectors for 50 cents each. I also have trays of computer chips. Not sure anyone really would have the sense to remember to put any of this into one's pocket.

Used to stick left over garden seeds in the fridge or freezer. I suspect tomato or pepper seeds could be quite a bit more value in a war zone. (Of course they are food.)

What is most likely in crisis to get one food, security transportation etc is personality and politeness. Staying calm and situational awareness.

The most valuable commodity is of course information.
 
STANDY
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Funny as at volleyball on Monday night the young ref was ridiculing me for having a watch with hands and said “ how do you even read that thing” telling me I need a new watch like his $100 Casio if I could afford it.
Obviously my Speedmaster has no worth if I was broken down remote and needed a lift by a young fella who couldn’t read an analog watch.
 
pdxleaf
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STANDY STANDY
Funny as at volleyball on Monday night the young ref was ridiculing me for having a watch with hands and said “ how do you even read that thing” telling me I need a new watch like his $100 Casio if I could afford it.
Obviously my Speedmaster has no worth if I was broken down remote and needed a lift by a young fella who couldn’t read an analog watch.

Boomers with their crappy watches and crappy cars.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a...-718-realize-they-cannot-drive-stick-give-up/
 
GrussGott
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hen hen
Merc and Rolex are old guy
Lol, the Germans would definitely agree! At least the ones I've talked to ... I love all your other ones too.
 
GrussGott
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gostang9 gostang9
According to you, this is by definition "luxury"...

Nope, I'm defining a luxury brand as one with the ability to move upmarket and maintain pricing power. Mercedes can do that with it's S-class and GLS SUVs which can easily hit $200k.

BMW on the other hand has been trying with it's 6 & 7 series to get into that market and just can't; they always end up discounting most famously having to take the 6er off the market for 2 years while discounting it in 2018. Even the mighty M5 gets discounted.

And, of course, Benz has the highest per-car profit ... though I realize these types of things can be argued back and forth for eons and there is no right, so I'm only replying to clarify the point for anyone of similar mind.

My 2 cents is Rolex is pulling off this same trick, but, again, just my 2 cents and there's no right.
 
Archer
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GrussGott GrussGott
Nope, I'm defining a luxury brand as one with the ability to move upmarket and maintain pricing power.

Omega has moved upmarket substantially in the last 15 years, and there’s room to go higher. Because they don’t do this as effectively as Rolex does, doesn’t mean they are not a luxury brand.

This is trap newer collectors often fall into, comparing everything to Rolex...
 
blufinz52
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Archer Archer
Because they don’t do this as effectively as Rolex does, doesn’t mean they are not a luxury brand.

Why do you think they don't do it as effectively as Rolex? Rolex has been the industry leader for many years, one would think Omega would figure out how to cut into their share, currently barely 1/4 of Rolex's. Take the Speedmaster out of the equation and it might be a tenth.
 
Archer
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blufinz52 blufinz52
Why do you think they don't do it as effectively as Rolex? Rolex has been the industry leader for many years, one would think Omega would figure out how to cut into their share, currently barely 1/4 of Rolex's. Take the Speedmaster out of the equation and it might be a tenth.

They only spend a fraction of what Rolex does on marketing. As much as people say it’s not marketing that has put Rolex where it is, it has. Yes, the products are good (the problems with the 323X movements aside), but that alone hasn’t gotten them to where they are. They have cultivated a carefully constructed image of what the watches stand for, and people lap it up...
 
sheepdoll
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Rolex also likes to protect it's mark when preschools use it.

Omega uses a generic letter. Then again Who ever heard of Louis Brant and fils?

It is hard to protect the last letter of an alphabet. Still they do a decent job. And some of the ephemeral adverts are really good. I am probably not the modern market target. Vintage does not put food on their table. So they do what they have to do.
 
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