Hey watchknut, maybe this is a thread of its own, but I was wondering what brought you to omega from Rolex. Is it all about value per dollar, or something else?
It is a great idea for a thread, and I will start it.
It is a combination of things. I got my first vintage Omega at an estate auction in 1987, and my first vintage Rolex the same year, when I was 8 years old. My collecting continued through my youth, buying affordable watches $5-100 that I found at flea markets and antique shows. While I always liked Omega, my dad wore one for 20 years, in college I started flipping vintage Rolex because it is what I knew, and that is where the money was.
I always kept an eye on the market, and when opportunities presented themselves, I would pick up affordable examples of original condition Rolex sport models. I would sell current watches in my collection, take profits, and get my cost basis down on the more sizable Rolex purchase.
Now I have a nice little collection of MKIV 1680 Red Sub, birthyear 1680 white Sub with b/ps in great condition, and a birthyear 1665 Great White. While I would love to add some to the collection, my budget does not allow it, and honestly, I don't think that I could stomach paying $8-15K for future acquisitions that met my criteria as original examples with patina. I would never buy my current collection at the market rates.
I like dive watches, and not including the relatively unobtainable outliers like the early big crown Subs, a Sub is a Sub--not a lot of differences with the exception of the dial, and ultimately to the collector, the patina on said dial and hands, between any 5512, 5513 or 1680, and the same goes for 1665. They are all basically the same watch, and the nuances of Rolex are what drive the value--nuances that Rolex never intended.
Enter Omega.
There so much more choice! Speedmasters, Seamasters, Flightmasters...you name it, a ton of awesome tool watches out there to be had, many of them from the first owners, with killer patina and factory finishes--at pennies on the Rolex dollar.
These watches are just as a high a quality as any Rolex, and in most cases, have superior patina and the same tropical tendencies.
This year has fun. I got an all original PloProf from the grandson of the original owner who was a professional diver. The equivalent DRSD in the same condition would have been 8x the money. I got an all original 166.091 1 owner will killer patina and factory finish, and based on what I paid, the equivalent 1680 would have been 20x. My 165.024 with killer patina was 1/3 of the equivalent 5513. My birthyear 145.022 in amazing original condition was 1/3 of any birthyear Rolex sport model on the market...and hell, I got a 105.012, albeit is has issues, for $1k!
To acquire the equivalent Rolex models would take a very large bank account and a lot of time. I happened upon these pieces in the last two months, and got absolute steals on a majority of them. Because Omega made so many models over such a long period of time, the ebay algorithms send sellers down the wrong path, and they way undervalue their pieces. This does not happen with Rolex. Period.
So yes, it is mainly bang for your buck, but I also like the choice, availability, parts, ease of service, and the much smaller community.
