Forgive my ignorance, as I’ve only really been into nice watches for about a year now. I was not “in the game” during the 2017 Basel fury.

One thing I’ve learned from the Rolex side is that being the average unwashed subject, I can expect to wait a few years before being able to walk into one of their AD’s and pick up a new release.

But what about Omega? Their pieces always seem to be pretty readily available at discount prices all the time. Based on the knowledge of history present here, when could I reasonably expect to buy the new wave-dial blue Seamaster Diver at either an AD or from a trusted seller here?

Thank you

 

From immediately to 9 months.

 

I would say it depends. If you want a play by play of a lot of impatient Omega enthusiasts waiting for Basel releases to be delivered have a look at the thread for the 60th anniversary watches from Basel 2017. Lots and lots of speculation and waiting.

 

Hmmm.... still a brighter picture than on the Rolex side of the aisle.

 

Tell that to anyone that's been on the ceramic Daytona waiting list for a year with no end in sight...

 

Uhm... That's EXACTLY what I'm talking about. Rolex announces a new model and it's YEARS before any normal run of the mill guy can expect to be able to buy one.

 

Never mind bottom feeders like me that wait until you can buy them in gently used condition for less than retail.

EDIT: I see a new FS listing on TRF for a Batman at... almost $12k. Something is broken with the system.

 

Well, I contacted the OB the same day as Baselworld last year and they didn't have any info until like 4 days later. They took 100% prepayment, told me it would arrive in June, and I was one of the early ones to pick it up in October. Food for thought and how this year's model plays out.

 

And for Rolex it depends on the model - true for all stainless steel sports watches but all other models are usually available much earlier...

 

DOHHH!! My mistake, I completely missed the important "than" in your sentence (changed the meaning entirely!).

How I read it...

Words you actually wrote with emphasis on the important word I missed...

 

System might apply to Omega but not to Rolex. Sad but true.

 

With Rolex, it seems they have artificially restricted the supply of SS sports models in the past few years. The years the 114060, SD4K, and BLNR were first announced, they started showing up on people's wrists around June and July in Europe and North America by August/September. Seems that any SS sports model is now harder to get than they were when originally introduced. If they want to satisfy demand, I assume they could. They just choose not to.

Omega has been all over the map - some models being available right away, some not showing up for a year or more, but they did just open new manufacturing facilities in 2017 so they might get to a quicker, more predictable schedule in the future. Omega's issue has been providing estimated delivery dates and then missing them. Omega's website says this model will be available is stores "from July 2018"...

 

I'm not sure if their restriction was "artificial" or not, but it seems to me that their risk of pushing supply of SS sports Rolex way up was that the "brand" might be diluted. By releasing sports Tudor references, they have a way to increase the overall supply of sports references without increasing Rolex sports supply and risking brand dilution. I think it's smart. I think the Tudor releases are amazing and will draw a lot of attention that brand and make that the new Rolex sports "entry level". They'll sell an absolute shit ton of the Tudor watches.

 

You aren’t kidding! I don’t even like the thought of paying retail for a luxury product. It’ll be the proverbial cold day in hell before I pay OVER retail for the pleasure of having it now.

 

That's what I said about the Silver Snoopy and Spectre SM300.

 

I remember holding one in my hand at local AD about 2 years ago, was priced at ~$7500 USD BNIB. Even the S&P hasn't returned quite 150% in that time, unreal...

 

End of June or beginning of July

 

I agree about the Tudor Pepsi

 

It says July on the Omega website product page:
https://www.omegawatches.com/en-us/watches/baselworld-2018/seamaster-diver-300-m-collection/

 

And now it says August...

Let the games begin...