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Seamaster Railmaster 36.2mm - Brochure or Sales Literature?

Jakeys
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Found out something quite strange today. There are an additional three references of the Aqua Terra Railmaster, which cannot be looked up on Omega's website. They are the 2108.52.00, 2608.52.31 and 2608.52.37. These are the usual three bracelet/strap variants of a yellow gold 39.2 mm Railmaster. So essentially the 2103.52.00, 2603.52.31 and 2603.52.37 but with a custom limited edition train artwork caseback, limited to 1895 units and sold to the Chinese market only. This would bring the total number of Aqua Terra Railmaster references up to 22!

There is a sales listing of one which is easily searchable showing a high resolution photo of the caseback. I also found a thread on this forum where Archer confirms it is a real reference, so bit odd it's not on the Omega website, I've never not been able to look up a reference before but I guess it happens.

1729390872873.webp


Hopefully nobody minds I'm essentially just collecting all the Railmaster trivia I find into this thread. 😜

Here's a screenshot of the current list of Aqua Terra Railmaster references I can find. This is more complete than Ghost of Gerald Genta's article. I typo'd the brown strap reference in the image, 2607.52.37 should be 2608.52.37.

1729391764944.webp
Edited:
 
watchhinder
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YY77 YY77
Did you know of this database;

https://watchbase.com/omega/railmaster
Yes, the only thing that is probably wrong is the production period (that says 2003-2010) some fans reckon it's more likely to be between 2007 and 2009 somewhere in that region (for the 36mil of course)...To answer Jackey's post I personnally dont think the gold case fits that kind of watch ;-)
 
watchhinder
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Jakeys Jakeys
Another one has come up for an absolutely outrageous price at 12,900 Euros. Clearly someone saw that last one list for ~$6500 USD and sell quickly, so decided to try a moonshot.
I have written to the seller asking him why he thought that price was justified 😆😆😆
 
sathomasga
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watchhinder watchhinder
I have written to the seller asking him why he thought that price was justified 😆😆😆
Well, I guess they don't have to justify it other than by noting that they'd rather have the watch than 12000 € and they'd rather have 13000 € than the watch 😀

It will be interesting to see how long the listing lasts. I can't imagine anyone would pay anywhere close to the asking price.

TBH, the 36mm Railmaster is the closest thing to a grail watch for me. I'd love to own one. And I've had the opportunity and the funds to purchase one. But I just can't justify the market price of ~ $5000 for it.
 
padders
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A 39mm example has just popped up on our own sales area for a rather more sensible and less crack smoking price than mentioned above. If you like the look it's worth consideration. For me the 36mm is too small and the 38mm Trilogy RM is the sweet spot but to each their own!
 
Jakeys
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YY77 YY77
Did you know of this database;

https://watchbase.com/omega/railmaster

Kinda, that's how I ran across the gold train models. Prior to that I wasn't, but I was pleased to see I don't think I've missed any!

watchhinder watchhinder
Yes, the only thing that is probably wrong is the production period (that says 2003-2010) some fans reckon it's more likely to be between 2007 and 2009 somewhere in that region (for the 36mil of course)...To answer Jackey's post I personnally dont think the gold case fits that kind of watch ;-)

I think there is a reasonable amount of evidence compiled in this thread that the overall Aqua Terra Railmaster run was 2003 to 2010, not 2012 as sometimes has been claimed online. And the 36 mm only appears in the catalogue for 2007 and 2008. The only bit I'm not clear on is whether the larger sizes of Railmaster were still in the catalogue in 2009, we know the 36's weren't. I know for sure all models are gone in my 2010 catalogue and there is some corroborating evidence from the period online indicating the model range has been discontinued at some point prior to mid 2011.

sathomasga sathomasga
Well, I guess they don't have to justify it other than by noting that they'd rather have the watch than 12000 € and they'd rather have 13000 € than the watch 😀

It will be interesting to see how long the listing lasts. I can't imagine anyone would pay anywhere close to the asking price.

TBH, the 36mm Railmaster is the closest thing to a grail watch for me. I'd love to own one. And I've had the opportunity and the funds to purchase one. But I just can't justify the market price of ~ $5000 for it.

I think the fact it's still there is evidence enough it's overpriced, which we all knew already. Any example priced even remotely reasonable sells quickly. At around the $5000 USD market price they generally sell in 24 hours, but sometimes up to a week based on all the listings I've tracked. We've even seen some Chrono24 listings in the past asking $6000+ that still sell in a day or two. But the 13000 EUR one has not sold in weeks, to nobody's surprise.

It came up right after the more reasonably priced listing sold, so my guess is the owner had a search alert on their model, saw it sell in less than a day, and decided to put a moonshot price in. I doubt they intend to sell it at market price.

For what it's worth, $5000 USD is a fair price for it in my opinion, and I don't expect it will drop lower than the market given the rarity, so if you want one, you should get one while you can. Now they are a bit of a collector model, they're only going to keep getting harder to find. The contemporary Rolex Explorer 114270 costs about the same or a bit more. I think the Railmaster can't go too much higher than the Explorer's valuation, or demand will drop as many buyers would opt for the much more readily available Explorer if it were much cheaper.
 
sathomasga
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Jakeys Jakeys
For what it's worth, $5000 USD is a fair price for it in my opinion
Oh I agree that is the market price. But when the 2504.50 can be had for half of that, as much as I've tried I can't justify the premium for a different dial and no date. That's no shade on folks that do own the Railmaster; it's just a personal hangup for me. Maybe if an unknown relative leaves me a fortune in their will 😀

I might end up "settling" for an Explorer 14270. And there's also the new 36mm Hamilton Khaki in titanium that's looking mighty tempting.
 
watchhinder
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padders padders
A 39mm example has just popped up on our own sales area for a rather more sensible and less crack smoking price than mentioned above. If you like the look it's worth consideration. For me the 36mm is too small and the 38mm Trilogy RM is the sweet spot but to each their own!
Yes the 36 has been more desirable for the last 6 years or so following the trend of the much sought after 1016....The 39 is in itself very interesting for those with a bigger wrist. I had the 39 twice but the dial opening was definitely a bit too much. I received my 2007 catalogue and interestingly the prices of Railmasters did not change compared to 2005.
28045237: 2150€ 25045200: 2230€
 
watchhinder
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Jakeys Jakeys
I think there is a reasonable amount of evidence compiled in this thread that the overall Aqua Terra Railmaster run was 2003 to 2010, not 2012 as sometimes has been claimed online. And the 36 mm only appears in the catalogue for 2007 and 2008. The only bit I'm not clear on is whether the larger sizes of Railmaster were still in the catalogue in 2009, we know the 36's weren't. I know for sure all models are gone in my 2010 catalogue and there is some corroborating evidence from the period online indicating the model range has been discontinued at some point prior to mid 2011.
It seems on this 2009 list (ebay) that it is a possibility....(unfortunately no photos are shown) My guess is that the 39, 42 and 49 are still present in the 2009 edition even with a discontinued production (only to clear stocks)

Screenshot 2024-10-23 at 22-15-13 Omega 2009-2010 Watch Catalogue catalog Jeweler's copy eBay.webp
 
watchhinder
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watchhinder watchhinder
I received my 2007 catalogue and interestingly the prices of Railmasters did not change compared to 2005.
28045237: 2150€ 25045200: 2230€
I was of course mentionning the 39/42 prices since there was no 36 in 2005
 
watchhinder
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A new challenge for us...😯😵‍💫 so some 36's were available as soon as May 2006....
Anybody has a 2006 catalogue?🤕

Screenshot 2024-10-26 at 22-07-19 Omega Railmaster 2003 (in much sought-after 36mm diameter) ...webp
 
Jakeys
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watchhinder watchhinder
A new challenge for us...😯😵‍💫 so some 36's were available as soon as May 2006....
Anybody has a 2006 catalogue?🤕

Screenshot 2024-10-26 at 22-07-19 Omega Railmaster 2003 (in much sought-after 36mm diameter) ...webp

AgoMe already has, it wasn't in there. Catalogue probably just came out before 36 mm launched. E.g. Q1 release of catalogue, Q2 release of Railmaster. With relying on the catalogues we obviously don't know the date the catalogue came out so if a watch launches after it in the same year, no way to know that.

M AgoMe
I can tell you that it:
  • Did not appear in The Collection 2006
  • Did appear in The Collection 2007
  • Did appear in The Collection 2008
  • Did not appear in The Collection 2009 - 2010
 
watchhinder
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Jakeys Jakeys
AgoMe already has, it wasn't in there. Catalogue probably just came out before 36 mm launched. E.g. Q1 release of catalogue, Q2 release of Railmaster. With relying on the catalogues we obviously don't know the date the catalogue came out so if a watch launches after it in the same year, no way to know that.
That may be correct!
 
Jakeys
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Another Railmaster appeared on Chrono24 this morning, apparently with papers with a 2011 sale date. I only just saw the email from 10 hours ago, went to look and it appears to have sold already for the GBP equivalent of $10,100 AUD. I'm gonna guess that was 5000 GBP, or around $6.4k USD.

1734059935398.webp
 
Jakeys
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Interestingly, there are currently three 2504.52's on Chrono24, which I've never seen before. Usually one lists every few months or so for $10k AUD (~$6000 USD) or less and sells within 24 hours, so it's very rare to see even one.

1737942902091.webp


It seems like what's happened is that one person from a while ago who listed his for twice the market value has left it up unsold, and then someone else has come along about a month or two ago and gone "Ooh, maybe I can get $13k USD for mine too!" and this week a third person has gone "Ooh, I can undercut these guys at $10k USD!" and all three are now hanging around at well above market.

It seems pretty clear to me that the second hand market for this reference has plateaued at about $5000 USD, with some poorer examples going closer to $4000 USD range on forums from time to time, with maybe the occasional sale at $6000 USD. The price hasn't really moved for the past two years. If I had to guess, any more than this and buyers would look at the contemporary Rolex Explorer 114270, which is also priced the same at $5-6k. Or just settle for the much cheaper and easier to find Railmaster 2503.52 39mm for half the price.
 
sathomasga
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Jakeys Jakeys
It seems pretty clear to me that the second hand market for this reference has plateaued at about $5000 USD, with some poorer examples going closer to $4000 USD range on forums from time to time, with maybe the occasional sale at $6000 USD.

There's one listed on Reddit right now with the seller asking $4999. It apparently hasn't sold in almost a week, which is quite the contrast to the last Reddit listing at that price which sold in about 30 minutes last fall.
 
Jakeys
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sathomasga sathomasga
There's one listed on Reddit right now with the seller asking $4999. It apparently hasn't sold in almost a week, which is quite the contrast to the last Reddit listing at that price which sold in about 30 minutes last fall.

I've seen this before on /r/watchexchange, another earlier one didn't sell for weeks, but in the mean time a second appeared and sold in a day. It seems to be very dependent on catching the right buyer at the right time.

One amusing one was a guy on /r/watchexchange who sold one after five days in early December for 4000 USD. The buyer then immediately flipped it on Watchuseek for 4800 USD, and it sold within 24 hours.
 
watchhinder
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Hello all, here in Europe I can't see on ch24 the USD9592 one listed in Norway (probably already sold) ....Anyhow, the guys asking 12000ish are daydreaming....As Jakeys said this reference is sitting on a 5/6000 euro/dollar plateau which is in itself very good.
 
Jakeys
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Agree, the 9592 USD watch is now sold. It's only been on Chrono24 for 2 days. The trick is we don't really know what these are actually selling for, someone may have made a more realistic offer. It isn't the first one thousands above forum sales that has sold though.

I've no plans to sell mine but if I was, I think I would be trying my luck at $9999 USD on Chrono24 personally. I wonder if sellers are missing a trick on this one advertising to a much smaller market on Watchuseek, Reddit etc. 😜
 
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