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SMPc Question/Time Sensitive

  1. Rocinante Sep 25, 2020

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    Guys, just recently found a black dial SMPc at a jeweler that was never sold still brand new. Its listed at $4400 he will take $880 off the price so will be $3520. I already have a seamaster 300 bond watch quartz with black dial for less than 4 months now. I had been looking more and more at the SMPcs even before this and realized it's probably the watch I should have gotten. The bezel on the bond quartz just seems dated to me and I love the wave dial up close but usually I can't see it in normal conditions. Honestly I didn't want to mess with an automatic as I don't care as much for the horology and I didnt want expensive maintenance but I'm torn. My seamaster is not terrible but I know if I had to do it over I would have gone another way. I will also have to quickly sell my quartz seamaster which is in excellent condition but still I would need to sell it. What would you guys do? Any advice will be helpful. It's of course on the left in the photo.
     
    20200701_164656.jpg
  2. gbesq Sep 25, 2020

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    Buy what appeals to you. I own the SMPc model that you’re considering. LOVE IT.
    AA2665AC-94D6-45D6-9D54-2B1F3E3C0DC1.jpeg 13464E80-CC3B-4942-9043-2F973C502E4E.jpeg 97B65A7D-4AEA-4CEA-A2DA-58B453070536.jpeg
     
    Edited Sep 26, 2020
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  3. Marsimaxam Sep 25, 2020

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    After reading what you wrote... you've made your decision, you just don't know it yet, and you want someone to tell you it's ok.
    I'll be that someone... it's OK.

    Buy the black dial SMPc, sell the quartz, and be happy.

    The maintenance should not be as expensive as you think unless you dive regularly in which case you will need a service annually to insure watch is water tight. Although most watch manufacturers recommend a complete service every 5 to 8 years, some of us, and I'm guilty too, usually wait till there is a problem with the watch. ( If you tell anyone... I will deny, as I get all my watches serviced every 5 years ;))
     
  4. Rocinante Sep 25, 2020

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    I can smell what you guys are cooking. Lol. There is definitely a part of me that wants to hear go for it, but what do you guys think about the price of the SMPc? Is $3500 a good value? Is it as rare as I think it is to find a brand new one of these still, or are they not that hard to find? Also I see prices like $2800 quite a bit on ebay but honestly have never bought anything that way, esp something this expensive.
     
  5. X350 XJR Vintage Omega Aficionado Sep 25, 2020

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    How much can you afford to loose by selling the quartz?
     
  6. Rocinante Sep 25, 2020

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    $300-400 wouldn't kill me.
     
  7. Rocinante Sep 25, 2020

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    So guys is $3500 a good price for a brand new SMPc or would it make more sense to get one on Ebay for around $2800 and take my chances? I have seen them on Chrono 24 for around 3-4k for ones that are a few years old with scratches, etc. Normally I would have more time to think but not sure how long the jewelry store will be able to hold on to the watch. This isn't something I ever thought I would have to think about because I never thought anyone would see a brand new older edition SMPc at an Omega AD again.
     
  8. Rocinante Sep 25, 2020

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    Again next to different watch
     
    20200701_164345.jpg
  9. Scooterino36 Sep 25, 2020

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    Thats what a 20% discount off MSRP from an AD? That’s a good deal as far as new goes. You can certainly get a preowned version of this model for less, so it really comes down to whether you need to have it brand new or not.
     
  10. Scarecrow Boat Burt Macklin, FBI Sep 25, 2020

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    You can always ask them.

    Like @Marsimaxam said, it seems like you already made up your mind. However, it also seems that you are mentally in this "I need an answer/decision ASAP" mentality and considering you never thought you would need to think about this, your current watch is only 4 months old (to you), and this whole process seems incredibly rushed... maybe you should step back and think about it over night? Ask the jeweler to hold it.
     
  11. Rocinante Sep 25, 2020

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    I would like to save money if I could, however one of my biggest concerns is people complaining about how easy it is to scratch the AR coating on the SMPcs. One of the reasons I like it so much is how easy you can see the dial compared to the quartz Bond version but if I can see scratches it will drive me crazy. Since I have never owned one I don't know how much of a problem this actually is. Maybe one of the owners of an SMPc could comment on their experience.
     
  12. gbesq Sep 25, 2020

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    I’ve had mine since 2017. No scratches on the AR coating. It’s tougher than you think.
     
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  13. Scooterino36 Sep 25, 2020

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    Seconded. No scratches on the AR coating of my SMPc (blue model) that I’ve owned since 2018.
     
  14. Marsimaxam Sep 25, 2020

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    Perhaps this will put your mind at ease about scratches... and if by some miracle you manage to slam the crystal against a diamond (unlikely...voluntarily, anyway) , rub it against another sapphire crystal (the watch world's equivalent of putting two Siamese fighting fish into the same tank) , or grazing it against a brick wall that has a rough pattern to its surface, whatever scratches that occur can be polished out.

    • "Synthetic Sapphire: A synthetic sapphire crystal or “glass” is actually not glass at all. It is a very hard, transparent material made of crystallizing pure aluminum oxide at very high temperatures. Synthetic sapphire has the same hardness as natural sapphire gemstones, but without the colouring agents that give the gems their various hues. When it is heated, the synthetic sapphire forms round masses, that are then sliced into pieces with diamond-coated saws. These disks are then ground and polished into watch crystals. (One reason sapphire crystals are relatively expensive is that the tools required to cut and polish this extremely hard material are very costly.) Sapphire (whether natural or synthetic) is one of the hardest substances on earth. It measures 9 on the Mohs scale, which is a system for rating the relative hardness of various materials. (Diamond measures 10, the highest rating.) Watch crystals made of synthetic sapphire are often marketed as “scratch resistant” or “virtually scratchproof” because they are very difficult - but not impossible - to scratch. Diamond can scratch them; so can man-made materials that incorporate silicon carbide, which, with a Mohs rating of between 9 and 10, is harder than sapphire. So, if you accidentally scratch your watch on a simulated-stone surface or a wall that incorporates some of these silicon carbide materials, it could scratch the crystal."
    https://www.momentumwatch.com/blogs...-sapphire-crystal-sapphire-vs-mineral-crystal
     
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  15. gbesq Sep 25, 2020

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    I don’t think that the OP is concerned about scratching the sapphire crystal. He’s concerned about scratching the anti reflective coating ON the crystal. While that can occur, the coating is relatively durable.
     
  16. gbesq Sep 25, 2020

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    OP, I paid a little under $2,900 USD for my SMPc. Retail was $4,400, but I purchased mine new from a grey market dealer so there was no manufacturer’s warranty.
     
    Edited Sep 26, 2020
  17. Rocinante Sep 25, 2020

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    Honestly, if I could find a new one for $2,900 new on the grey market I wouldn't hesitate. I would not stress about the lack of warranty. From the pictures gbesq, your SMPc looks to be in excellent condition. I'm curious if you graduated to the SMPc after having owned the previous Bond.
     
  18. gbesq Sep 25, 2020

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    No. The SMPc was my first and only purchase of a diver.
     
  19. Donn Chambers Sep 25, 2020

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    That watch may be brand new to you, but it isn’t to the dealer — they’ve had it at least two years and maybe more because it is the last generation of this model. The new models came out in 2018 and can be had for close to the price the dealer is asking for this one. That gives you bargaining power, so use it and be prepared to walk away.

    There are plenty of that model available, so do some research on prices.

    Don’t let your heart get ahead of your head on this one.
     
  20. Rocinante Sep 25, 2020

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    I am starting to calm down I guess I just thought it was a miracle to find brand new in 2021. The Omega people said it must have gotten stuck somewhere under something at a warehouse and no one has bought it yet because with Covid-19 they are only seeing people by appointment, so people come in kinda knowing what they want already and don't realize they have it. They are pushing the new seamasters are people. I was there a few months before Covid happened when it first came in the shop and I just remembered they had it. If the AR coating really is not that easy to scratch I may wait. If the Omega AD can do better than $3500 great and if not would like to be around the $2800 range. I'm pretty new to the forum. If anyone that you guys trust is selling one let me know.