Community Stories

The closest thing OF has to Mecca

JohnQPublick
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On a recent trip to London, I had a chance to stroll through the famous Burlington Arcade. While there are a fair number of jewelers with interesting watches in their windows (something that has apparently remained consistent since the Arcade first opened), one shop’s windows in particular caught my eye. On the right corner as you approach the Arcade from the north stands Somlo London, a watch dealer specializing in vintage Omegas.

This may not be news to the members of this forum, but Somlo is, according to the two gents I spoke to in the shop, the only vintage watch seller officially licensed by Omega. That apparently means that they are uniquely able to pull extract information from Omega’s archives—the Constellation Grand Luxe you can see in one of my photos, I was told, is slightly discounted because it has a non-original service movement, a fact confirmed by Omega HQ—and get certain rare parts for repairing vintage watches in need of them.

My pictures and description hardly do the shop justice. If you’re ever in London, it’s a must-see, worth visiting just to see the case of rare Speedmasters they’ve got.

(I’m realizing now that this reads like an ad, but I swear that I wasn’t paid for this. Although, they did promise to let me know if they ever get their hands on an 18kt 7077 bracelet…)

IMG_1438.webp IMG_1439.webp IMG_1440.webp
 
Makesbelieve
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Nice collection... but those prices!
$9000 USD ($15,700 NZD) for a Second Generation flightmaster with a relumed GMT hand and a chronograph that isn't resetting to zero...!

IMG_8919.webp
 
JimInOz
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JohnQPublick JohnQPublick
That apparently means that they are uniquely able to pull extract information from Omega’s archives
I would dispute that claim.
 
speedb
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So they can pull information from omega's archives, even if omega themselves no longer offer the service?
 
SpeedyPhill
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Always an immense pleasure to visit both the Burlington & Piccadilly arcades (both across each other along Piccadilly str)
(Photos: Moonwatchuniverse)
.
MWU-Somlo.webp MWU-Somlo_.webp
 
hansaboy
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SpeedyPhill SpeedyPhill
Always an immense pleasure to visit both the Burlington & Piccadilly arcades (both across each other along Piccadilly str)
(Photos: Moonwatchuniverse)
.
MWU-Somlo.webp MWU-Somlo_.webp
Aaaaahhhh...there they are!

👍👍
 
Spruce
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And while you’re there, there’s a Bell & Ross, another shop with a window chock full of birth year vintage Rolex, and a couple more shops with mixed collections in their windows
 
cristos71
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Nice place to buy if you want te spend 3x average dealer's price and 5x collector's market value! 🤪

And they're selling a franken Grand Luxe? Wow, that doesn't sound very good to me...I'd be curious as to how much they're 'discounting' that one?
 
Donn Chambers
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It’s a nice shop, but the prices are ridiculous. I visited in 2009 and they were selling NOS Seamaster 300s. When I asked about them (I was wearing a 1966 one on my wrist with service hands, dials, and bezel), they said they used NOS parts direct from Omega to build them. In other words, they were using service parts from Omega to make them (ala WatchCo), but I guess these were “blessed” by Omega.
 
Spruce
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If you’re in the area, behind Bond Street tube station is Grays Antique Market, which I went into today.

There you’ll find Tortoise watches (which has been mentioned elsewhere on OF) and although there were pricey watches, they also had a pretty vintage blue dial Bulova at a comparatively reasonable price £250 (there may have been a few others at my end of the price spectrum but I didn’t check all the display).

There were other dealers selling watches and I was gratified to see a very nice looking 198.030 cal 1250 gold plated/filled (box & papers) for £900.

I realised that I’m going to have to take better care of mine 😀

IMG_4608.webp
 
JohnQPublick
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I should say that their prices were a bit shocking to me, as well—maybe that’s reflective of either their privileged location or their special “status” among vintage dealers. In any event, I visited the V&A Museum after this, so the theme of that day was “interesting design pieces to look at, but not to buy”!
 
JohnQPublick
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speedb speedb
So they can pull information from omega's archives, even if omega themselves no longer offer the service?
That’s what I was told by one of the guys in the shop, but I personally don’t know enough to refute it. Maybe @JimInOz could offer some insight?
 
JimInOz
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JohnQPublick JohnQPublick
That’s what I was told by one of the guys in the shop, but I personally don’t know enough to refute it. Maybe @JimInOz could offer some insight?
Unless somebody at Somlo has a very very good personal relationship with the current "guardian" of the archives, I can't see how they can.

"Shennanigans" (deceitful/fraudulent/criminal acts) bought the company, and the archives process, into disrepute.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/extract-of-archives.163642/ Caselock
Thread 'Extract of Archives ... ?' ·
Hi all,

I tried now for 2 months to got get an EoA, but from my side it always says that this service presently is not available.

Is there anyone with the same experiance? Is there a fault on my...
Caselock ·

https://omegaforums.net/threads/omega-closing-down-archives-extract-service.159969/ Cover Image
Thread 'Omega closing down archives extract service??' ·
Helle everyone

Saw a post about Omega closing down their archives extract service? Can anyone confirm?

If its true why on earth are they making that move? It seemes Omega is gradually neglecting...
TobiasS ·

https://omegaforums.net/threads/last-ever-extract-from-the-archives-2nd-june-2023.160533/ Cover Image
Thread 'Last ever Extract from the Archives 2nd June 2023 ?' ·
After all the hubub at Omega with the brown dial Philips watch, I must have the last ever EOA ? a true collectors piece now, may be send it to auction ? what do you guys think ...
collector1946 ·
 
Togri v. 2.0
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JohnQPublick JohnQPublick
On a recent trip to London, I had a chance to stroll through the famous Burlington Arcade. While there are a fair number of jewelers with interesting watches in their windows (something that has apparently remained consistent since the Arcade first opened), one shop’s windows in particular caught my eye. On the right corner as you approach the Arcade from the north stands Somlo London, a watch dealer specializing in vintage Omegas.

This may not be news to the members of this forum, but Somlo is, according to the two gents I spoke to in the shop, the only vintage watch seller officially licensed by Omega. That apparently means that they are uniquely able to pull extract information from Omega’s archives—the Constellation Grand Luxe you can see in one of my photos, I was told, is slightly discounted because it has a non-original service movement, a fact confirmed by Omega HQ—and get certain rare parts for repairing vintage watches in need of them.

My pictures and description hardly do the shop justice. If you’re ever in London, it’s a must-see, worth visiting just to see the case of rare Speedmasters they’ve got.

(I’m realizing now that this reads like an ad, but I swear that I wasn’t paid for this. Although, they did promise to let me know if they ever get their hands on an 18kt 7077 bracelet…)

IMG_1438.webp IMG_1439.webp IMG_1440.webp

Nothing in those windows you won’t see by monitoring the private sales thread on this forum for 6 months. Except the brick bracelet which probably gets offered less frequent but has appeared here.

Burlington Arcade is robbery at broad daylight. The prices are insane and I can’t even begin to imagine the tampering going on with those watches.
 
JimInOz
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BTW @JohnQPublick, I'm not knocking your thread as you said the prices were OOT but the watches were really "eye candy" so it's nice for us who are unable to visit locations like this to see what life is like in the big smoke.
 
JohnQPublick
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Togri v. 2.0 Togri v. 2.0
Nothing in those windows you won’t see by monitoring the private sales thread on this forum for 6 months. Except the brick bracelet which probably gets offered less frequent but has appeared here.

Burlington Arcade is robbery at broad daylight. The prices are insane and I can’t even begin to imagine the tampering going on with those watches.
Like many “fashionable” brick-and-mortar shops in major cities these days, I definitely got the sense that the shops in Burlington Arcade (more so than those in Piccadilly Arcade or the Royal Arcade) are meant for window-shopping more than for, well, actual shopping.

Still, it was at least somewhat surprising to see so many truly “vintage” watches in one place, at one time, and with a focus on Omega watches in particular. But who knows, maybe seeing those beadles in their top hats lulled me into thinking that the Arcade shops were a bit more charming (and reputable) than the Diamond District places I’ve walked past. 😉
 
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