why do you like omegas?

[mamas]

Guys, to start a bit of converstaion going.. i pose the question to you, on why spend you hard earned $$$ on omegas when you can buy brand X? (whatever it may be). What is it that attracts you to omega over other brands? why buy omega? ;D
interested to hear your views.
mamas ;D

[jeanmichel]

mamas said:

Guys, to start a bit of converstaion going.. i pose the question to you, on why spend you hard earned $$$ on omegas when you can buy brand X? (whatever it may be). What is it that attracts you to omega over other brands? why buy omega? ;D
interested to hear your views.
mamas ;D

on my side it is quiet a long story ... I'll try to make it short :-)

Oe of the oldest watch in our familly is an Omega pocket watch so I have known the brand since I am a child , my father is also the owner of several Omegas including a seamaster and a flightmaster , so when I grew up the brand was definitly familiar to me

when I decided to start to collect watches when I was about 20 y/o I was definitly interested in chronographs so I tried to look for a vintage one (at this time it was NO option to buy a brand new chronograph)

my search brings me to 2 models : the Omega Speedmaster and the Breitling Navitimer : vintage breitling where not waterproof so this brings me out of this model as I wanted an everyday watch ... so the choice was for the speedmaster

I bought mine in 1985, second hand : a 145.022 dated 1978 ... and paid it around 300 USD that was a fortune for me at this time !

this watch have followed be since 20 years now, I have done EVERYTHING with it, from seaswim to jetski , from off road motorbiking to parachuting : this was my "beater" ... as time pass I appreciate more and more my good old speedy pro

As soon as I became a little bit more serious about watch collecting it was logical that my interest for Omega grows ...

I still have my good old 145.022 from 1978 : I have offered it "retirement" after all thoses years of active duty ... it goes for a total restauration at Bienne in 2003 , and join back the collection "as new" :

Here it is :



Of course I needed to replace my "beater" watch , but since this period I have improved my tastes and had the occasion to test a lot of other chronographs .... however there was only ONE choice for me : the Speedmaster professional ! this time I bought a 145.0022 dated 1998 , still with the hesalite crystal :-)

so that is how, and because of ONE watch, I became an Omega addict !
cheers
JM

[Sam]

What got me started on Omega is that my dad had an Omega since before I was born. I remember playing with it when I was a little kid. I was fascinated with the concept of a watch that wound itself.

When I graduated from college a little over 6 years ago, I wanted to buy myself a nice watch. I knew I wanted an Omega, and I bought a mid-size Bond SMP. I wore that watch just about every day for 5 years. I started to tire of the smaller size & this year sold that watch and bought a full-size Bond SMP.

At one point, I had 6 Seamasters. I've sold a few of those off, but will always have a few Omegas in the collection. I definitely see a Speedmaster Pro in my collection at some point.

My dad passed away 7 years ago. I took his watch to my local watch guy & had it freshened up. It was about due for it's first service at 40 years old. ;D

[mike]

Great question Mamas.

I guess a couple things brought me into the Omega fold.
My first Omega was/is a Bond SMP quartz. I liked the size of the watch as well as the looks,and Omega's reputation for ruggedness. I also liked the fact that here was a new watch without WG surrounds. I like the look. As most of you know,I tend to be rather hard on a watch on occasion,and have found Omega more than equal to anything that came up.
As much as I like the accuracy a quartz timepiece brings to the table,like most,I have strong feelings for mechanical movements.
With the advent of the co-axial movement I got a Bond GMT. Here was a watch that has everything I could want in a timepiece for my lifestyle,GMT function,rotatable bezel(which I use a lot,great lume,nice looking,and at least in my example almost spot on accuracy.
The GMT's accuracy led me to the PO,again the co-ax movement was a big point with me,but also the retro style of the watch I felt was so sharp. Indeed my wife thinks it's the best looking watch I own. (I may feel differently,but I've learned not to argue! )

As someone who is rather discriminating in the choice of "equiment" I've come to trust the quality and history Omega brings to the table.

[mamas]

My father also owns an omega seamaster form the early 1980's and again i always admired this watch. When i came to buy my first good watch, i was fairly opened minded, but seemed to be drawn towards the omega seamaster bond. Unfortunately the sales assistant suggested that i buy a quartz, as the automatic was unreliable and not particularly tough.. and so listened to him.. and bougth the quartz! what a mistake. as i became more interested in watches, i realised the historical background of omegas, and the more i read about the mechanisms of omega, aswell as the companies role in the development of the modern diver.. and its use in the space program.. aswell as its value for money.. i felt that this was a brand worthy to spend my $$ on. Unfortunatley i sold my first quartz watch the omega bond recently, as i just never did wear it .. and felt it had no heart as it was a quartz.. so had to sell it.
My interest in the speedy was obtained form lurking on WUS and reading JM's posts on the subject.. so it is him that i blame for this!
mamas

[mike]

Ha! I think JM is going to have to shoulder the "blame" for a lot of speedy purchases!!

[mamas]

will you be getting one mike?
mamas

[mike]

mamas said:

will you be getting one mike?
mamas

I've been looking. It would certainly round out any Omega collection.
I would want a hesalite crystal and manual wind. Seems more traditional.

[jon]

That's a short story

Wanted a nice watch, and started to read at some web sites. One of the ones I wanted was a speedy pro. And then I suddenly found one in a second hand watch store in Oslo. That one is now gone

I guess I have people like JM to blame for the rest of the fun

To me the relationship to NASA is special. So is the design and the old movements. And the long and important history

And of course, the nicest watch forums and collectors in the world


Jon

[kz1000]

Along with a few others here, my Omega collecting started because of tradition. I was not really a watch enthusiast until late last year.

My father purchased a Constellation for my mother quite a few years ago....He bought himself a quartz Aqua Terra for Christmas a few years later. The Omega name had made it's rounds through the house and I knew it was one of the nicer brands out there.

When I started looking for a watch last year, I looked into Omega for the value it was for my money. I also wanted to kind of carry on with the Omega tradition in the family.

I'm glad Omega still provides the benefit to the customer to send out the COSC certs and are rather pleasant about doing so.

Jeff

[Adam]

When I was a boy my dad had his office above a jewelry store. During the summers I went to work with him almsot every day and we would always pass through the jewelry store and I remember they had a big Omega display case with the big Omega symbol above it, I thought the display case looked really cool.

Later on I would check out the watches when we walked past, I always loved the way the seamasters looked. I remember one summer they had the Omega catalogs on the display and I snagged one and looked at it all day in my dad's office. My favorite watch was the seamaster, I thought it was soooo cool (I still do ;D)

Then years later I saw the movie Apollo 13 and noticed they wore really nice looking watches, so I checked it out and found out about the speedmaster collection.


Anyway I always thought of getting an Omega, but could never spend that much on a watch, until I started reading forums and talking to others and as the saying goes my luxury soon became a neccesity And now that I have one I dont think I will ever be able to buy another luxury watch brand, I love Omega, they offer so many classic collections that I will never get tired of there designs.

Too me they represent the best of the best in watch making

[mamas]

hey adam looks like you hit post twice lololol ;D ;D

[Adam]

stupid too many connections thing was happening

[jeanmichel]

mike said:

Ha! I think JM is going to have to shoulder the "blame" for a lot of speedy purchases!!

I know I know guys ... I MUST make public appologies for the speedy passion I have given to some of you this is a dangerous desease

may I remind you that I am also the webmaster of www.navitimer.net ... so if you want to try to cure yourself ... have a look to Navitimers ... specially vintages one which are IMO by far the nicest ones :



this one is a vintage 806 late version dated 1971
cheers
JM

[mamas]

Must say, although i like the look of navitmers.. dont really feauture in my future WIS plans..didnt you sell a few of your navitmers a while back JM?
mamas

DAMN! this too many connections thing is P*****G me off!
mamas