zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

Dear John (and all the other watch-maniacs)

I just visited some Omega and Rolex shops in Zurich today. I probably will go for the Omega mid-size (36.2 mm) Aqua Terra with black dial and black leather strap (regularly it comes with brown leather or steel bracelet but I saw it with a black leather strap and it looks stunning with me). Before I purchase please let me ask you another - maybe somewhat silly question.

In one of your earlier emails you wrote: "With the Rolex, you are really paying only for the movement and the Rolex name." What do you mean with: paying the movement. Does this mean, a) that you purely pay the name and reputation of the manufacturer movement or does this mean b) that you pay the (potentially) higher production cost of an Explorer movement?

Taking the question further, what do you think: Are the production cost for the AT movement lower then the ones for the Explorer movement? OR: Is the internal product margin Rolex applies much higher, than the product margin of Omega? Probably the thruth lies somewhere in the middle: Rolex' unit margin (earning per sold unit) might be somewhat higher but their internal production cost might be somewhat higher too. What do you think?

Anyway, you wrote: "So, in a nutshell, I think that Omega gives you a much better value for the money, and a nicer looking watch."

My crucial question would be: Is the ETA-based 2500-movement in terms of used materials of their components and in terms of WEAR AND TEAR equal to any other movement (e.g. Rolex 3135)? Not all ETA movements are of the same quality.

In the meanwhile I found out, that I really don't care much about brand perspective and things like: "there's something special about Rolexes you cannot explain". Yes, that's true, I was sitting in a flamboyant Rolex shopping room this morning and there's something special about them. But in my eyes this is PURE marketing.

The potential reselling value doesn't mean anything to me either, since its artificial and arbitrary, based on the image of a brand. Image is value, but it's not value that is based on the "atomic truth".

Thanks a lot for your comments in advance!
Vorollo