Reply With QuoteThe new model is £5,370 I believe. I was in Goldsmiths where a customer was being offered one for just over £4k which I thought was reasonable for a new Speedmaster.Originally Posted by murkeywaters
While out today doing some Xmas shopping I had a look in Goldsmiths window, I must say I was shocked to see what looked like a standard Speedmaster Pro for £6100!!!
I thought they were around the £3k mark so shows how out of touch I am, is it Omega pushing the price up or is the current inflation rises having an affect?
I love the Speedy pros but £6k is some serious money for a Speedmaster, I can understand it for a vintage out of production reference but not a new watch, other watches were also retailing at crazy numbers too.
Glad I’m not in the market for anything new!!
The new model is £5,370 I believe. I was in Goldsmiths where a customer was being offered one for just over £4k which I thought was reasonable for a new Speedmaster.
Last edited by JPCain86; 21st December 2021 at 16:29.
Yes, looking on the website it looks like it’s this one for £6,120 https://www.goldsmiths.co.uk/Omega-N...d0&fo_s=slisys
Even so, £5,370 is still a massive price for a standard Speedmaster..
It's absurd isn't it ... it prices most people out of the market, and it really shouldn't be the case.
This is watch companies moving into the "luxury" market, fuelled by social media.
The days of getting a premium, yet affordable, tool watch are well gone from certain models/brands, and it is a disappointing trend for sure, with even the likes of Seiko jumping on that band wagon now.
Based on the Rolex 1016 price in the 1960s, the Rolex Explorer should cost less than $2K today, by simple price inflation. But no, it's modern iteration is $6,450, if you can even find one. No wonder Eddie does so well with the Everest !
It is a strange tactic. The second hand market is rife with Speedmaster Professionals and they don't hold value all that well.
I do like the new bracelet though.
Prices started going crazy around 2010 and that trend has continued. This is against a growing trend away from conventional watches, watch- wearing has declined yet prices have risen sharply. Makes absolutely no sense. Mechanical watches are an anachronism, they only have to perform one task and by today’s standards they don’t do that very well!
I’m totally disconnected from the price of new watches, if I buy any more it’ll be vintage watches at affordable prices. On the odd occasions I pass ADs windows I don’t even bother to stop and look.
Eddies watches are the best bargains around, particularly the PRS25.
Better than money in the bank though (if you buy right) - for now at least.
[Not necessarily Omega though - and yes, I had £3k in my head too for a moon Speedy.]
It would almost make sense for Omega to discontinue this model and make LE and premium versions they can charge more for. There are so many in circulation that all look the same it's hard to justify the premium.
Feels like it’s all parts of the market, not just new by any means. I was in York recently and saw this tidy-looking small seconds 1960s Omega (thanks to Paul I’m partial to these lovely little things).
But the best part of £2000… no thanks.
Last edited by Peck; 21st December 2021 at 17:22. Reason: Less crap image added
Tried on the new sapphire sandwich for £6,120 the other week. Couldn’t believe the price.
Big chains will be the ones benefiting when you need to buy stuff like that to get your spend up. No doubt Omega have this in mind when setting the RRP.
Have seen some eye-watering prices for Omegas recently, but the second market and particularly the low end doesn't seem to have been that affected - as yet.
That must of been the reference I seen in the window as that was £6120, without looking at the back you wouldn’t know the difference but as I said at £5370 the bog standard SP is still very expensive even if they do give a discount..
I know I’m a fanboy but it reinforced my view that the grey price on some models isn’t terrible, could be worse. Tempted to try a 5 digit Sub date now instead.
Had a look at the moonphase auto speedy which is actually really nice, I liked it a lot, but a tenner away from £9k is mental.
The last two to sell on eBay look like they went for £3000 and £3750.
Pretty much 40% off current retail. I wouldn't be buying one new at current retail.
A long way from picking up my sapphire sandwich for £1300 secondhand from its previous first owner. A great buy and I still love that watch. A few other Speedys have joined it since then!
However, the new one has had a number of significant upgrades to the movement, bracelet and general build quality. However, I accept it is still a big jump up but maybe not as far when you compare it to a Daytona or Zenith El Primero (yes I know those are automatics but still) nowadays!
Veblen goods are a thing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good), although I'm not sure we're quite there with what would've been considered a nice, but not completely unreasonably priced timepiece a decade or two back.
I agree but the Daytona at RRP has its own market, even more so than other new Rolex, yes you pay a hefty wad for a Daytona but your not going to lose out on that purchase like you are on a new Speedmaster.
I’m not sure what strategy Omega are working too, they have rinsed the moon landing and space program in general, also Bond has been good for them but hiking up RRP and giving a discount must work, even dropping to £4k for a Speedy pro must be good business..
I think to some degree new watch prices have increased with the interest free option becoming more wide spread in recent years. A sales person in Goldsmiths has only got to convince your average Jo that he or she can afford the monthly figure. Couple that to the investment drivel that they come out with as well and they have their sale.
Look at how new car prices have accelerated with the PCP option. Or the amount of people that are happy to pay £50 odd quid a month for the latest iPhone over two years but would pay £1k on one up front.
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I’ve been mentally priced out of the market as much as financially - I just don’t want/refuse to pay thousands for run of the mill Swiss watches having enjoyed buying most of the grail pieces from Rolex and Omega in the past at well under £3k. And I’m not interested in the ‘investment potential’ as I just like to wear a nice watch - and if I’d kept a few Rolex they’d be sold by now anyway, I don’t want £8-10k of unicorn on my wrist, insurance and worrying about them etc - not my thing at all. And I’m fine with that - it’s actually quite amusing to see how much people will beg their AD for the right to get shafted!I’m being a bit tongue in cheek but it’s all been a touch Emperors New Clothes for a while now. Most of my colleagues wear an Apple Watch, and to be fair they are like something out of Star Trek made real - for a few hundred quid. The reality is that mechanical watches are destined to be over priced jewellery for the image conscious/wealthy hobbyist. Most people don’t really care - and if they do it’s about the brand, not the horology - like fancy handbags for ladies, the brand is everything.
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Part of the issue is Omega’s own making. The Speedy was always a relative bargain in their catalogue if I recall. Even when the submariners and the rest of the Rolex range took off in price Omega incrementally increased the Speedy price. Now they’ve updated it and used that as an opportunity to bring it in line with the price of competitors.
I bought one earlier this year and love it. I’d buy another. For me it’s much more wearable on my wrist size than the outgoing model and the movement update just about warrants the price increase. I appreciate others may disagree.
Looking at the cost to other competitors on the market. It seems priced fairly to me. Above the Tudor BB58 chrono and below the Zenith chrono sport (are these even readily available now?) and Daytona (we know these aren’t readily available and never will be…).
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You could argue that Omega are just trying to move into the gap in the market created by Rolex, especially when all the Rolex steel sports are atleast 20% over retail if not way more. So all the people who might have gone Rolex and now can't look at Omega as a bargain in comparison...
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I agree with Robdad. Mentally I just cannot justify the price of a new mass produced watch. - I also believe the law of diminishing returns comes in to play. I.e. Is a 10k stainless watch from one brand really any better than a 2k stainless watch from another brand? (Other than residuals and this has very little to do with quality) Not enough to justify the price difference in my mind. It’s mostly marketing and BS. (The AD games you have to play for some brands is laughable - great for the AD and maker though)
There has not been a new watch released that has remotely interested me enough to buy it for years. (Bar the Synchron reissue and Eddies PRS55, both at the lower end of the market)
There are far more interesting watches (to me) in the vintage world, this is the area of collecting I started in and have gone full circle back to it. I will happily pay the going rate of a nice vintage watch - yes you could say their prices have been inflated on the back of the new price rises / investor rubbish we now see, but for me the chase, research and hunt are as enjoyable as the ownership - maybe more.
Anyone with enough cash can go and buy the latest trinket, with vintage it takes a bit of effort and I get the added joy of expanding my knowledge on a subject I enjoy. - a key part of the hobby for me.
Last edited by Sinnlover; 22nd December 2021 at 09:01.
You can't just increase the price to do this. The reason that everyone wants a Daytona is they can't have one! Not only can people just order a speedmaster from an AD online. Even if they couldn't. They can pick one up from the 2nd hand market for near half retail.
It seems that omega are pushing to see how high they can push the price without affecting demand too much.
We all know Rolex could increase their price by 50% and the demand would still be there.
Another wholehearted agreement from me on this.
Even if I could afford it, I could never justify the prices being asked by Omega, Rolex etc for a new watch.
I always wanted a 14060 Submariner back when they were brand new in jewellers windows and I recall about the £2000 mark. Even if I had bought one then, I think I would have sold it in the intervening years when it was worth double (and regretted it as the price keeps going up). Mainly because I couldn’t justify having something that “valuable” on my wrist that I would have bought primarily as a tool (and admittedly also for the name/brand/status).
My CWC G10 makes more and more sense to me each day…
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though I still have reservation on whether those second market prices are genuine, they are indeed close to those open auction deals.
I'm the same, when I started my graduate roll and couldn't afford anything in 2006, 14060 Sub was £2,200 and a Moonwatch was £1,400. They were the only two watches I was interested in but couldn't justify the price. It was not being able to afford them at the time that sent me down the forums WIS rabbit hole starting with an O&W of some description that I bought in 2007.Another wholehearted agreement from me on this.
Even if I could afford it, I could never justify the prices being asked by Omega, Rolex etc for a new watch.
I always wanted a 14060 Submariner back when they were brand new in jewellers windows and I recall about the £2000 mark. Even if I had bought one then, I think I would have sold it in the intervening years when it was worth double (and regretted it as the price keeps going up). Mainly because I couldn’t justify having something that “valuable” on my wrist that I would have bought primarily as a tool (and admittedly also for the name/brand/status).
My CWC G10 makes more and more sense to me each day…
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I had 2004 Seadweller for a while but felt didn't like wearing such a recognisable watch in London so sold it for about 7 grand three years ago. Still love the watches but mentally I can't justify them anymore
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This makes sense. Imagine a non WIS decides he wants a Rolex because someone has told him it's the watch to own. He goes into an AD and is told: "The Rolex you want is 10k, but you have to spend 40k with us first and then wait two years, but you can wear this Omega out of the establishment today for 6k, they wore it on the moon you know". And he'll be able to pop into the travel agents on the way home with the change.
In the late 90s / early 00s the Speedy Pro with hesalite crystal was £1400 new.
Using the Bank of England inflation calculator, £1,400 in 2000 would be equivalent to £2,409.88 in 2020.
The recently discontinued version is currently listed at £4,260 on Omega's website and is the same watch but with a bigger box and accessories - these always felt to me an excuse to increase the price or mask the price increases.
Wrist watch inflation has been higher than general inflation over the past 20 years, in my view due to the move to restrict the supply of movements (the Lemania 1873 used to be openly available), sell fewer watches at a higher price including the move towards a luxury pricing model routed in economics, as pioneered by Rolex, with above inflation price rises as the disposable income of the target market increases (Ariel Adams has written an insightful, yet long winded essay on Rolex's pricing strategy).
That said, the latest Speedy Pro has significant upgrades within its £5,370 price tag with an all new co-axial movement (though clearly based on the old one). I'm not freely a warm fuzzy glow of 'value added' due to the higher price though, the veblen effect is lost on me.
Another thing to consider on the Swatch Group's pricing strategy, is that adjusted for inflation, many Longines watches now nicely fit into the price bracket vacated by Omega, yet a Longines from 2020 can be the equal or better of many an Omega from the late 90s early 00s, when they were in their ETA era.
Last edited by AKM; 22nd December 2021 at 11:13.
Observing the watch market / industry for the last 10 years, I have noticed some similarity between the watch industry and motor trade.
The number of AD's has been tightened, this is a great way to control stock flow and RRP / Discounts.
In Dublin 10 years ago for example, there was about 8 AD's I can list just from memeory, now there is only 1. The chances of discount if any are now practially zero. This also happed with BMW / Audi and Mercedes dealerships. Again a great way to control prices / stock flow.
The pandemic has been a blessing for a load of industrys. Manufacturers can now drip feed stock and charge full or amlost full RRP as the demand is there.
Sell what you can see, not see what you can sell!
My 14060 still has the original purchase receipt, think it was for £1860 and a £150 discount was given on that, the watch is a 1996 but it was sold in 1998 so must have sat in a safe for a while, I purchased it from a known used Rolex dealer a few years ago at top money (£5500) because it’s what could be called a collectors set, I didn’t think it would increase much from that price but it has, how things have changed since 1998!!Another wholehearted agreement from me on this.
Even if I could afford it, I could never justify the prices being asked by Omega, Rolex etc for a new watch.
I always wanted a 14060 Submariner back when they were brand new in jewellers windows and I recall about the £2000 mark. Even if I had bought one then, I think I would have sold it in the intervening years when it was worth double (and regretted it as the price keeps going up). Mainly because I couldn’t justify having something that “valuable” on my wrist that I would have bought primarily as a tool (and admittedly also for the name/brand/status).
My CWC G10 makes more and more sense to me each day…
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Last edited by murkeywaters; 22nd December 2021 at 11:19.
Agree, most prominent brands are increasing in price incrementally.
More difficult to find good deals at the present time and you have to work that bit harder with your AD.
Trouble is, you can’t blame them for trying. They’re businesses, not enthusiast collectives. Ultimately Omega knows that they’ll make less money selling speedies at £3k than at £6k. They would probably make less money selling them at £20k than at £6k as they would sell fewer watches. Where the price settles is where maximum profits lie, and that’s determined by what customers are prepared to pay. I wouldn’t be surprised if a speedmaster reaches £8-10k within the next 5 years as their perceived value is pushed up by their increasing price and the Rolex effect bleeds across.
They may lose 20% of their potential customers but if they make 50% more profit per watch, they don’t care.
Quality watches are now luxury goods so prices are not related to the utility of the item any more.
I'm pleased with what I have and the only watch I am looking to add is a Sub at RRP if by some strange twist of fate my local Goldsmiths ever agree to sell me one.
I'm not looking to buy any more watches now ...
Right now Tudor seem much better value that Omega. A 58 @ £2700 seems pretty "reasonable".
I've spent the morning window shopping and generally wasting sales staffs time in Cardiff, and I have to agree. Of the Swiss stuff the Tudor BB's looked by far the best value at the price you mentioned. Also at around £1800 the Rado Captain Cooks (these looked stunning), and about £1400 the Oris Heritage divers were also watches I would happily wear. The Omegas, Tags, Breitlings etc all looked oversize and pretty tacky compared to the above. Apologies to owners of these but they simply did, and they were far more expensive to boot.
The IWC's looked superb but too big, I could have understood the price otherwise, and the Bremonts bland, very bland.
Rolex were for display only so didn't waste precious moments on them.
The Grand Seiko's were simply stunning, pretty much blew all the previous away, except the prices of the Tudors, Rado's and Oris previously mentioned did undermine them somewhat.
I had a look through the window at the Tudors yesterday, they are at a sweet spot of quality vs cost, you could buy the Tudor GMT and a Pelagos and still have change for something else all for the cost of a Submariner or now a Speedmaster without the change, I imagine zero wait times and no games to play.
Agreed. I'd add some of the higher end Seikos too in the SLA range (particularly with discount), Longines, Sinn etc as reasonably priced for what you get.
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Seriously there is no reason why Omega should not be priced against Rolex.
Omega are just keeping up with the market, why should they be priced below when their peers and those above them have increased price.
I think Tudor now offers pretty much what Rolex did 10 years ago ...
Agree that Grand Seiko's quality is a different level. Buy again, they're not immune to increasing prices either. Their whole range used to be in the 2-5k range but now the new releases are often 5-10k. Having said that, their finishing and tech mean that they are still significantly better value than most swiss brands
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Indeed, they started at about 2.5k to 3k for quartz, not automatic admittedly, but when the quartz is gs quartz that is still amazing value compared to the Swiss offerings. In my opinion only obviously.
Interesting thread and agree that the price of a speedmaster even the basic one with the sapphire caseback has crept up to £6150. However when comparing these to the equivalent rolex models I still feel they are by far better value for money.
If your comparing the RRP’s then maybe not so. But if you compare the actual price you’ll pay unless you are in the absolute minority that you have access to rolex sports models at RRP then omega is offering far far more for your money.
If your actively looking for a chronograph from rolex then you are looking to pay between 25-30k for a current daytona model which is newish and minty, however the latest omega speedy in the 42mm with the new movement and sapphire caseback will set you back around £5k, as you can easily pick up a 6 month old mint to unused example.
So based on actual prices you’d pay on the market, there is no comparison. Omega ( although have crept up their prices) are still offering way more watch for the money.
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