Jones in LA
路路Not in LA anymore.As I've contemplated what Omega introduced this year at Baselworld, one thing I've tried to do is encapsulate any (apparent) new direction into a single word or phrase. If I were feeling uncharitable, I might think "kitschy". If I were feeling more charitable, maybe "bold". In the end, I think it's Omega's longer-term marketing strategy that's driving what we saw this year at Baselworld. For the moment, I'm going to ignore the technological side of Omega's new offerings, as there isn't much to debate about the internals unless one feels that the new technology is adding an unjustifiable cost to Omega's product line. I doubt that METAS-certified movements are going to make watches technologically worse than they were without them, and the price difference between METAS-certified and non-METAS watches for (nearly) the same model doesn't seem all that great to me.
Maybe Omega has concluded that many younger-aged buyers of mid-tier luxury watches find traditional designs to be boring. Personally, I'm not convinced there are very many prospective watch buyers aged 35 years and younger who are desirous and capable of forking over $5,000-$15,000 for a wristwatch. But then I think of those un-married, newly employed investment bankers who are looking for something to do with their first big bonus cheque (aside from paying off student loans). Maybe this is the target, representative demographic. Are they going to buy a Submariner, or an orange-accented Planet Ocean? A Daytona (if they can actually find one), or a Speedmaster Moonphase? Omega appears to be betting on bold.
Maybe Omega has concluded that many younger-aged buyers of mid-tier luxury watches find traditional designs to be boring. Personally, I'm not convinced there are very many prospective watch buyers aged 35 years and younger who are desirous and capable of forking over $5,000-$15,000 for a wristwatch. But then I think of those un-married, newly employed investment bankers who are looking for something to do with their first big bonus cheque (aside from paying off student loans). Maybe this is the target, representative demographic. Are they going to buy a Submariner, or an orange-accented Planet Ocean? A Daytona (if they can actually find one), or a Speedmaster Moonphase? Omega appears to be betting on bold.
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