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vadimo
·Chinese people are very superstitious. Just like the number four and how in Chinese sounds like the word "death/deceased."
Source: Am Chinese. Am not superstitious.
Omega brand awarness as a luxury brand
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demollo
·In Poland every watch above $500 is considered luxury. Omega sells way more watches in Poland than Rolex because of the lower price. However we are not a big market for high end watches.
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Riviera Paradise
·The thing about perception is that there are those who care about Watches... in which Omega is generally seen at the level with Breitling, and Rolex, maybe throw in JLC, but below Ap/PP/VC/Breguet.. But is being recognized for efforts to make technological advances and innovations.
And there are those who Don't care about watches... to whom Rolex is the ultimate luxury brand.
All I can say about Omega's perception, is that where I live, granted a small town, most people hadn't heard of Omega, but they consider it an enviable luxury brand....because I wear one....
So... if you care what others think, you're obviously not effective enough in influencing how they think... a watch might not be what you need.
A more general comment is that Omega cannot become Rolex...they must be different from Rolex and appeal to different values.
If one is immersed in a highly competitive "winning is all that counts" work environment (finance, corporate sales), you will probably find a large amount of Rolex wearers. Omega sponsors sports such as Golf and Olympics where "theoretically" the ethics and camaraderie are also valued and not only "winning"...Rolex sponsors Formula 1 and ATP Tennis with a big focus on Men´s individual competition....both are very much highly competitive "one winner takes all" sports. Space exploration, probably Omega´s strongest brand association, is by nature a "team effort". I know there are probable exceptions on both sides...but what I am focusing on here is more the trend rather than the data point.
I believe there will be two big general long term social changes in the next 10 years which will favour Omega´s branding and worldview vs Rolex:
1. Change in demographics with an incredible increase in the elderly population...I would guess that Omega´s more "gentle" branding would appeal more to the over 60s than Rolex.
2. Climate change influencing the younger generation and all generations to a certain extent: inevitable increased awareness that some business attitudes + throw away consumption are unsustainable.
Right now in the the short term you do see a migration crisis and floundering global economy generating phenomena such as the rise of Donald Trump and Uk´s Brexit vote...but I really do think these are short terms trends that will fade out in the next five years or so...
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Riviera Paradise
·Omega on the same level as JLC? Really? 😵💫
I actually think the Tresor at US$13.8K is on the same level as some of the JLC´s offerings for their MUT range. On the sports chronogaph level some 9300 Speedmasters also compare favorably. I do agree with you that overall JLC has a higher prestige/pedigree compared to Omega, at least within the WIS community
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Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerI actually think the Tresor at US$13.8K is on the same level as some of the JLC´s offerings for their MUT range. On the sports chronogaph level some 9300 Speedmasters also compare favorably. I do agree with you that overall JLC has a higher prestige/pedigree compared to Omega, at least within the WIS community
Sure if you want to cherry pick a model or two, there might be a point of comparison here and there, but as brands they are a hell of a long way apart. It's not about prestige or pedigree in my view, it's about they actually do...
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Riviera Paradise
·2. Climate change influencing the younger generation and all generations to a certain extent: inevitable increased awareness that some business attitudes + throw away consumption are unsustainable.
Just thought I would add that the following with item 2 I posted above: the sentiments arising from trends such as climate change "ecoaware" + criticism of unsustainable concentration of wealth and consumption could actually affect the whole luxury market as a negative influence, but I do believe Omega has a better branding for that scenario than Rolex. In the long term, the actual perception of what a luxury brand should actually be and represent, will probably change.
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Riviera Paradise
·Sure if you want to cherry pick a model or two, there might be a point of comparison here and there, but as brands they are a hell of a long way apart. It's not about prestige or pedigree in my view, it's about they actually do...
Al, I will defer to your evident expertise😀...you are of course completely right...JLC´s enormous quantity of patents, complications/calibres + finishing on their pieces above entry level...can and should be considered superior to Omega and Rolex.
....But branding even at the WIS level is not only technical but also about prestige and pedigree. Considering from a pure technical point of view, some of the watches coming out from Montblanc are punching considerably above their weight, but suffer from lack of brand prestige and pedigree, mainly due to the fact that Montblanc is still considered to be thought of more as a pen and leather luxury goods brand.
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Texas_Tom
·People that think that Rolex is an unnecessary wealth extravagance don't know about the other 10 watch houses above that. If they found out about the ALS, AP, GO, JLC, or VC they would probably pass out.
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Riviera Paradise
·People that think that Rolex is an unnecessary wealth extravagance don't know about the other 10 watch houses above that. If they found out about the ALS, AP, GO, JLC, or VC they would probably pass out.
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Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerAl, I will defer to your evident expertise😀...you are of course completely right...JLC´s enormous quantity of patents, complications/calibres + finishing on their pieces above entry level...can and should be considered superior to Omega and Rolex.
....But branding even at the WIS level is not only technical but also about prestige and pedigree. Considering from a pure technical point of view, some of the watches coming out from Montblanc are punching considerably above their weight, but suffer from lack of brand prestige and pedigree, mainly due to the fact that Montblanc is still considered to be thought of more as a pen and leather luxury goods brand.
Well, there are 2 ways to get prestige - market the hell out of your reasonably good, but not spectacular product as "a crown for every achievement" or earn it by doing superior work. I personally prefer companies that do the latter. 😀
And yes Montblanc is doing some great things, but I think they have to be taken in context - not criticizing them because I do like some of their current pieces, and I do own many of their non-horological products. Before they bought out Minerva, they made watches for about 10 years, and they were pretty mediocre watches, with the majority being quartz. They essentially bought their way into the high end market, as a number of makers have, either by buying out a company that is doing higher end work, or by subcontracting out the high end work. There's nothing wrong with that really, although there are a lot of makers who do hide the fact that they subcontract out their very complicated work to small shops who specialize in this sort of work, and claim it as their own. Very few are up front about this in fact...
But having been through the JLC facilities in Le Sentier, they don't take this approach. What you see from them is what they do, not what some subcontractor has done for them, or what abilities they gained by buying out someone who was doing work substantially above their own level. So yes there is a prestige difference between Montblanc and JLC, but that difference is also in what they do, and how they got there.
Cheers, Al
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Riviera Paradise
·Well, there are 2 ways to get prestige - market the hell out of your reasonably good, but not spectacular product as "a crown for every achievement" or earn it by doing superior work. I personally prefer companies that do the latter. 😀
And yes Montblanc is doing some great things, but I think they have to be taken in context - not criticizing them because I do like some of their current pieces, and I do own many of their non-horological products. Before they bought out Minerva, they made watches for about 10 years, and they were pretty mediocre watches, with the majority being quartz. They essentially bought their way into the high end market, as a number of makers have, either by buying out a company that is doing higher end work, or by subcontracting out the high end work. There's nothing wrong with that really, although there are a lot of makers who do hide the fact that they subcontract out their very complicated work to small shops who specialize in this sort of work, and claim it as their own. Very few are up front about this in fact...
But having been through the JLC facilities in Le Sentier, they don't take this approach. What you see from them is what they do, not what some subcontractor has done for them, or what abilities they gained by buying out someone who was doing work substantially above their own level. So yes there is a prestige difference between Montblanc and JLC, but that difference is also in what they do, and how they got there.
Cheers, Al
Very good points Al😀
Just to be crystal clear...I was not comparing JLC to Montblanc...I was just using Montblanc as a reference to show that a brand can move up the "technical watch chops" ladder and the branding per se will not move up in the public´s perception for some time. Omega has evidently suffered from that "lag effect" as well...the very fact we are discussing Omega´s luxury brand awareness is of course a reflection of Omega´s WIP to get the branding at the same level as Rolex.
What I did try to raise for discussion in one of my lengthy (and perhaps rather boring) posts above...is whether Omega should be aiming for a completely different branding strategy altogether: flanking Rolex.
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Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerI know you weren't comparing them. I'm just making the point that "how they get there" is important, at least to me.
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vinn2
·is it anything like the diference between a buick and a cadalac AND a model A ford? only your mechanic knows. vinn
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chunkythebulldog
·People that think that Rolex is an unnecessary wealth extravagance don't know about the other 10 watch houses above that. If they found out about the ALS, AP, GO, JLC, or VC they would probably pass out.
Most non watch people can usually name Omega, Tag, Breitling and what they perceive as the best brand, Rolex.
My Father in law is one of these people and a few years back he picked up an Omega Seamaster, one of the Bond editions. He came strutting into my house thinking he was Pierce Brosnan, rolled up his sleeve and said something along the lines of "it's about time you bought a decent watch like me" at the time I was wearing an AP ROO. I was going to put him in his place but decided to let him have his 5 minutes of fame.
Omega make some nice watches but they aren't a luxury brand in my opinion.
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Riviera Paradise
·Most non watch people can usually name Omega, Tag, Breitling and what they perceive as the best brand, Rolex.
My Father in law is one of these people and a few years back he picked up an Omega Seamaster, one of the Bond editions. He came strutting into my house thinking he was Pierce Brosnan, rolled up his sleeve and said something along the lines of "it's about time you bought a decent watch like me" at the time I was wearing an AP ROO. I was going to put him in his place but decided to let him have his 5 minutes of fame.
Omega make some nice watches but they aren't a luxury brand in my opinion.
I do have an AP Royal Oak on my target list...but the AP ROO is a bit too much too hip-hop/gangster for me...I do appreciate the mechanics of the ROO but not the Hublot type branding AP seems to be doing sometimes😉
Very good thing you took the right attitude with your Father in Law, otherwise you would probably have come across as very much the "arrogant young turk"👍
I completely agree that Omega is not a "luxury" brand for the Private Jet, Monaco Yacht, House in Kensington folk. I actually find that to be a big positive in my emotional link with the brand.😀
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Syed117
·I replied to this thread earlier and have since asked friends and family members what they thought about Omega and rolex specifically.
Most scoffed at the idea of wearing a multi thousand dollar watch.
A few said that a guy who wears a rolex is an a**hole who just wants to show off, while an Omega guy is someone who cares about watches more than he does about showing off. Interestingly, no one said the opposite.
A few others said that both the Rolex and the Omega guys are a**holes that just want to show off.
Oddly, the ones who agreed the most and saw the merit of wearing nice watches were women. This was after I made the comparison to their luxury handbags that can also cost thousands of dollars. Especially considering the time to produce is much shorter and the markup is significantly higher for luxury bags.
So there you go.
Most scoffed at the idea of wearing a multi thousand dollar watch.
A few said that a guy who wears a rolex is an a**hole who just wants to show off, while an Omega guy is someone who cares about watches more than he does about showing off. Interestingly, no one said the opposite.
A few others said that both the Rolex and the Omega guys are a**holes that just want to show off.
Oddly, the ones who agreed the most and saw the merit of wearing nice watches were women. This was after I made the comparison to their luxury handbags that can also cost thousands of dollars. Especially considering the time to produce is much shorter and the markup is significantly higher for luxury bags.
So there you go.
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Riviera Paradise
·I replied to this thread earlier and have since asked friends and family members what they thought about Omega and rolex specifically.
Most scoffed at the idea of wearing a multi thousand dollar watch.
A few said that a guy who wears a rolex is an a**hole who just wants to show off, while an Omega guy is someone who cares about watches more than he does about showing off. Interestingly, no one said the opposite.
A few others said that both the Rolex and the Omega guys are a**holes that just want to show off.
Oddly, the ones who agreed the most and saw the merit of wearing nice watches were women. This was after I made the comparison to their luxury handbags that can also cost thousands of dollars. Especially considering the time to produce is much shorter and the markup is significantly higher for luxury bags.
So there you go.
Great feedback👍...and it does tie in with what I think many in the general public perceive of both brands.
@meganfox17, mon cheri, can you offer further input here...I´m sure you can😀.
Sip another espresso and pour another energy drink...please. Then write a mega post from your POV as to how women perceive "Rolex", "Omega" and "JLC" wearing men...I am sure it will complement @Syed117 ´s post wonderfully and spice up the discussion...😉
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SamQue
·Interesting question ... I've actually had more people comment on my SMP than on my Rolex. On several occasions, people have recognized it as an Omega and complimented me on it. (In both cases they were former owners who regretted letting their own Omegas go.)
I haven't yet had anyone comment to me on my Rolex ... But you never know ...
I have found people notice my Speedmaster often while the Rolex watches go unnoticed. Interesting too was that younger people (20's) were aware of the Speedmaster and commented.
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Alex_TA
·Regarding JLC, I understand their history, glory, watchmaker achievements etc. But I hear a lot - and I mean A LOT - complaints about different problems with their watches and the quality of their service.
