zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: I was thinking this morning... Omega's
: been very mum on news this year as it
: relates to new product announcments compared
: to last year this time...

: Here's a table I threw together last year in a
: discussion with Sam over at TZ detailing
: Omega's announcements in the months
: proceeding Basel last year:

: Leads me to two possible explanations for that:
: they learned from leaking all the
: announcements last year & are saving
: them up for Basel or there isn't going
: to be too much news [or new] from Omega at
: Basel this year.

: It would seem most like to either be one of
: those two explanations or some combination
: of the above two: not too much new, and
: they are saving that news for Basel...

: Last year, with the 50th Anniversary of the
: Speedmaster and Omegamania was a big year
: for Omega, this year, there isn't a real
: significant anniversary to commemorate
: [Seamaster's 60th or Apollo 8's 40th] to
: warrant an anniversary model. Perhaps Omega
: isn't going to have too much news?

: What do you think? --
: Chuck

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Well, they have announced two things recently that I can recall:

JFK homage watch in 261 pieces.

This is a "re-edition" of the watch Kennedy wore to his inauguration, given to him earlier that year. The Omega Museum acquired the watch several years ago from a Kennedy collector.

I assume this is Omega's Museum Collection watch for the year, as it follows the new pattern of less than 300 pieces and the old pattern of a design more than 50 years old.

Hour Vision movement in annual calendar

From Jorge Merano's post at TZ

"A limited edition of 160 pieces, the De Ville Hour Vision Annual Calendar features the Omega in-house caliber 8611. It is a COSC-certified chronometer with a jump annual calendar complication. This annual calendar automatically recognizes months with 30 and 31 days and, assuming that the watch is always running, needs to be manually corrected only once a year, on March 1st. The date and month are displayed in separate apertures.
. . .

The De Ville Hour Vision Annual Calendar Limited Series will be complemented at the end of 2008 by a global collection of eight models, four in rose gold and four in stainless steel, all with dials identical in design to that of the Limited Series. The steel models will be offered with silver or grey dials and a steel bracelet or black alligator leather strap. The rose gold models will be available with silver or brown dials and a rose gold bracelet or brown alligator leather strap."

So there will be a limited edition, followed by a general release.

Interesting -- why didn't they do this with the Hour Vision?

This is the strategy Omega employed with the first co-axials, and those initial Devilles have held their value rather well.

Omega has also introduced several 2008 Beijing Olympic models, which I have not followed in detail. I believe they are not revolutionary, but variations of existing models in Olympic garb.

They may have extended the Olympic "Timeless" collection, which appears to be a re-branding of the Olympic editions of a few years ago.

So those are the data points. . . .

Do I think Omega has learned? NO,, because that implies Omega was mistaken in their actions last year.

I think Omega's strategy last year was to keep their name in the press all the time, with Omegamania during Basal, with a new quasi-in-house movement, with the Speedmaster 50th anniversary . . . . lots of reasons to spend lots of money at a time when it was opportune to "upscale" the brand.

This year -- not so much.

I think Omega is quite a bit toned down, and they should be. They don't have nearly as much to gain this year as last, and I think their lack of publicity reflects it.

Probably some new models, mostly with co-axial movements and more F. Piquet chronograph movements.

We may see the first F. Piquet non-chronograph calibres, fitted with co-axial movements. It is a logical product extension: take a movement only found in watches that cost $5k and up, add a co-axial and put in Devilles with a price increase. Then no one can complain about paying $1,000 extra for a souped up ETA. Essentially, this is what an Hour Vision movement is -- it is an F. Piquet movement assembled by Omega.

I don't know if it will happen this year, but I can see it happening in the next several. Omega then has a four tiered movement product line:

1)Hour Visions/co-axial F. Piguets;

2) co-axial ETAs,

3) non-coaxial ETAs (phasing out -- with a Lemania exception) and

4) quartz (phasing out except ladies).

But I could be wrong . . .

Sam