Sent my X-33 back to Omega for a battery change..

tyrantlizardrex

Mine's gone off today for a new battery (a little over three years since the last one) - in 2018 I was charged £97inc VAT by Omega here in the UK (it had to go back to Southampton).

The quote for the same work in 2021 is £145.

That feels like quite a jump for a like-for-like test/battery/seals job.

I can't imagine that the parts have gone up in price that much, nor that they are paying their staff higher wages. I wonder what the justification is?

tyrantlizardrex

It was a good chunk more than the Moonwatch, for arguably a cheap(er) to produce movement, that's more expensive as a complete watch because of the titanium case and bracelet.

Wryfox

Just for the record, Titanium is not special, and for a watch its a gimmick. I've worked with it for 20yrs in the medical and oil&gas industries. Yeah its a little lighter and arguably more corrosion resistant, but a good stainless is harder and more durable for most applications. Titanium is about 3x more $$ than stainless for same physical size(varies over time and grades so please don't argue). That amounts to about $5-$10 per watch. I've bought Ti watches for $200. Its the cache of being exotic that is used to maximize profit. You'd be surprised how common it really is.