When Did Omega (and Rolex) Start Becoming Luxury Watch Brands?

I suggest that you play around here: https://www.measuringworth.com/

Your figures are a bit off. You are forgetting that Omega, Rolex and every other Swiss watch company paid their people in Swiss francs. The dollar has depreciated against the franc by a factor of about 5. So that Speedmaster that you say sells for $1,600 of “today’s dollars” really sells for about $8,000. Current price is more like $6,600, so not too far off.

Omega and Rolex have always been considered luxury items. It’s just some were more luxurious than others.
gatorcpa

Who the hell let O’Leary back in the building?

I grew up an Army brat, which meant I had access to the military PX. Around 1975, I moved to Anchorage near Ft. Richardson and started getting into photography. My memory is not good, but I recall that a Rolex was about $350. I think minimum wage was about $2 per hour then. I didn't know much about watches but had the opinion that Rolex was the top brand. I also believed Seiko was a good watch because my dad bought some in Vietnam when he was there. For graduation, I received a Bulova Caravelle Oceanagrapher, which I thought was a good watch but below Seiko and above Timex. I don't think I was unique in those opinions. I did know about Omega because my godfather had a gold Omega, which I thought was the coolest watch because it was so thin. It was a time only watch. To me, Rolex and Omega were kind of like Canon and Nikon, or Ford and Chevy. Similar but one had a better following and the other was the underdog but just as good.

Back then I bought Canons, F-1, then A-1 and lenses, which were more than a Rolex. A Rolex was a waste of money.

The way we consider luxury watches today, we think of Patek, etc... WIS don't consider Rolex (or Omega) real luxury watches. But for the general public, they probably don't know anything about Patek and the others, they just know Rolex and think of it as the top tier.

I don't know how widely held this was or if it is truly applied to the general public, but this was my lived experience.

Ps. I remember the Apollo program and it was one of the significant current events of my time, although below the Vietnam/American war.

gatorcpa

Is that the one where he said, "And to think I almost bought a camera instead!"

Most, not all of my pals think spending $200 for a watch is excessive. So a Baltic would be a luxury brand to them. Loved the other night when an out of town friend showed me his new GS Spring Drive GMT at dinner.