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Replacement /Repair Damaged watch box.

G
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I have a 50th anniversary 1957 omega speedmaster moonwatch 311.30.42.30.01.001, my wooden/black box is damaged and I would like to replace/repair my box. Is there anyway I can do this? I am devastated, the rubberised black lining of my box has decomposed leaving a black sticky residue on everything - the watch is fine. I am very aware the impact of the damage on the value of my watch. I have emailed Omega and every stockist on their website. I have also searched on Google and EBay but with no luck. I really appreciate any help or advice you could offer.
 
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Dan S
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Very common to see degradation of these original boxes. They're just cheap crap, not museum-quality objects. I think the fact that you have the box is nice since you can keep the "full set" together, but personally I wouldn't worry too much about the tiny loss of value. Being "devastated" over damage to ephemera like packaging is an over-reaction IMO. Save it for when your house burns down.
 
JwRosenthal
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I’ve got a couple like this- nothing you can do about it. Considering every other box of this era is doing the same thing, I doubt it would have any impact on collector value.
 
G
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Dan S Dan S
Very common to see degradation of these original boxes. They're just cheap crap, not museum-quality objects. I think the fact that you have the box is nice since you can keep the "full set" together, but personally I wouldn't worry too much about the tiny loss of value. Being "devastated" over damage to ephemera like packaging is an over-reaction IMO. Save it for when your house burns down.
My wife bought it for me and I wanted to be able to pass it on to our son, in good condition. I am disappointed and sad that a lovely watch comes in such a cheap box. If this is happening Omega should be fixing the problem.
 
C
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G gvllowe
My wife bought it for me and I wanted to be able to pass it on to our son, in good condition. I am disappointed and sad that a lovely watch comes in such a cheap box. If this is happening Omega should be fixing the problem.

Be prepared for a life of disappointment. My older Omega boxes are also degrading. On the bright side, they aren't just injection molded plastic like another manufacturer I can think of. Omega boxes start out looking luxury, the initial presentation is great. The newer boxes are really gorgeous, and are built to last. Some of the competition is still delivering their watch in what is basically a glorified Seiko box, slightly larger but the same feeling. You can put your box up in a climate controlled space with plenty of desiccant packs inside it to try and slow the deterioration, but the important thing is the watch.

If you are really concerned with a having a presentation box for passing the watch down to your son, you could pick up one of the newer Seamaster wooden boxes.
 
JwRosenthal
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I don’t look at the quality of the box as any indicator of the quality of the product within- Omega didn’t make the boxes, they just contracted them to be made.
And prior to the last few years, nobody really cared about the boxes- they were just the presentation at purchase and most people threw them away.
 
C
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@JwRosenthal is 100% correct. It's only recently with the explosion of watches, and the desire of collectors to have full sets when possible, that boxes mattered much beyond the initial presentation. My point had more to do with the latter, with maximizing the experience and perception of acquiring a "luxury" product. When one spends thousands of dollars on a watch, it adds to the experience if the presentation is similarly as luxurious as the product. The box that Omega has been using the past several years is, I think, a more appropriate box for the product than a plastic one.

However - that is entirely presentation and experience; a marketing and customer satisfaction at point of purchase factor. A Lange 1 in a plastic bag is still a Lange 1, and a Vostok presented in a hand-carved mahogany display case is still a Vostok.
 
JwRosenthal
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C ChiefMark
@JwRosenthal is 100% correct. It's only recently with the explosion of watches, and the desire of collectors to have full sets when possible, that boxes mattered much beyond the initial presentation. My point had more to do with the latter, with maximizing the experience and perception of acquiring a "luxury" product. When one spends thousands of dollars on a watch, it adds to the experience if the presentation is similarly as luxurious as the product. The box that Omega has been using the past several years is, I think, a more appropriate box for the product than a plastic one.

However - that is entirely presentation and experience; a marketing and customer satisfaction at point of purchase factor. A Lange 1 in a plastic bag is still a Lange 1, and a Vostok presented in a hand-carved mahogany display case is still a Vostok.
My old marathon GSAR (c1995) came in a plain brown cardboard box like you would get candy in (opened with tabs in the ends) it was the most simplistic packaging on earth, designed to be immediately discarded upon opening- I thought it was fabulous. I did keep it, and passed it along to the new owner (a member here).
 
Evitzee
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The warranty and pictogram cards are more important than the box.
 
JwRosenthal
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I think it’s also important to note that watches, let alone their boxes, are not needed to be designed to live longer than their warranty period- maybe a decade after (same as cars). We choose to keep them alive and cherish them as heirlooms. Omega owes us nothing after their responsibility is done.
 
HiBoost
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G gvllowe
My wife bought it for me and I wanted to be able to pass it on to our son, in good condition. I am disappointed and sad that a lovely watch comes in such a cheap box. If this is happening Omega should be fixing the problem.

If you think the Omega boxes are bad, be thankful you didn't get a Rolex haha. My 2012 Speedy box easily beats my 2021 Rolex box. And my 2021 Omega box is in another universe. Of course the entire Omega lineup costs much more in 2021 than it did in 2012, so some improvements are expected.

As a thought experiement, consider this... Omega charges $200 for a very well made nato strap. What do you think they would charge for an heirloom quality leather wrapped hardwood box? Would you have been willing to pay an extra $1000 for your watch if such a box were an option? They have to cut costs somewhere, and I think most of us are fine with that being in the box.
 
Hetcins1
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My red box for my 2005 omega seamaster is perishing and its stored I'm my drawer never used don't think they where well made back then
 
C
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This is indeed an area where our emotional attachment to the hobby and to specific pieces we purchase defy logic and reason. We're spending sums of money that make most of the world gasp in astonishment for ... a watch. In an era when the precise time is available to most of the world population on their cell phone at all times, and when more accurate quartz watches are available for $10, we are purchasing watches for their appearance and design and materials costing hundreds of times that amount that then require regular, and rather expensive, maintenance to continue functioning.

Omega has definitely upped their game with packaging. I've got several iterations of Omega boxes, and despite all of them being stored and rarely disturbed, the older ones are disintegrating. Only the latest iteration seems to be made to last.
 
JwRosenthal
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C ChiefMark
This is indeed an area where our emotional attachment to the hobby and to specific pieces we purchase defy logic and reason. We're spending sums of money that make most of the world gasp in astonishment for ... a watch. In an era when the precise time is available to most of the world population on their cell phone at all times, and when more accurate quartz watches are available for $10, we are purchasing watches for their appearance and design and materials costing hundreds of times that amount that then require regular, and rather expensive, maintenance to continue functioning.

Omega has definitely upped their game with packaging. I've got several iterations of Omega boxes, and despite all of them being stored and rarely disturbed, the older ones are disintegrating. Only the latest iteration seems to be made to last.
I have a lovely Tissot wood box (small box, why do I need a desktop humidor for one watch??) from the 500 años of Brazil- the wood box itself is still in great shape- the lining and the pillow have not faired so well.
I attribute it to the quality of these soft vinyl materials during the 80’s-early 00’s. I know my German cars from those eras had issues with these new (at the time) material and eco-friendly adhesives (door card delaminating, headliners flapping in the beeeze, soy based wiring disintegrating, soft touch buttons scratching off easily and bubbling in the sun). The materials have advanced a bit in the last 20 years- I wouldn’t be too hard on these old things- they knew not how they would age back then.
 
C
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JwRosenthal JwRosenthal
I have a lovely Tissot wood box (small box, why do I need a desktop humidor for one watch??) from the 500 años of Brazil- the wood box itself is still in great shape- the lining and the pillow have not faired so well.
I attribute it to the quality of these soft vinyl materials during the 80’s-early 00’s. I know my German cars from those eras had issues with these new (at the time) material and eco-friendly adhesives (door card delaminating, headliners flapping in the beeeze, soy based wiring disintegrating, soft touch buttons scratching off easily and bubbling in the sun). The materials have advanced a bit in the last 20 years- I wouldn’t be too hard on these old things- they knew not how they would age back then.

I don't mean to be hard on them. They looked pretty good new, which is what they were made for. Even the old Omega boxes that are currently disintegrating looked classier than a plastic box. I think the current trend of caring deeply about the presentation box and people wanting a full set with an older watch has affected the marketplace, and the brands are responding, for the most part, with upscale packaging.

I've definitely experienced the unanticipated long-term results of manufacturers - especially automotive - experimenting with new materials and adhesives.
 
JwRosenthal
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C ChiefMark
I don't mean to be hard on them. They looked pretty good new, which is what they were made for. Even the old Omega boxes that are currently disintegrating looked classier than a plastic box. I think the current trend of caring deeply about the presentation box and people wanting a full set with an older watch has affected the marketplace, and the brands are responding, for the most part, with upscale packaging.

I've definitely experienced the unanticipated long-term results of manufacturers - especially automotive - experimenting with new materials and adhesives.
Not to mention the off-gassing of those materials. That haze on the inside of the windshield of my 16 year old Audi that I have to wipe off periodically speaks to that.
 
sleepyastronaut
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JwRosenthal JwRosenthal
I know my German cars from those eras had issues with these new (at the time) material and eco-friendly adhesives (door card delaminating, headliners flapping in the beeeze, soy based wiring disintegrating, soft touch buttons scratching off easily and bubbling in the sun).

lol I also thought of the "soft touch" plastic coating on the 2001 Passat I used to own. The only fix was to remove all the disintegrating coating. It was a good time for Goo-Gone.
 
vbrad26
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sleepyastronaut sleepyastronaut
lol I also thought of the "soft touch" plastic coating on the 2001 Passat I used to own. The only fix was to remove all the disintegrating coating. It was a good time for Goo-Gone.
I bet it smelled like crayons in there too.
 
JwRosenthal
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vbrad26 vbrad26
I bet it smelled like crayons in there too.
lol- you know that smell!! We had this convo about the old VW/Porsche/Audi/BMW smell, sure some of it’s the stuffing in the upholstery, but the smell differs depending on era. It’s the materials migrating back to Germany through the windshield.
 
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