Community Stories

What’s happening on March 26th then?

Dedlock
Posts
299
Likes
378
For peope saying this won't benefit Omega, the hype is driving alot of people I know to checkout the real deal at the Omega botique and these are all rolex people.
 
dsio
Posts
33,142
Likes
37,877
Dedlock Dedlock
For peope saying this won't benefit Omega, the hype is driving alot of people I know to checkout the real deal at the Omega botique and these are all rolex people.

Just to follow this up, and in reply to someone saying Rolex must be laughing in another thread, keep in mind that for watch companies, a truly massive amount of their annual spend is marketing, everything from ambassadors to sporting events like F1, the Olympics, magazines etc, they compete endlessly to move the needle.

Omega x Swatch just moved the needle.

4C5BE4B0-955C-4D6A-A54F-0CF47600E114.jpeg 96013DE5-7775-47F2-86CE-D1DCFA98E447.jpeg
 
dsio
Posts
33,142
Likes
37,877
Btw we’re going to be adding a Swatch sub forum not just for these but for all swatches including Sistem51 and others just to make it easier to categorise them since we will probably see a lot of them over time.
 
Syrte
Posts
7,630
Likes
21,886
Earlier in the thread someone posted this excellent analysis by a blog called « Not so obvious watches ». (Reposting with thanks)

This video says this is the Swatch group fighting to shore up the cheaper ranges of analog watches, just like Swatch is also paying expensive sporting events sponsorships for the Tissot and Hamilton brands. And that the group is fighting as a team, even if it means a choice to redefine luxury.
He’s also saying they’re choosing the long game, for the next 20 years.

The video is worth watching.

Frankly I think he’s totally right. This is for the Apple watch crowd, « we went to the Moon and can be just as cool », and make 11 colorful watches, you can’t.



 
Syrte
Posts
7,630
Likes
21,886
PS a number of Longines watch enthusiasts have resented Swatch group for turning Omega into a luxury brand and relegating the historically more prestigious Longines brand to a lower marketing range.
However for an objective observer, you can’t argue with the choice to pick as a flagship the brand that went to the Moon.

This partnership again highlights that the Moon history is probably the most valuable asset in the Swatch group.
 
dsio
Posts
33,142
Likes
37,877
Syrte Syrte
PS a number of Longines watch enthusiasts have resented Swatch group for turning Omega into a luxury brand and relegating the historically more prestigious Longines brand to a lower marketing range.
However for an objective observer, you can’t argue with the choice to pick as a flagship the brand that went to the Moon.

This partnership again highlights that the Moon history is probably the most valuable asset in the Swatch group.
It’s a very valid point really but I think there is potential for that to change. Omega in the 90s was making almost all ETA powered watches in a price range not too far off where Longines is now but since going to in-house movements, ceramics and stepping up their finishing dramatically the price range is much higher (especially with the Speedmaster Pro getting a co-axial refresh).

There’s room for Longines to fill that large void that was left by the Omega of the 90s and 2000s, and let Tissot fill it’s current place.

If they just went the way of high end chronometer rated ETA movements across their range with better finishing it could do better justice to the brand and make it a really compelling choice.
 
8100_RPM
Posts
820
Likes
1,398
dsio dsio
Btw we’re going to be adding a Swatch sub forum not just for these but for all swatches including Sistem51 and others just to make it easier to categorise them since we will probably see a lot of them over time.
OMG, you are going to cheapen the Omega Forums! 🙄
 
dsio
Posts
33,142
Likes
37,877
8100_RPM 8100_RPM
OMG, you are going to cheapen the Omega Forums! 🙄
I’m still waiting for the blokes saying it devalues the watches to PM dealers selling Silver Snoopys asking for a 10% MoonSwatch diminished value discount
 
hen
Posts
2,726
Likes
8,027
eelpie eelpie
I haven’t seen anything to validate or justify such a suggestion, but then again, I wasn’t the one to say:

“And if the (sic) dont (sic) get all 11, you speedy guys can paint your now worthless watches yellow and sell them with a profit. Ka-ching for you!
Then you can buy yourselves a real Omega ie. a Seamaster, that people wont (sic) confuse with a moonswach (sic).”

You might want to take it up with the guy who actually said it.

What does (sic) mean?
 
hen
Posts
2,726
Likes
8,027
savka savka
It is an authentic Moonswatch created by Omega and Swatch. Here it is next to my also authentic Omega Moonwatch.
IMG_1155.jpg

Which is which?
 
Syrte
Posts
7,630
Likes
21,886
dsio dsio
It’s a very valid point really but I think there is potential for that to change. Omega in the 90s was making almost all ETA powered watches in a price range not too far off where Longines is now but since going to in-house movements, ceramics and stepping up their finishing dramatically the price range is much higher (especially with the Speedmaster Pro getting a co-axial refredh)

There’s room for Longines to fill that large void that was left by the Omega of the 90s and 2000s, and let Tissot fill it’s current place.

If they just went the way of high end chronometer rated ETA movements across their range with better finishing it could do better justice to the brand and make it a really compelling choice.

I think Longines is already moving in that direction by using some ETA movements which they say have been made or modified exclusively for Longines.

Also, there’s been a change of the guard at the helm of Longines, its marketing department and even its « Brand Heritage » department which was renamed « Branding and Heritage » department - a seemingly tiny but telling change.

Finally and significantly, the new CEO took his post talking about « innovation and tradition ». To me the word « innovation » is a huge change in vocabulary.

Longines’ motto is « elegance and tradition ». Longines was a powerhouse of technology in the 20th century, but as far as I know, there hasn’t been any « innovation » involved since 1967 or 1969- which is the year Longines filed a patent for the first ever quartz movement (the Longines Ultra Quartz) which they weren’t able to turn into a mass market.


Clearly the Swatch group chose Omega to innovate, and clearly assigned Longines to just replicate:

In 2018 Longines invited me to Basel World and I met then longtime CEO Walter Von Kaenel. i was very struck that he bristled when I asked him this very simple question: « what new things do you have cooking on the horizon for Longines ». He replied their clientele is a clientele that buys tradition, and that it would be out of the question for Longines to disturb its existing clientele and risk alienating them by changing things around and doing new things.
The depth of his conservatism stunned me— but it was consistent with the fact Omega was the Moon watch, the Longines brand was heavily focused on history as evidenced by its staffing.
History, not innovation, were at the core of the brand’s marketing and communication.


I also asked Von Kaenel tongue in cheek if they could make a 36mm green skin diver, again he bristled that green wasn’t a traditional color for the brand.

So to see suddenly « innovation » mentioned as a brand objective, together with THREE green watches being released (Legend Diver bronze), Hydroconquest, and Longines spirit) to me signals a major change.

here’s an excerpt from an interview Matthias Breschan gave after joining Longines:

« As already mentioned, our brand’s history is an invaluable asset. Our brand has always been based in the Swiss village of Saint-Imier and all its successive leaders were committed to preserve its heritage. Of course it’s not a question of limiting ourselves to our history, but of using it as a springboard to ensure the pursuit of innovation, both technical and aesthetical, which has always been the driving force of the brand. »

Edit / sorry for the thread drift, I created a separate threzd in the Longines subforum for those who are interested.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/strategic-changes-at-longines.143930/
Edited:
 
eelpie
Posts
182
Likes
92
Evitzee Evitzee
Only how Swatch has operated for 40 years. They have a six month schedule, new watch designs twice a year. They don't keep watches around. Since this is a unique case design for Swatch it is possible they could crank it up again and produce more, but this means ordering more straps and making more dials, disrupting new designs already in production and diverting movements already tagged for other watches. And the new ones wouldn't be available for months by which time the novelty has worn off. Let's wait and see what happens, but history is a strong predictor for the future, especially with Swatch.

I believe most manufacturers would try to satisfy a very profitable demand before dropping an item (and likely a very profitable item at that) to produce a different item that is unknown and unproven just because they have a non-binding schedule to adhere to. Is any standard Swatch likely to be as popular or sell as well as the MoonSwatch range, or garner as much attention for the brand?

Has any Swatch in the past decade seen the celebrity and demand that we’ve witnessed with the MoonSwatch range?

I feel the the introduction of the MoonSwatch in and of itself is an indication that it’s not business as usual at Swatch Group.
 
STANDY
Posts
16,853
Likes
47,844
eelpie eelpie
Has any Swatch in the past decade seen the celebrity and demand that we’ve witnessed with the MoonSwatch range?

I feel the the introduction of the MoonSwatch in and of itself is an indication that it’s not business as usual at Swatch Group.

Who knows, SWATCH wasn’t even on our stratosphere here other than the occasional release here or there that caused a slight ripple.

Swatch just done a bomb in the deep end and everyone saw it (in and out of the pool)
 
eelpie
Posts
182
Likes
92
texasmade texasmade
I guess you haven't been paying attention to Rolex, AP, Hermes Birkin bags, Patek, Omega's ED321 and Silver Snoopy, Ferrari, Porsche GT cars, Mercedes G Wagons...
I don’t believe any manufacturer curtails production in order to facilitate the “flippers” who profit in the secondary market.

They’re in business to make money for themselves, and companies like Rolex now vet potential buyers to check for brand loyalty. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t . . .

And, no, I don’t follow the market on Mercedes G Wagons or Hermès Birkin bags. I have no reason to.
 
dsio
Posts
33,142
Likes
37,877
STANDY STANDY
Who knows, SWATCH wasn’t even on our stratosphere here other than the occasional release here or there that caused a slight ripple.

Swatch just done a bomb in the deep end and everyone saw it (in and out of the pool)
Sistem51 is probably the next nearest example and it released then sold out everywhere pretty much immediately, they upped production from 1 million and change to over 2 million units per year rather quickly after that. The Sistem51 being an automatic mechanical watch would likely be more complex to make than these too.
 
SpeedyPhill
Posts
6,700
Likes
12,315
hen hen
Well this was fun!

If this craziness continues, and the SOME crowd gets into it, then they just have to get all 11 and the box. Ka-ching for Swatch!
And if the dont get all 11, you speedy guys can paint your now worthless watches yellow and sell them with a profit. Ka-ching for you!
Then you can buy yourselves a real Omega ie. a Seamaster, that people wont confuse with a moonswach.
::stirthepot::
No worries ... the SeaSwatch is coming to an ocean near You ... 😁
 
630 More Posts...
Sign up or log in to reply...

Similar threads

YY77

Omega smartening up on March 26th?

YY77 Swatch Watches
DLT222
DLT222
Posts
56
Views
17K