Was Omega as prestigious in the 50' & 60's?

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sheepdoll

·Nov 17, 2022

Some thirty years ago I chose to collect Omega, because they had a reputation. The Space and Olympic stuff helped. Never really thought of them as a dive watch, but that might have been later. Mermaids really do not use watches.

There are companies like Wurlitzer and Apple, which simply get the designs right. These companies do not always follow the "Standard." rather they set the standard.

Then there are companies, which are like the elephant in the room. So I equate Rolex with Microsoft or Steinway. Everyone else copies them. Timex is the Dell or Compaq of watches.

The high end stuff, is basically need to know. I suspect there were many quite happy with their baylors, benruses, bulovas, traditions and Heuers.

 

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tikkathree

·Nov 17, 2022

Certainly here in the UK if you had a long service or retirement watch it would have come from Omega; undoubtedly there were teensy little "Omega ladies dress watches" which at least looked the part and may well have been built for that market. (note to self: find mum's long service watch and pop the back).

 

S

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SlCKB0Y

·Nov 22, 2022

gbesq

At this point, I don’t think that ANY watch manufacturer can catch up to Rolex’s brand awareness among consumers.

Like with any brand in any industry, the top position is never, ever sustainable and in the end, all brands which were number one have been knocked off the top position at some point. It may take a few decades but Rolex is certainly not immune to this phenomenon.

Edited: Nov 22, 2022

 

S

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SlCKB0Y

·Nov 22, 2022

sheepdoll

So I equate Rolex with Microsoft or Steinway

Microsoft is a particularly bad example here. Microsoft has a very deserved reputation as a company that became dominant by:
1. Acquiring technology/products instead of actually innovating or inventing anything. When they could not buy their technology, they stole it, and;
2. Engaging in extremely unethical/illegal business practices which leveraged their near-monopoly in various product categories.

Granted, the post-Ballmer Microsoft is a very different company today but the above points were true for most of the company’s life and point (1) is still very much valid today.

 

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Serge_tm

·Dec 11, 2022

I was growing in Soviet Union in 70s. What I heared - Omega were watches capitalists were wearing. Much later I found out that Rolex were watches Fidel Castro and Che Guevara were wearing in combat.

 

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flw

·Dec 11, 2022·history nerd

Serge_tm

I was growing in Soviet Union in 70s. What I heared - Omega were watches capitalists were wearing. Much later I found out that Rolex were watches Fidel Castro and Che Guevara were wearing in combat.

Interesting. If I recall correctly, Mikhail Gorbachev wore an Omega Constellation.

 

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Yehoshua

·Dec 14, 2022

flw

Interesting. If I recall correctly, Mikhail Gorbachev wore an Omega Constellation.

Post communism.

 

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redpcar

·Dec 14, 2022

Yehoshua

Post communism.

You sure?

 

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JwRosenthal

·Dec 14, 2022

redpcar

You sure?

Elitist, capitalist scum!

 

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Yehoshua

·Dec 14, 2022

redpcar

You sure?

Social Democrat. He was a reformer.

 

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JwRosenthal

·Dec 14, 2022

So it goes communist-social democracy-oligarchy-dictatorship….got it!

 

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Yehoshua

·Dec 14, 2022

JwRosenthal

So it goes communist-social democracy-oligarchy-dictatorship….got it!

Let's pray it doesn't get even worse.

 

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flw

·Dec 15, 2022·history nerd

Yehoshua

Social Democrat. He was a reformer.

Not to start an ongoing debate or a flame war, but I have to disagree. Gorbachev was not a social democrat, although he was a reformer. He attempted to carry out reforms that would stabilize the Soviet system and permit some (very limited) loosening of state controls on media, information, and markets - with a view to perpetuating the Soviet Communist Party's monopoly on power, which he never intended to relinquish willingly. What he and the other Soviet oligarchs realized, only too late, was that the system was far too ossified to allow for any flexibility, let alone genuine reform. Social democracy in the mold of central or western European models wasn't what he had in mind, as the system he sought to preserve could never allow for a multi-party political structure with genuine elections.

All that said, he had great taste in watches.