Spectre Seamaster Pro with the gold accents and the arrow hour hand. Magnificent watch.

Also really like the panda speedies.

Spent the morning at the Omega boutique. Impossible to choose. My favorite was the Speedmaster '57 with the blue dial:



The picture can't do it justice. But the price is a bit rich for my blood.

Check out the price of used Rolex's and tell me they hold their value. I was offered 1800 for mine that cost over 5200 by a forum member.

quote:

Originally posted by 9mmnut:
Check out the price of used Rolex's and tell me they hold their value. I was offered 1800 for mine that cost over 5200 by a forum member.

I bought a brand new ss/platinum 40mm yachtmaster from the authorized dealer for 30% off of retail in 2012 for a brand new watch. I paid $7840 for it....it's still worth $6500 5 years later.....

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by 9mmnut:
Check out the price of used Rolex's and tell me they hold their value. I was offered 1800 for mine that cost over 5200 by a forum member.

I bought a brand new ss/platinum 40mm yachtmaster from the authorized dealer for 30% off of retail in 2012 for a brand new watch. I paid $7840 for it....it's still worth $6500 5 years later.....

I bought an ExpII in 1997 for $3500 and sold it 13 years later for $3500. (I did have a service done for a grand in there somewhere). It helps to buy what people like. And it would really help when the model you have is discontinued. Wish to gawd I still had my GMT Coke and my 50th Sub. Sold them both about even, but could have doubled my money if I'd have kept them another 5 or 6 years.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by DanH:
Submariner. Unless you want to grab one of the automatic Speedmasters. They're very hard to beat, but I'm not a manual watch fan no matter the history. I also find plexiglass on a multi-thousand dollar watch a bit insulting.

You know the plexiglass is there for a real, practical reason. Sapphire glass is hard as hell and damn near impossible to scratch. But it will shatter, and NASA didn't want shards of glass floating around a space capsule. Plexiglass will scratch, but it is hard to break, and when you do break it, it just cracks. No shards.

Insulting? You think Omega is just thumbing its nose at its customers? And they aren't just being cheap, either. Speedmaster buyers would happily pay for sapphire glass, except that many want it exactly original.

I want a FOiS because I like the smaller trimmed lug case. I wish it had the hesalite crystal. Oh MAN do I wish it did. Sapphire totally changes the dial appearance. and not in a way I prefer.

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by 9mmnut:
Check out the price of used Rolex's and tell me they hold their value. I was offered 1800 for mine that cost over 5200 by a forum member.

I bought a brand new ss/platinum 40mm yachtmaster from the authorized dealer for 30% off of retail in 2012 for a brand new watch. I paid $7840 for it....it's still worth $6500 5 years later.....

I bought an ExpII in 1997 for $3500 and sold it 13 years later for $3500. (I did have a service done for a grand in there somewhere). It helps to buy what people like. And it would really help when the model you have is discontinued. Wish to gawd I still had my GMT Coke and my 50th Sub. Sold them both about even, but could have doubled my money if I'd have kept them another 5 or 6 years.

The best one I know of for resale is the Daytona from the late 90's, those things are worth a fortune compared to what they origionally sold for.

It can be hard to predict. The 2014 Silver Snoopy Award Speedmaster retailed for something like 7800. Good luck finding a used one under 14,000 today.

I have a couple of Rolexes including a 2-tone Sub I got 20 years ago and a couple of Omegas, but not the Speedy yet. I certainly like them both. I tend to wear the Omegas more these days because the stainless or titanium tends to fly under the radar better than the 18kt, but I believe the Rolex is a little tougher and better built timepiece. I beat the snot out of my Sub the first 14 years I owned it, and it has never missed a beat. The price of service is the issue with Rolex these days. I understand they want $900 for the routine maintenance on a sub currently.

The link pins on the clasp of my Omega Black Seamaster Pro Chrono Diver are poorly engineered and pretty flimsy. The watch is very heavy, and the links fail prematurely IMHO. Omega wants more than $300 for the clasp as their fix, but there is a guy - there is always a guy - who has devised a $25.00 fix and sells his pins on Ebay. Omega was a much better value until about 7-8 years ago when they decided to go upmarket head to head against Rolex and raised their prices dramatically. This coincided with the introduction of a proprietary in house movement (coaxial). Prior to that point Omega was not above re-working other movements like the Valjoux in my Seamaster or the ETA in my America's Cup Racing Chrono.

Yeah, I tend to think buying a 1-2 year old Omega from a reputable seller is the way to go for Omegas.

I thought I'd ruled out the Sub, but I put one on my wrist today and it's really hard to rule it out. The no-date stainless Submariner is just a study in design. It's a dive watch that's been brought down to a very pure form, IMO. It has everything it should have and nothing further. And everything is of course of the highest quality. Also, the case is the ideal size for my wrist at 40 mm. It just made me sigh because, while it doesn't make my heart skip any beats, it just feels so naturally perfect. I don't think buying that one would be a mistake.

However, I've found a lightly used, with box and papers coaxial Moonwatch in titanium and blue with the leather strap. New, this watch would cost over $11k with tax. I can have it, OTD, for half the price. Which shows the depreciation on the Omegas, especially the titanium watches. OTOH, someone else already took a huge hit on it, not me.



I also found a very nice original Moonwatch (wind-up, etc.), lightly used, for around 3k. Also a very good deal.

But I can have a brand-new SubC in stainless, no-date, not gray market, with full warranty, for 6800 OTD. They're normally 7500 plus 10% tax round these parts.

So, that's where I'm at. I think I've written off the Planet Ocean at this point, though they are beautiful watches. I have found a few lightly used ones at great prices. I'm sure there will be others, too. It's a very beefy watch and I like it a lot.

quote:

Originally posted by rsd1220:
Sea Dweller

My suggestion as well if you don't want to the cyclops. Had mine for almost 20 years now. You can find them on the used market still. A new model was introduced recently @ 43mm with a cyclops. The 16600 model I have is 40mm diameter.

Michael

quote:

Originally posted by ShneaSIG:
You know the plexiglass is there for a real, practical reason. Sapphire glass is hard as hell and damn near impossible to scratch. But it will shatter, and NASA didn't want shards of glass floating around a space capsule. Plexiglass will sractch, but it is hard to break, and when you do break it, it just cracks. No shards.

I am aware of that, just like I'm aware that when Seiko developed the Space Walk watch for use in EVA they put a sapphire crystal in because the chances of that happening are very slim.

quote:

Insulting? You think Omega is just thumbing its nose at its customers? And they aren't just being cheap, either. Speedmaster buyers would happily pay for sapphire glass, except that many want it exactly original.

Some do, some don't. I had the same attitude towards TAG Heuer when they brought back the Monaco. My issue is they charge full Omega price for that doesn't cost them that much. If the market will take it, I won't stop them. That still doesn't mean I have to like or approve of it.

quote:

Not to mention, Sapphire is highly reflective, and on a domed crystal, basically throws reflections everywhere. The acrylic crystal on the Speedmaster has a very particular look on that watch. If you are a purist, then the Speedmaster with the acrylic is the way to go.

They've gotten really good with the non-reflective coatings that some watches don't look like they have a crystal at all. I had a little distortion on my Speedmaster, but I had to crank it at such an angle I couldn't read any watch. Even still, it would only slightly distort the minute marks around the outer edge.

quote:

However, I've found a lightly used, with box and papers coaxial Moonwatch in titanium and blue with the leather strap.

That would be my choice out of all you've mentioned. I love titanium watches. My daily driver is a TAG Aquaracer in Titanium and it's feels so well balanced.

Have you looked at the HB-SiA or the Speedmaster Racer?

Also, here's some better pics of the Speedmaster he's looking at:

The Rolex is a lot classier watch. If you want a watch with a busy dial like the Omega, I'd go for a Breitling over an Omega every day of the week.

quote:

Originally posted by DanH:
Also, here's some better pics of the Speedmaster he's looking at:

Yes! Beautiful pics.

To buy the titanium bracelet would set me back 1400 bucks, but I think it might be worth it. I'd probably live with the leather for a while and see how that goes. But the shiny bracelet really dresses it up.

quote:

Have you looked at the HB-SiA or the Speedmaster Racer?

No! Jeez, too many choices.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
The Rolex is a lot classier watch. If you want a watch with a busy dial like the Omega, I'd go for a Breitling over an Omega every day of the week.

Most strongly disagree on both counts!

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
The Rolex is a lot classier watch. If you want a watch with a busy dial like the Omega, I'd go for a Breitling over an Omega every day of the week.

I've looked at Brietlings. There's only one they ever made that appealed to me and they don't make it anymore and I haven't seen any used ones.

I actually like the looks of the Omega Seamaster, but it's in a much different category.

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
I actually like the looks of the Omega Seamaster, but it's in a much different category.

How so? Isn't it basically the competitor for the Submariner?

quote:

Originally posted by showpro:

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
I actually like the looks of the Omega Seamaster, but it's in a much different category.

How so? Isn't it basically the competitor for the Submariner?

I should have been more specific. I was referring to the non-mechanical version. It would save you quite a few bucks.