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Are past Omega Bond watches good investments?
They aren't particular good, are they?
My Omega AD has offered me a couple of options for investment pieces:
1. The Seamaster 300 'Spectre' limited edition (with the huge box!);
2. The Seamster Aqua Terra 150m James Bond limited edition.
Both are as new and unworn.
Couple of questions: whereabouts are the prices on these at the moment? Quite a few of the spectre Seamaster prices seem very strong at the moment. Secondly, looking further ahead would either or both of these be any good as a medium term investment (5- 10 years?).
Are past Omega Bond watches good investments?
They aren't particular good, are they?
This "brand new with tags" Spectre Seamaster went for £6,299 on the bay last month.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2015201302...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
When I enquired after the used one on Watchfinder, I was informed that they would consider significant offers over RRP, but they were also thinking of actually holding an auction for it.
If your AD is offering you a new one at RRP, you could do worse than flip it in the short term. In the medium to long term, I'm not sure it would be a good investment.
That's kind of what I was thinking. However, I'd be interested to know what others think here. The price on the Spectre watch offered was £5800 which is well over list but that is what they seem to go for at the moment. Longer term, not sure.Originally Posted by markrlondon
Too early to tell but try searching for other Bond limited edition and find out about the running price. Maybe it will give You a rough idea if it is a good investment or not...
If you're going to invest in watches, Id stick with Rolex at that pricepoint, and Patek if higher.
Was just reading an interesting thread pertaining to this, have we seen the top of the market?
http://www.network54.com/Forum/20759...57165/View+All
What is the first Bond tie-in watch and how much it is currently worth compared to new (and I guess inflation)?
A friend has a Goldeneye smp which cost him £2300 and was recently offered £2700 to sell it. But that's about 20 years to go up £400. Better than a loss tho...
I don't think there are that many Bond special edition models, the early Omega Bond watches were standard models.
The Quantum of solace hasn't done too badly but was expensive to start with, the new Spectre SM 300 seems to have taken off but personally I don't like it as much as the standard SM300 master co-axial (which I love!)
Those tacky Bond "limited" editions never find friends on the sales corner here. The unmolested versions always do better.
I've seen loads of these in the windows of ADs.
There is no way I would pay over RRP for any of the bond omega special editions, there are just too many produced to command a significant premium over standard models.
Long-term I fail to see how these are a good bet. They were produced in such large numbers, which usually tends to mitigate against being investment potential. Plus there's nothing intrinsically special about them: just a rebadging and marketing exercise.
But hey...Donald's heading for the White House...anything's possible these days.
Re Post #11
Yes, each time I enquired about the Spectre Seamaster 300, I was offered the Aquaterra instead as they were available, but the Seamaster 300 not.
Interesting. Thanks for the feedback. The other options were an unworn 2010 black dial Daytona but prices on those seem to be dipping as others here have noted.
If you fancy a bullet proof investment "Bond" watch, then for about £5K why not get a 5513 Sub.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Spot on, in my view.
I reckon the SPECTRE Seamaster 300 is a real game-changer - different without being outlandish, limited to 7,007 examples (which ain't a lot), the same watch as worn in the film (more or less) for the first time and a handsome and desirable watch in its own right even without the film association. If I had a spare 10 grand lying around I'd buy two - one to wear and one to put in the safe.
But that is a loss? Admittedly he's had 20 years of watch to enjoy, but unless he gets £4k for it in 2016, it's a loss.
Completely agree, this is the first Bond watch I 'invested' in for several reasons:
-No obvious Bond branding on the dial of the watch
-It's actually a great watch and I would buy the standard version if I didn't get this one
-First to actually get some proper relevant screen time.
-Certainly not rare but they have pretty much been sold out since December 2015. How may other mainstream 'Limited Editions' genuinely get all sold.
I was in my local Boutique last week on the off chance they might have one (yeah right) The manager explained that they still get up to 15-20 requests per week for this watch.
BTW, they had plenty of the Aqua Terra available!
Last edited by ataripower; 14th March 2016 at 19:00.
Have I mis-read this somewhere?
an Omega AD selling at significantly more than list?
Didn't think they did that...
No, they're brokering a sale from a private source.
Just look at the SM Brosnan had. Not worth anything. And omegas "limited editions" of one million pieces is a joke :/
Interesting that they can increase in value. Tough decision to know when to sell, if that's of course your aim is making money from them.
I'd keep them safe for another 5 years.. See what people think then?
Good Luck!
Agree to many in the wild it would take a long time for to make a profit
Taking aside servicing and insurance costs one assumes?
Good point - serviced once a decade, he probably needs more like £4750 to cover inflation and "running costs".
Agreed, and the Craig David era is ending soon too, isn't it.
I didn't buy mine as an investment so I can't comment too much. However, I have never wanted a Bond-related edition until the spectre was released, and that's the same for others I know who own one. I bought the watch for its differences to the standard model, because features like the lollipop appealed.
7,007 is a lot as a number, but there's 7 billion people in this world, and the watch has sold out quicker than any other Bond watch in history.
I think the real game changer was the Christies Skyfall auction. The watch out of the film that wasn't even running, sold for £130,000 or so plus fees. The latest Bond auction sold a Spectre watch for £92,500. Charity auctions don't give a great idea, but there are plenty of people out there with money and, as we've seen with the Snoopy, it's not just Rolex that can demand premiums anymore. Bond may be childish to some, but there's a massive following and the Skyfall editions of the past have sold well also.
The Aqua Terra is one to avoid in my opinion as it has no significance, whereas the SM300 really does.
I don't know. Since coming back from Miami his songs are pretty good. The bloke can sing.
The latest one has caught the mood as it's the same as the one in the film (I think) and isn't covered in nonsense, whereas the other ones are basically children's toys made in their tens of thousands, so they'll never be worth significantly more.
It's right that these watches are now part of an appreciating investment/asset vehicle class. This is the corporate strategy, and the price rises should be applauded (by those who have the money of course :)).
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
Try telling the tax man it's a loss.
Only big issue for me is the whiff of naff that's clings to these and many other Omega Not so limited editions. Yes the Spectre SM is one of the more attractive ones with less tacky direct 007 references but I think the association with the awful earlier models can't help. As noted above, if you really must treat a watch purchase as an investment then I would be thinking older Rolex or unmolested Omega. Put a tidy Great White GMT, x33 gen 2, 3570.50 or TinTin Speedmaster in the safe and you may just beat inflation IMO.
What has the tax man got to do with selling a personal possession bought 20 years ago?
It was a lighthearted joke about the principle of profit in regards to capital gain tax. It only applies for personal items sold over £6k and doesn't include watches thankfully, but the principle stands. It would be seen as a profit regardless of costs incurred such as maintenance and insurance. Moreover, it it was for business the exclusion does not apply, and tax would be due on the £400.
Last edited by Halfling; 15th March 2016 at 10:40. Reason: Spelling
Only to the extent that a loss would be equally accepted by the taxman. Until then, no principle will be applied ;).
Also aren't watches (as personal chattels, rather than stock) considered wasting assets, and thus permanently exempt from CGT?
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
Hi Andrew, I did touch on that in my last post. They are treated as having a limited lifespan (less than 50 years according to HMRC) and as you say are therefore exempt unless for business i.e. a watch trader/seller. Usual trading laws would be applied.
And yes, the profit is only on paper. 👍
Edit: just to clarify for business CGT would not be applied just the usual tax on the margin.
Last edited by Halfling; 15th March 2016 at 11:37.
I was fairly sure that is the case. My concern would be where the taxman decided that something was liable for CGT consideration upon disposal for a gain, but not a loss. However I don't think that there's any asset class which attracts that sort of one-sided treatment (yet!).
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
I would have said 7,007 examples, in the world of watch collecting, is a huge number.
Hehe, yes the same for me as well!
Ha ha good one, an honest mistake! Or did I just give away the next Bond??
Lets not forget Seiko
These are now going for between £800 and £1200
Last edited by Velorum; 15th March 2016 at 17:06.
Sorry did that say Dual time mode - I want itLets not forget Seiko
These are now going for between £800 and £1200
Last edited by ataripower; 15th March 2016 at 17:17.
There seem to be a lot on eBay at the moment from Romania - wonder why?
I would have said 7,007 in the world of global watch sales, even global Omega sales, is peanuts.
Crowd say Bond selecta
I'll get me coat...
Just out of interest, does anyone know how much a 5513 was back in 1995?
Rolex reportedly produce approx 750,000 watches per year.
I remember the market being awash with them in 2000 at around the £1800-£2200 mark.
Doesn't really answer your question, I'd be interested to know too!
Sure, but of a single model?
I don't know of the relevance of Rolex production numbers (different company?) but Omega made something like 590,000 watches a few years ago before the clampdown. But the point of the limited edition is its relevance to the regular model; on forums like this everyone thinks that 90% of that is Speedmasters and Seamasters but factor out all those Connies and De Villes they make that no-one here is interested in, and I'd say that for 7,000 Spectre-spec vintage 300s, there probably aren't that many more of the regular kind. Total number of Bond limited editions must be in the 80-100,000 range by now!
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
I wonder if it wasn't a loss leader to shift the regular version. I don't know the mark-up on Omega's watches (I'm sure the forum's armchair pundits will be along to argue over it), but for a five grand watch if you take out the retailers' mark-up, manufacturing costs and overheads that leaves what for marketing? Even at 500 quid a watch that's a budget of 3.5 million or so; but for a time every newspaper and glossy magazine had a full page ad for the watch and every city had billboard posters up for the watch and that in every country throughout the developed world. I don't see how the numbers could add up.
And as for shifting 7000 units, well they sold out pretty quickly and hardly surprising given an advertising campaign which reached at least 1 billion people.
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