The #1 rule is have boat loads of money. Then you make your own game up and AD’s and boutiques beg you to allow them to play the game with you.
I tend to agree with this. I think the explosion of watch forums and 'zines that cater to them has perhaps fed a kind of "watch-o-cracy" narrative wherein those who know a lot about and love the world of watches have an inside track to that world and its standout creations, and are the target audience for them. The whole story may include that, especially for smaller brands, whose sales are partly or largely driven by enthusiast word of mouth, but if you're running a brand boutique or AD where your running costs are high and ongoing, you need to move product quickly and regularly out the door, and while you may have genuine affection for the enthusiast, you're also selling to the anniversary or grad-gift buyer, or the person who just made bank and wants to advertise that. So as a watch-lover and Omega customer, you may think that you both merit and
deserve a Snoopy, but that doesn't mean the vendor should agree.
Omega knows it will sell as many Snoopy Awards as it makes. Rewarding important buyers who have spent a ton and will keep doing so makes for good business. It's frustrating for those of us who aren't in those shoes, but it's a luxury good after all -- t'was always thus.
I think it's fine to want an exclusive product, but it's maybe not so wise to want it too much that you're obsessed with or angry about it. I've been on the list with a deposit since Snoopy Day 2020. I have no idea if that deposit will ever result in the watch -- if it does, fine, If not, I'll put the cash somewhere else. All this hoopla and the regular price hikes (in Canada, at least) from Omega make me unlikely to buy another new one, unless it's a model I absolutely love, but c'est la vie. I'm sure Omega HQ have spent a lot of time studying the watch market and are making their moves accordingly. Here's hoping they don't retreat entirely from what has seemed to me like a pretty important guiding idea: technically advanced and mechanically sound watches at a relatively fair price for what they offer.
Snoopy or not, life is full and varied. Plenty of watches in the global display case.
