I just wanted to share... Even though it is much like preaching to the choir... Whenever People ask me why I buy at Boutiques, when discounts can be had at AD's or on-line grey-market sellers, I will respond that there are some things that Money just can't buy.... Case in point, this last week, I was fortunate enough to be one of a select group of Omega clients (inclusive of which was our own @repoman ) to be invited to NYC to attend a screening of Omega's new Film "Hospital in the Sky" featuring the Orbis Foundation and Omega Ambassador Cindy Crawford... The Big City...demands a Big Watch... The Event actually began the Day before, when Guests Arrived, and we allowed to acclimate to the Mandarin oriental in NYC before being treated to dinner, and the opportunity to have unedited, unadulterated watch talk with a group of fellow Omaga-philes.... (My Table mate was Stephen Urquhart himself, who was incredibly spry, and very coy in persistently teasing what the year holds for OMEGA....He assures me we won't be disappointed, and seemed barely able to contain himself) The following day involved Wine and Cheese tasting at Murray's Cheese in NYC, and a chance to rest up befor the main event... went with the HV (thought that it was appropriate for Orbis) Urquhart and Cindy Crawford address the Crowd...(Urquhart clearly ecstatic)
The Movie itself was incredibly Beautiful, poignant and very well done... Not only did it make you incredibly grateful for your own family's health, it really instilled a great pride in wearing the Brand that helped make this possible... It really makes it easy to support Omega for putting some of its influence and power behind a project like this... Afterward, the Party was first class, as everything else had been... Just imagine a Party where the Veuve Cliquot was free flowing, and the guests were mostly wearing Omegas! NY Historical Society Damn Casamigos tequila --- Don't believe the 'No Hangover' claims
Central Tourbillon Deville The Orbis hourVision annual calendar Needless to say, another amazing experience courtesy of Omega. No matter what kind of a spread they put on... The best part is just getting together with fellow Omegaphiles... Omega collectors are like none other... No arrogance, no pretentiousness, truly an amazing group...we all have an instant bond, and that instant friendship makes any experience that much better!!! How can you choose a discount over something like this?
Thanks for sharing @Superdoc! Envious doesn't really cover it.. Looks like a blast! Who is that girl with you? I couldn't make out what watch she's wearing.. Oh, nice watches too!
How come 2/5 in the last photo have completely different time showing on their watches? Bizarre, no? Perhaps time travelers.
Looks like an amazing experience. Must have been tough deciding which watch to wear, and when... one of those good problems Great photos and story. Thx for sharing Love that RG DeVille HV
@Superdoc, you captured my sentiments exactly, and gave a pretty darn good trip report. I'll add a few more pics and personal experiences. Omega pulls out all the stops at their events, I wonder how they make any money on me at all to be honest. These trips are for two (you and a guest), and I was having trouble finding someone to go with me (wife couldn't make it, eldest son couldn't make it and I was beginning to feel like a real loser), but my best friend George was ready and willing to join in the fun. My sister and @Taddyangle were next up on my invite list (sorry Bernard, you missed it by that much). George confessed he was anxious, saying "I don't have an Omega to wear" (he's a Rolex guy)... I gave him the pick of my litter, after having reserved the Grey Side for myself. He opted for the Speedyorite (a good choice, who says Rolex guys have no taste!). I decided to bring a few others, my 145.012-67 Speedmaster Pro, a TinTin (I confess, only to tease @Superdoc with), and my 45th anniversary Apollo 11. It's like doing wardrobe changes at an awards show, can't have too many looks after-all. When we first arrived at the hotel, I was happily surprised to see my local boutique manager Danielle at the event... she pulled one over on me and said she wouldn't be there. A very nice surprise indeed, and she spent the next couple days making sure George and I were having the time of our lives as her clients. We dumped our stuff off and ran down to the Omega boutique just in time to see @Superdoc's wife Michelle sporting some serious new hardware. I won't give it away as RJ will probably post a pic some time soon. We then toured the NYC boutique which was pretty amazing. Definitely worth a visit when you are in town. The most fun by far is meeting so many interesting people, and on this trip the social interactions were really exceptional. I had a chance to meet Danny and Ari (brother and sister) from just up the road in Los Angeles, Sergio and his wife also from San Diego, Jaime and Melinda from Texas (another Speedmaster freak like me), Mike and Barbara-Ann (Mike is the best boss anyone could ever have, to see why read below), Alvaro & Lyndsay, Patrick & Jay, our very own RJ and his wife Michelle, and many many others. Everyone was fun, lively, and of course, cursed with the same Omega affliction. The second most fun aspect of this trip for me was exchanging watches with my new friends, I had a chance to spend quality time with several new pieces, like a beautiful Redgold Deville, a Master Co-axial Aqua Terra, an X-33 Skywalker, and a PO Goodplanet. Amazing how enthusiastic people were to exchange their watch for my Grey Side The enabling that was going on was epic. (It's at this point I begin to see Omega's sinister master plan ) Our first dinner was at Crown, we sat with Mike & Barbara-Ann; he is a partner in Hendrick Autogroup and if anyone wants a boss who appreciates their employees, get your resume together and send it to Mike. He buys a dozen DSTOM's at a time to give to his employees as "thank you" gifts. And we're not talking about salesman only, or 25 year service anniversary awards (which would still be exceptional, my company gives you $500 gift for 25 years of slavery^H^H^H^Hservice), but all employees who shine in their roles are eligible in his organization. He and his wife were completely down to earth and just a joy to spend an evening with. We were having such a good time with them that I didn't mingle a whole lot that first night. Stephen Urquhart and Brice Le Troadec were there and circled the room checking in to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves. George, Danielle and I at Crown, and the scene inside: After dinner, I ended up back at the hotel and closed the bar down with some other Omegaphiles, and somehow managed to get a couple hours sleep. For the next day, the original plan was to do helicopter tours of NYC, but with the in-climate weather, Omega opted for the safer (and albeit less exciting but still really fun) route of a cheese and wine pairing class, followed by lunch. This is where I met Danny and Ari and started some serious enabling and watch swapping. Ari's Deville was exquisite, as was she. Danny and I would end up exchanging a couple watches on this trip, including his AT Master Co-axial and his Goodplanet, but Ari's Deville captured my heart. She fully owned wearing a watch labeled as man's watch, and she pulled it off with aplomb. That last pic in RJ's post of the multiple wrists in one shot, that includes RJ, Danny, Ari and I, and as someone observed, Danny and Ari's watches were not set to NY time. Further proof we don't really wear these to tell time. After this, we got dressed up and hit the Orbis event. WOW, so fun. This was a combination of Omegaphiles, NY party scene types, and media/press people. The point was to screen the documentary and to start to get the word out about the Orbis mission. RJ snapped his pic of Stephen Urquhart and I. The documentary when released is worth your time... the main ophthalmologist featured in the movie was at the event and took a round of hearty applause after the screening. I made it a point to seek him out shake his hand and get a picture with him - he was the true star of the film. His name is Dr. Frederick, he works at Stanford Medical and this volunteer work is what he does on his vacations. The man is a saint. I will also say that Cindy Crawford was a trooper, that woman stood for hours getting MOBBED by the crowd to take pictures. I was not really that interested (ok, maybe I was a little); I was asked to join some others and we got the last shot with her that evening. Omega also announced their new promotional campaign, if you get to a boutique, take a selfie with the Omega Orbis Teddy Bear and post it to social media with the hashtag #omegaorbisteddy, you could be selected to go on one of Orbis's missions. Our Omega Swag from this event included the teddy bear. If you get luck and get selected to go on one of these missions, it would be a life changing event, trust me. As part of this, they had a photo booth setup for pics with the Teddy... note the Teddy was sporting a Grey Side Melinda had surprised her husband Jaime with a Tintin that night, and he was wearing it on an Omega black/red NATO... OMFG it looked great (I've now got that strap on order) I also was feeling it with the X-33 Skywalker, Alvaro let me sample: I could go on and on and on.. I've got a hundred pics from this unforgettable trip, many business cards, selfies, contact info and bottom line, many new friends. Thank you Omega. [mods - i'm not sure why its duplicating the photo below... can't seem to delete it]
John...nicely done! Great coverage of the event... The #omegaorbisteddy draw at the boutique is definitely worth mentioning again! Just hashtag it on any social media site Instagram/twitter/Facebook etc A few more pics @repoman 's TinTin The Boutique on 5th ave Mastercoaxial (Was supposed to be a TT '57) Tasting notes at Murray's
Damn, I wish I could of joined you guys. I got the invite but had to turn it down as I was in Nice, on a business trip and got back Saturday. Great report and pics guys!
Very nice pics...more than the first class experience. .I'm proud to be an Omega owner and prouder to see an organization devote time and resources to bettering the world. Beauty truly is skin deep and this lends credence that Omega has substance and soul. Kudo!!!!... Now time for me to save up for the good planet GMT. .lol
Thanks for sharing. For my celebratory dinner I'm off to open a can of baked beans and a can of VB Seriously guys, my whole body is tinged green now, no idea why, maybe @Superdoc can diagnose.
Nice reporting @repoman, @Superdoc!! Great pix. Looking forward to hitting an Omega event this summer......so we've been promised
Collectors event coming up later this year... that would be an epic one to get an invite to... and a very good reason to keep buying watches!!! Yay!
Where is the location and time? Maybe have to make sure I ask the boutique manager to send me an invite ;-)