Hi, frequent reader not so frequent poster here.

March 25th (Good Friday) is a hugely significant date in my life which marks a personal accomplishment I thought might never happen.
To mark the occasion I've decided to treat myself to a new watch. I've owned a few high end watches over the years but I'm now down to just the one, my much loved Planet Ocean Limited Edition Liquid Metal.

My next watch purchase is important and with the intention of being a keeper. I've spent months deliberating (hence the thread title) and I've looked at several brands - IWC, Zenith, Tudor but I keep come back to my favoured brand Omega.

After much head scratching and more than a few visits to AD's I think I've finally reached a decision and settled on the Aqua Terra Master Co-Axial 41.5mm with blue dial:



I'm not totally sure why I'm posting this, maybe I'm looking for approval? Ideally I'd like the watch for the 25th but there's Basel just around the corner. Good choice? Bad time to buy? One finger is on the trigger but should I postpone things and see what crops up in Switzerland?

Lots of knowledge on here btw which I enjoy reading so kudos to those contributors who help others like myself with lesser understanding of the ins and outs.

Cheers
Paul

 

Sounds like you're pretty close to purchasing the Aqua Terra either way. I'd say go for it. Then if there's anything new at Basel that fascinates you, it'll take a year to come out anyways. Save in the meantime and enjoy the new Seamaster.

 

I love my AT and it not only gets a fair amount of wrist time, its also my 'go to' when I have client presentations and significant meetings. There is something substantial about it.
I would go ahead if I were in your shoes

 

As @Superdoc has said before who buys a watch so close to Basel

 

Dear Paul @Mr Bing

Release your index finger slowly. ..nice & easy.... from the trigger of your MK 12 special purpose rifle & aim the telescopic rifle sight to the Omega boutique at Baselworld 2016

Have a Nice Day....

 

Excellent advice Agent Fox

 

Dear @Riviera Paradise

Everyday...somebody... in the forum has a loaded " .38 magnum or a MK12 rifle" and is trigger happy..........

 

I agree with other posters--with Basel around the corner I'd hold off just a little longer.

 

Buy it!!! Don't wait for Basel, if you see something that catches your fancy, that can be your late 2016 early 2017 purchase as watches announced at Basel may not be available for a very long time.

 

This might be completely wrong, but I did hear the following rumor somewhere (can´t recall if it was chitchat with the local OB): Omega have changed their strategy and now will have "Basel launch" watches already in production by now, reaching distribution channels much sooner after the show. Hope springs eternal

 

That would be awesome!

 

I think that the only thing that would've changed between now and Basel with regards to his favorite choice will be the dial will change to say Master Chronometer instead of Master Co-Axial.

Just like they slowly introduced the anti-magnetic master coaxial and continue to sell many models with just the coaxial, they're showing that they're taking their time to roll in the master chronometer, starting with watches like the Globemaster. As far as I know the only difference between a master coaxial and a master chronometer is the METAS testing?

 

I have the co-axial blue AT, and it is such a great looking watch. I don't wear mine very often as I am always wearing a t-shirt and shorts, but it goes well enough with a t-shirt, but so much better when I dress up a bit.


As far as waiting....well there just another reason to own more watches. Even though I barley wear the AT, it is one I wanted for so very long. Have no regrets or wants for the master-coaxial or what ever new one is coming next.

 

Approved. Mr.Bing - do the thing.

Nice watch, matches your other. So why wait. It should be stamped 25th of March 2016. this would be more important to me than to speculate. Things have to be done!

 

That is certainly true and the OP would get the bonus of a METAS card if that were to happen. I would not hold off a purchase just for that motive.

For me, the waiting for Basel advice is not really just focused on Omega though...for example: if Rolex released during Basel 2016 a new version of the Rolex Explorer 1 39mm, correcting the shortish hands issue and putting in a new 3255 derived movement...it could leapfrog several other similar watches on my current personal shortlist for 2016.

 

Yes, that's what RJ passed along which means its 100% what Omega is going to try and do. The Silver Snoopy has been a PR disaster for Omega, and they don't want to repeat that. Still, I have my doubts on their ability to execute to this plan. Let's say they improve and Basel '16 watches start showing up in retail stores by July/Aug, that's still too long a wait for most of us if we have money in our pocket and a watch picked out now. Plus, that particular choice of the AT master co-axial is so solid, that watch transcends and its never the wrong time to buy it. Damn, I'm such an enabler

 

I have yet to see the titanium PLOPROFs, those too were announced in Basel 2015. Almost a year later.... I asked the San Diego boutique about that a couple weeks back. He had no idea when they would arrive.

 

Yes and no. There are going to be a bunch of new caliber numbers floating around...

For example the Cal. 8500 in regular COSC guise now becomes a different caliber designation with the Master Chronometer certification - the 8900. The 8501 becomes the 8901, and so on. Some are not so direct, for example the 8601 becomes the 8902, and the 8611 becomes the 8903. The 8400 becomes the 8912, and the 8401 becomes the 8913.

So what does this mean in physical differences between movements? Well I haven't studied it in great detail yet, but they list the following parts as different from the 8500G to the 8900A for example:

Barrel bridge, wheel train bridge, balance bridge, oscillating weight, balance wheel, and an intermediate train wheel.

Now my feeling is that the first 4 items above, so the 3 bridges and the oscillating weight, are only different because of the engraving on them. So for example instead of the rotor having "Omega Co-Axial 8500" on it, the engraving will read "Omega Master Co-Axial 8900"

The balance wheel I'm not clear what the difference would be - it's sort of blurred out on the tech guide so I can't see the differences between the two balances. The train wheel I have no idea...

So it's more than just the testing, but how much more than testing/marketing is unclear at this point.

Cheers, Al

 

Ha!
I did just buy one.... But then again, I've seen the Basel '16 lineup...

I think @Mr Bing is safe to pull the trigger on this model... As @repoman says... This one will be timeless and will transcend any fads...

Although, if this is his total watch budget... He may want to wait...

Production is already underway... But it's still going to take some time...
Waiting sucks...

 

Thanks all for the comments. The AT is on order and should be with me any day now. As said this is an important buy for me, marking a milestone in my life, and a lot of thought has gone into this one.

Over the years I've flipped a few watches for various reasons. One time I ordered a Chopard Mille Miglia GT XL based on pics I'd seen on online. Got the watch, which was nice enough but 'just not me', and it was an immediate case of buyers regret.

I didn't want to repeat that mistake. I've tried the AT in the Omega Boutique, Watches of Switzerland and Goldsmiths so I've got a good feel for the watch and know that this one is for me.

So yeah....soon to be the proud owner of my first blue dial watch. I'm looking forward to it and I'll be sure to post some pics.

Thanks again and have a great week.

Paul