patrick_y
[PuristSPro Moderator]
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Objectively: Is the Omega X Swatch "MoonSwatch" A Good Thing Or Bad Thing For Existing Omega Owners?
It's UNPRECEDENTED. Swatch Group and Omega (Omega is a subsidiary of Swatch Group) has violated an unwritten rule within the luxury industry by putting their name and logo on a watch that is much cheaper than normal. There's a rule in the luxury industry called "protect and preserve the brand image." This is a very bold move by Omega. One that Omega knew would ruffle some feathers, but the executive team decided to be bold and push past it. It's likely a large amount of analysis was made and the pros and cons were weighed, external consultant teams were probably hired.
The Moonwatch is on the left where the MoonSwatch is on the right. Notice the watches look very similar to each other. Especially to the untrained normal eye (we have to pretend we're not watch collectors for a moment). Notice on the MoonSwatch the Omega logo is more prominent on the dial than the Swatch logo, also the same "Speedmaster" logo with the same font is used.
Some of us have strong opinions on the subject. So let's all take a moment to take a deep breath and approach this topic analytically and objectively, and not as a watch collector. Let's think of other high contrast (contrast in price spheres) collaborations. The earliest one I can think of was Lanvin X H&M back in 2010. BUT, let's examine this collaboration closer. Were Lanvin clientele alienated by it? Not really, since the collaboration's clothing collection wasn't similar to anything from the actual Lanvin collection. But this isn't a perfect analogy. A large percentage of the public will see this as Omega, making an Omega-branded watch that looks very similar to an existing line of Omega watches. The Speedmaster Moonwatch is the second most popular reference for Omega in North America (second only to the Seamaster) and worldwide, it's still one of the top models (Asia does a lot of Constellation and DeVille whereas Americas and Europe is more Seamaster and Speedmaster).
Right
now, collaborations are all the rage. In 2022 we saw a Gucci and
Adidas collaboration. But we forget that they happened a while back.
Back in 2010, H&M did a collaboration with Lanvin! The products are
definitely very haute couture!
Owners of an Aston Martin sports car probably aren't too threatened by this little Mini-Cooper equivalent. But they probably weren't too happy that Aston Martin was making a sub-micro-compact!
Let's look at another collaboration. The Aston Martin Cygnet. This was a re-bodied Toyota iQ city car that basically had an Aston Martin grill and a nicer leather interior. Otherwise, the engine and the transmission and other mechanicals were all Toyota iQ with no significant revision. Now, no Aston Martin owner felt that their Aston Martin sports car was usurped by this little Cynet hatchback because when you looked at the Cygnet, it clearly didn't look like a long-hooded sexy sports car. But that's not what Omega did here... Omega made a watch that looks quite similar to their own Speedmaster. The newly launched watch has the Omega branding larger than the Swatch branding. Even the "Speedmaster" font and text is used!
Now, let's have empathy for three different types of consumers:
1. The Existing Omega owner - who spent 5000 Francs to buy an Omega watch last month and now this month Omega is offering a 250 Franc watch that says Omega on it, s/he is probably not entirely happy.
2. The Existing Omega owner/potential-owner - who sees the MoonSwatch as mostly a Swatch. Thus, this individual is neither happy nor unhappy.
3. The Swatch customer - is likely happy to have a choice of being able to acquire an Omega branded watch at Swatch price levels.
Now, let's look at it from Swatch's perspective as they own both Omega and Swatch brands.
Omega sells (roughly) several hundred thousand watches a year. Most estimates are around 500,000+.
Swatch (the brand, not the group) manufactures many dozens of millions of watches a year.
Now that we are thinking from Swatch's perspective... What are Swatch's goals? To make a gateway drug for future Omega owners? Will this work? The analysts probably said "it'll work" but who really knows? Analysts can be wrong...
In fiscal year 2020, Swatch Group posted a net loss 50 million Swiss Francs whereas the year before they made a roughly 750 million net income in FY 2019. Turnover was 5.6 Billion Swiss Francs down over 32% compared to the previous year! Dividends were cut around 40%! At this time, I can imagine the management team was very much looking for revenue generating projects. It's likely that this Omega X Swatch Collaboration project was born out of necessity due to the bad performance of FY 2020. The management team probably thought "we need to think outside of the box" and this is what they came up with. It's an unprecedented super bold idea! Was Swatch Group desperate?
Who came up with this idea? Did some McKinsey or Bain consultants make this suggestion? Were any of them watch collectors? Was it internally inspired? Was it an old idea that was shelved twenty years ago and someone decided to reexamine the idea? We will probably never know. Is it a good idea?
Omega Moonwatch owners, your watch is definitely superior, your watch is a precision instrument certified by Space Agencies like NASA to go to the moon! This latest Omega MoonSwatch is really more Swatch than Omega! Enjoy your Omega Moonwatch! It's an Omega! Be happy!
To Swatch and Flik Flak lovers, you're definitely getting a great deal here! You can get an Omega branded watch for 1/20th the price! Kudos!
Everybody should be happy! But I totally understand how an existing Omega owner might be unhappy with this new launch! I can have empathy for him or her!
💰364 Marketplace Listings for Omega›Omega Constellation · 1 for sale · 1520 discussions›Omega Seamaster · 1 for sale · 7807 discussions›
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Objectively: Is the Omega X Swatch "MoonSwatch" A Good Thing Or Bad Thing For Existing Omega Owners?
It's UNPRECEDENTED. Swatch Group and Omega (Omega is a subsidiary of Swatch Group) has violated an unwritten rule within the luxury industry by putting their name and logo on a watch that is much cheaper than normal. There's a rule in the luxury industry ...
The Mercury and Moon (which most look like the OG SM),
and then the Jupiter and Saturn. Overall, I would even say Jupiter is my favorite version! The subtle color with the orange highlights works great to my eyes.... Cheers, Filip
Very nice choice!
Out of the colored versions, Jupiter is definitely up there. That orange hand makes all the difference in the world - err solar system!
AND....
not that I ever believed in anything as silly as astrology, but my sign Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, so I can claim some 'higher force' is drawing me to it ....
I don't disagree with you!
And I can understand if some Speedie owners are unhappy or feel betrayed.
I read that one and commented!
Imagine a Nautilus! That'd be so funny! Of course, the trademark infringements would get them into a lot of legal trouble!
A plastic Fathoms...
A plastic Fathoms would be great for someone who doesn't have one... But maybe not so great for the people who already have them! As many will say it "cheapens" the brand.
Agreed.
That's the right word. Heresy. I'm so surprised that Omega would do this. Well, it will raise a lot of money. Let's say they sell 500,000 of them... I'd say it'll raise around 125 million Swiss Francs. Plus they're capturing the revenue since they're only...
Or the beginning of a new era when we can buy a pristine Rolex 6538 for USD 5k :-)))
.......if it can happen to pocketwatches it can happen to vintage watches too, you just need to believe. S
why Sir, did you see the excitement and pure desire on a global level today? people are sleeping outside Swatch stores, what watch in the last 20 years generated the..............
such buzz and excitement, They are both their father's children and they played a master stroke, we can't keep harping on about tradition, the past, and how farmers during winter used horse urine to temper parts to get the best resonance. viva la revoluci...
You're right! It's a great business plan!
Yes, I saw the sleeping people outside of the Swatch store in San Francisco. At first it looked like a homeless encampment! Rabid humans, foaming at the mouth. But when I realized they were rabid zombies for watches, not brains, and not drugs like heroin,...
I appreciate the innovative case material. That's it
Everything else, i don"t like it. Omega already have too many models. A cheap plasticky quartz is the last thing we need. For Swatch fans, they should be happy. I prefer the real Omega.
Imagine wearing a Canopus speedy or an Ed white and somebody compliments you, “nice swatch”..
Of course, no different from folks asking if your Rolex is fake or not :-p I figure Omega has gone down the Seiko path anyways of constantly introducing variants and ltd Ed’s. Another one won’t hurt. It’s all good What they may need to do is have the mark...
Oh No! It's not a Swatch! It's an Omega!
There's a joke about Hermes bags. Once someone saw a nice Hermes bag, not being familiar with the brand, she complimented the owner of the bag, "nice bag, is it a Coach?" to which pleased the owner that Hermes wasn't too mainstream yet and that it could s...
Hehe for sure. Coach was all the rage when i got assigned in the US in the early 90s..
It seemed to be the consultant’s choice back in the day. Kinda irked me a bit and went the other way with a mid tier relatively unknown British brand. That bag is still alive today albeit with signs of wear
A lot of those unknown British brands are true gems...
Mark Cross (arguably American), Asprey, Dunhill, Edward Green, John Lobb, and the even more obscure are all little gems!
That's a great approach!
But will some existing owners of the regular 5000 Franc Omega Speedmaster feel less into watches after this? Hopefully not. Their thought process would be wrong, by our standards, because we can tell one is a real mechanical watch and the other is really ...
I just can’t believe
that a $250 piece of plastic (sorry, bio-ceramic) with a quartz movement should make owners of a $6000+ machine feel worse about it. To me, that’s like an Aston Martin owner feeling bad about a toy James Bond car. The customers are not in the same market;...
A Toy Car isn't a fair thing...
Overall I agree with you, except on the toy car analogy. But let's say this... Let's say Aston Martin or Bentley (Bentley makes the cars in the books, Aston in the movies) made a car for $60,000 and it looked like a normal Aston Martin or Bentley. Sure, i...
Overall I agree with you...
But there may be a few clients out there, maybe a minority, who bought the Omega Moonwatch because they thought it looked cool and because there was an Omega brand logo on it. Now, without having seen the MoonSWATCH, and I'm sure the Swatch version feels ...
Yes, but this can be seen as a very strange move in a historically conservative industry.
This is beyond bold, this is breaking the mould. History shattering bold!
you forgot to mention that
it's always easy to stretch your grown brand and accelerate short term sales - but it is very hard to rebuild brand value and trust. CEOs and their consultants are eagerly willing to sacrifice their brand value to revenues when they are financially under ...
That's definitely part of the plan!
But if it's too short of a run, then it won't generate the revenue for Swatch to make a difference. The plan is probably to sell somewhere in the region of a few hundred thousands of these!
I actually find these watches pretty cool
And I’m not at all offended or scared for my speedy. I think these are fun collectible cheap things.
Good to know!
I'm glad you see the difference! Most of the people on our website will see the difference, one is a true Omega, and one is a Swatch disguised as an Omega.
Your favorite holy Blancpain watch might soon not be so holy!
Joking of course! Good to read you here Shortys home!
Oh boy!
You're a RULE BREAKER! The luxury industry's number one rule is always to protect the brand and to preserve the brand. This is a concept most often said in French, preserver la marque. It's so often said that it's never said anymore, it's built into the m...
My first time ever Speedmaster is coming before these news
If anyone here can't see the differences or feel betrayed, I guess there's definitely something wrong 😄 It's a funny colored quartz watch with the same shape of a Speedmaster. That's all. The main issue today is that today's watch nuts (are there still an...
Got it!
I'm actually in a similar boat as yours, as I purchased a Speedmaster very recently. Yes, while I don't feel betrayed, I do find it a very odd thing what Omega has done. And if they're willing to go THIS FAR OUT OF THE BOX, what other unconventional thing...
If I look at the typical Omega Speedmaster I don’t see much quality and finishing…
There is huge wiggle room between the case and the bracelet and please don’t even get me started on how brutally machine-finished the movement looks…
Nonetheless that's the one that went to the Moon
Literally 😄😄😄😄 I'm still waiting for the betrayed Speedmaster collectors to dump their watches for few bucks
The betrayed Speedmaster fellas probably will keep their watches...
There won't be any rash movements. And the typical collector who owns a Speedmaster who would feel betrayed isn't at the level where he knows how to sell a watch easily. As the typical Speedmaster buyer is a first-time luxury watch buyer. They don't see w...
They're telling me buy a Speedmaster Moonwatch!!!
And that's possibly one of the goals of whom built up the whole story here! Don't know
I wasn't thinking of telling you that!
But I will say, I do find the real Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch to be a DARN COOL WATCH!
Aww. How sweet!
Yes! That is a great way to do it! My father always bought me outfits that matched his. It'd be cool if you and your son had matching watches!
I bought my father a matching pen later on in my life.
I haven't bought him a matching watch yet though! He doesn't care that much about watches, so maybe it's not a good idea! Plus he might golf with it on! Terror!
Fun thing
I think its a fun thing. Not a big fan of the position of the counters though. But the Colorways make it a nice Summers Watch. Would be a nice Service Watch à la Hublot.
Yes! You bring up a good point!
An inexpensive fashion colorful watch a la Hublot without the Hublot price tag!
It’s interesting..
Short term it might boost over all sales. The question is would Rolex do this if they were in the same position? I seriously doubt it. This speaks to how the brands see their own zeitgeist..it’s mercurial but Omega needs to maintain the sanctity of PO, Mo...
I agree...
The Moonwatch is so iconic. Why didn't they do something with less risk first? Like Aquaterra!
Interesting!
This is definitely uncharted territory here. Omega is taking a huge risk to make a toy version of its watch!
I think it is quite humbling and cute.
But, I can also see why many will not like it, and I can understand. I am however sure this will boost excitement over the actual speedmaster which can only be a good thing.
Let's not overdo this
If I were say 14-15 years old today, I would be seriously drooling over this one!
Agreed!
But how many 14-15 year olds have 250CHF and a bus ticket to the few Swatch stores around the world that sell this watch?
Seeing the amount of comments
This release generates lots of attention! I think it will be a massive success but real Speedmaster owners will squirm a little
Probably...
But look at the public at large... For most owners of Speedmasters, that is their first or only expensive watch. To them, it was a significant purchase. On our website here, Speedmaster isn't necessarily an extremely expensive watch to the majority of the...
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