Many of us rant and rage about Omega on the OF, but what do we actually want from them in terms of product development? My perception is that out of the mainstream Swiss/German luxury watch brands they seem to make the most effort to innovate and at the same time pander to more traditional collectors.

Examples below:

1) Industrialization of the co-axial movement
OK perhaps the intended gains in terms of maintenance / longer service lifecycle have not been as significant as originally intended, but at least there was an attempt to do something different...and Omega did adopt a 4yr warranty policy at a time when 2yrs was the industry norm.

2) +15000 gauss anti-magnetism materials technology.
Do we really need this level of protection from magnetic fields? No...but Omega solved the problem getting rid of clumsy inner shield cases and freeing up designers to use the technology in "dressy" watches such as the Tresor, sports chronographs, moonphase complications etc.

3) Ceramic case finishing
Again we know that Omega had access to technology from Swatch group company Rado, but surely the GSOTM, when launched, was a very good effort in terms of ceramic materials case finishing?

4) Speedy Tuesday LE social media launch & product.
If you read Robert Jan's write up you will see how much effort they put into this and the small time frame they had to get this up and running. Has any other mainstream brand attempted to engage so effectively with their WIS collector base? OK, the execution could have been better, but overall was the Speedy Tuesday LE concept a mistake, a wrong turn for Omega?

5) WIS focused vintage inspired re-issues
Was scanning the original CK2914 and re-creating an almost carbon copy of the Railmaster exterior with a new modern 8806 calibre a mistake? Was the 60th Railmaster LE a faux pas?

So we can bitch and moan all day about Omega's pricing, distribution strategy, grey market flooding, marketing with brand ambassadors...but in terms of actual product development, what do we want from Omega in the long term? Should they abandon the vintage reissue trend completely, focus only on new designs? Abandon the shotgun approach of launching new +150 SKUs at Basel every year?

I think there is a general consensus of smaller and thinner cases which they seem to be addressing in some of their new products...but what would be your top five wishlist items of general product development for Omega. What other mainstream brands in the luxury watch industry are currently outperforming Omega in terms of product development / innovation?

 

Thought about this yesterday, it would be great to have a Co-axial handwound movement in a thinner case. Give us some daily wearing pieces with tasteful detailed dials in 36-38mm.

 

Let’s expand this to the Swatch group. Omega from a business standpoint should be pushing pricing closer to Rolex. Yes we hate this but it makes sense for them.

If they do this let’s bring up the Longines and Tissot offerings then. For some reason the Longines tend just miss the mark, and the Tissot even more so. Can we get Omega quality at the older price points in those brands? Go ahead and use eta movements no need for co axial and magnetic resistance but just some classicly good looking pieces. Yes Longines heritage collection is close to this idea.

With Omega moveing everything to master co axials, thinner cases and hand winds are not in the cards for Omega... ok so do it with Longines

I’d like to see sistem51 killed with fire outside Swatch, as the movement makes little sense when compared to Seiko and Orient price points and quality. Why Sistem51 is now in Tissot is beyond me.

 

So I think you are proposing Longines becomes the Swatch group "Tudor" and Tissot becomes takes over the lower end Longines product range, right?

 

Something like that but not directly call it a low end Rolex like Tudor is. Let Longines go up market with design and finishing, but not position it as a affordable Omega.

I see a Globemaster type Watch with eta movements and Nomos like modern color ways.

Or like the Zenith Prime ( under valued right now) a 38mm Hand wind Chrono with clean classic styling and modern color ways.

Sunburst brushed dials always punch above price point let’s see more.

 

My view may be a bit different, I am not a “watch person”...but I think I may become one. My idea could be too far-fetched. I don’t know anything about vintage models either. I have a new planet ocean, it’s what brought me here and into the world of nice watches. All the LE models are mind boggling to new buyers, and while I appreciate them, its a learning curve. We all want something special, not just a standard model (those are great too).

I wish I could order “my” Speedmaster. Omega had available several dial colors, hand styles, and bands/straps to choose. The order would have to be taken by an AD and in-person (driving customers into brick and mortar shops). Perhaps even a video of its final assembly in Switzerland and being able to see it happen from my home in the US.

 

How about Oris? Compared to Longines.

 

They are not Swatch Group.

 

Laziness.

 

True, even Billy Joel could find something to complain about with Christie Brinkley.

The point is, if you take a step back (and not to sound like a fan boy, cuz I ain't), Omega seems to have introduced some decent innovation recently, and has issued up some very pleasing offerings to the collectors who fancy the history of their watches. Now, if we could just get the damn 321 back into at least ONE Speedmaster...

 

I'd like easier access to parts and / or some understanding for servicing vintage watches at HQ.

Pipe dream. Yup.

On the modern stuff, thinner, smaller - the current line up of sport watches is just too big. A little less flash and a little more understated.

Turn down the suck and turn up the good.

 

I’ve been back and forth between Rolex and Omega for a few years now. I admire the retro models Omega offers but what appeals to me is the newer design models. I like the Planet Ocean series myself. I’d like to see them thin the cases as well. To me 42mm is the biggest a watch needs to be but if people want bigger, Omega must meet the demand. The limited edition stuff is over done to me. I just looked at a Bond Skyfall PO. It’s nice but, I don’t want all that stuff with the big box. I don’t want a pre-made collectors watch. I want to wear it and beat it up. I’d feel guilty banging the hell out of a limited edition watch. Reality is, Omega doesn’t decide what becomes a collector watch. We do. If there’s too many special editions, none of them will mean anything. The only one I’d like to own is the latest Snoopy edition Speedmaster. Only because I’d like to give it to my daughter. She’s always loved Snoopy.
Focus on more compact and being innovative. That’s what I’d like to see.

 

More product discipline, especially with the Speedmaster and Planet Ocean lines. Stop chasing the quick buck.

 

I want Omega to fully embrace the information age prarticularly in expanding their MyOmega online capabilities. Having the METAS results available on their website is a nice first step and I would want them to track the individual watches for service history, transfer of ownership, customization, valuation and accuracy recording, among many things. After 50 years, one could track down what exactly happened to a particular “vintage” watch.

Tech wise, Omega should continue to innovate with all the collective might and experience of the Swatch Group behind its research and development. Omega has made great strides in the last 10 years and I’m very happy about this. They should continue to rediscover their rich heritage and combine it with the latest technologies that many companies can only dream of making (and many haters keep on downplaying).

 

The Swiss are somewhat adverse to keeping personal data...

 

This approach has been discussed before, yet it seems Swatch hasn't gotten the implementation down yet. While Longines (equestrian, skiing, tennis) and Tissot (cycling, basketball) certainly have the event presence necessary, their design pitch doesn't always hit home. This is especially true of Tissot IMO, whose designs as a whole are surpassed by 'lesser' stablemate Mido.

I'm waiting to see Omega come forward with a flight-specific offering. Whether that comes in the form of a special Speedmaster or a reintroduction of the Flightmaster is fine with me. I'd also love to see a new Dynamic, preferably the first generation one, although I'd be intrigued to see a brand new fourth gen offering.

 

The plan from Swatch was to bring Longines up to at least partially fill the void left by moving Omega up.

Swatch has already made moves in that direction from a technical perspective, and I believe they will continue to do so. If the design suits someone's specific tastes is another thing though...

 

I liked Tag Heuer's idea of letting the public decide the new Autavia. I also liked the collaboration with Robert Jan for the Speedy Tuesday.

What I would love are: thinner cases, and the ability to custom build using and online tool or in the OB, smaller boxes, to stop making re-issues of older models and focus on something new and different, to stop making so many gaudy looking variations of nice designs (i'm looking at you Bond SMPc 300 Commander's edition).

Also, shorter names for the models

 

I like this idea, growing up I always thought of Omega as being extremely robust and dependable, yet classy in it's own way rather than it being a 'luxury watch'; ofcourse that is no longer the case with the vast increase in prices. Now, I definitely think of Longines as a 'stepping stone' to the luxury realm, whilst making some really pretty formal watches of excellent value.