Reply With QuoteI want to pick up a Saturn, just because I really like the colours. Not paying a penny over retail though. Don’t understand the hype pricing for any watch, let alone a plastic one!
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What had you hoped for at that price?Originally Posted by Linc
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I want to pick up a Saturn, just because I really like the colours. Not paying a penny over retail though. Don’t understand the hype pricing for any watch, let alone a plastic one!
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There are still bargains to be had before they go on sale online
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125226870...3ABFBMuIuK7vxf
Offered £100. Fingers crossed.
I think these look fantastic from the wrist shots / videos I've seen. Some of dials look amazing for a £200 watch and even forgetting the Omega / Speedmaster link they look way better than any other Swatch I've ever seen.
I also love that it's a huge middle finger to Brand snobbery and breaks all the brand positioning rules.
As long as the case is scratch resistant I don't care if it looks plasticy, it gives these a sporty look that fits well with a watch of this price point.
Most people need at least one cheap watch and these would be a perfect complement to a "real" Speedmaster or a great stepping stone for a proper Omega / Speedie.
Since it is primarily plastic with added greenbabble-sort-of-ceramic, it doesn't seem likely to be particularly scratch resistant to me.
Agree with your conclusion but it’s primarily ceramic with a third greenbabble-sort-of plastic.
BIO in the name is for the overall material.
I’m not sure when, in the current climate of inflation and gas and oil prices and a country on its knees after a two year pan-dermonium, a £200 watch became “a bit of fun for the kids”
A £7.99 Casio from Argos is a bit of fun for the kids
Compare the queue down Oxford street last Saturday to the line of mothers with babes in arms, children and their life in a carrier bag, queuing for a sandwich and a carton of juice.
Didn’t Swatch used to make a watch called “Irony” ?
They look good (for a Swatch) to me. The Shibuya shop had the case on display.
Can’t really compare to an actual Omega Speedmaster…
…but for their price I think they are just fine.
Isn't that one of those knock off quartz watches trading on the Soeedmaster name?
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
Has anybody noticed a ranking of the variants by price asked on EBay or Chrono24?
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To be fair, a G-Shock is primarily plastic.
Breaking news! People have varying financial circumstances.
Exactly: We wouldn't expect G-Shocks to be scratch-resistant. Scratch-nonchalant maybe, but not scratch-resistant. :-)
Perhaps the plastic scratches more but hides it better, if you know what I mean.
I think so. :-)
I don’t find that G shocks scratch that easily tbh - they can go shiny over time but it can’t say I’ve ever seen scratches. I’m guessing rubbery plastic is more scratch resistant than harder versions but clearly I’m no expert!!
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Was in Edinburgh today so popped in to Swatch realising they wouldn’t have any, but hoping to see their display so when they are available online I’d have an idea if I prefer mercury or moon.
Nope, display removed from window and when I enquired they said they had none they could show me. Not sure I believe that to be honest.
They did say they expected more to be delivered next week but I’m not racing back in to town on the off chance.
Seems to have been such huge hype around this that it's burnt out pretty quick. I can imagine when these become available they'll be yesterdays fad.
I agree, a week is a long time in WIS land. These are chip papers now. Hopefully the shops will be full of them eventually for anyone who wants a ‘plastic side of the moon’
I myself called in Friday and saw an empty window display!
Surely they still keep the full set display.
Anyhow don't know how true it was but they said may have some in Sunday.
I am stopping central so will call by today and also tomorrow on the off chance.
Store was empty so I gather no moonswatch not alot of customers!!
I don’t have a subscription but the title says it all - “The MoonSwatch craze is an Omega ad campaign”. And that’s certainly the intention. But whether by accident of design it became so much more, as the watch was so cute it became a valid choice in its own right. An accessibly moon watch, an ironic luxury product, or a Speedmaster without the attitude. It’s an ad campaign that’s a victim of its own success. It could almost have created a new category of watch, except it’s unlikely any other brand will want to repeat it, and offer such a popular cheap alternative. Apparently Speedmaster sales are up though, so it has actually worked for both Omega and Swatch.
Let us know how you get on. I was in yesterday and was told they may get some in during the week and to try Tues/Weds.
We need a unified Swatch in the window thread.
Hi,
Been up and a a great chat with the lady dealing with these and none in.
They did have some last Thursday but went in no time! Didn't have any of the mission to moon delivered though.
As you say they expecting some midweek but I'm off home Monday tea.
They did show me some other watches made with the bio ceramic and.to be fair it didn't feel too bad of a material.
Swatch were always going to win…. As a group they have sold more watches, be they plastic or steel.
An incredible hype for a £200 watch ! There must be other manufacturers out there wondering where they’ve gone wrong in their marketing strategies.
It’s pretty simple you just put your premium luxury band on a cheap item for the masses and everyone goes mad for it.
Trouble is you do it too much and you don’t have a premium brand anymore.
Imagine an LV pencil case for £20, or perhaps some Moët & Chandon lemonade for £1 or if Harrods set up a market stall at your local market … everyone would be inundated in the same way.
But it’s a risk to the brand, bold but risky.
Last edited by Montello; 3rd April 2022 at 22:28.
I think it only worked because they (Omega) chose to effectively ‘parody’ the most iconic model of the brand, which has been largely unchanged for 65 years. For this reason it isn’t really a risk. It doesn’t undermine or weaken the Moonwatch, which is already an institution.
I’m currently down to a core collection of three Moonwatches but will happily add one or two of these as a light hearted part of the legend. While these are not a limited edition I would not expect them to be a permanent feature in the Swatch range. In a few years I would anticipate that these will simply become an interesting part of the Moonwatch story.
Last edited by TomGW; 4th April 2022 at 06:51.
I suppose it depends how low the cost is of the "entry" brand/item is.
Exactly, these Moonswatches as about 4% the price of a real one, that’s not what I’d call entry level, that’s a gift.
If Montblanc started doing plastic pens for £1 I’m sure they’d sell like hot cakes.
Last edited by Montello; 4th April 2022 at 08:23.
And if they did this then I don't believe that they'd harm sales of the expensive stuff. Extras, not instead of.
Yes I’m sure you are correct. But I’d say it’s a short term gain, if you persisted with the tactic you’d reduce the long term value of a luxury brand.
I don't know. I think it can go both ways. For me, it would endear me to the brand and would not put me off buying their expensive stuff.
Broadly speaking, it works well for Seiko/Grand Seiko/Lorus/Pulsar/Alba/J.Springs/etc.
With luxury brands it’s a very long game on the build but can be very short on the way down …
You are looking at this from a perspective of someone who already has a view on the brand.
But if you have new generations of buyers who grow up seeing a brand on a cheap plastic item it’s going to be difficult for them to see that brand as a luxury brand in 20 years time.
This is a good, no nonsense review: https://youtu.be/35fDCvlmR_g
Maybe, or maybe not. I am not convinced that such an 'inflexible' view (for want of better words) is an inevitability. It seems to me to depend on cultural assumptions and, if nothing else, cultures are in severe flux. And that flux is caused, in large part, by reactionary forces in response to perceptions of the status quo. I.e. People increasingly seem to like what is new, different, disruptive, dismissive of convention, merely because it is new, different, disruptive, etc. Whether or not that trend will itself persist I cannot predict.
We'll see. If we live long enough. :-)
All of that is true but luxury brands are a unique category really when you think of consumerism.
If you think about all of the elite luxury brands they are all highly protective of their brands space and identity and never seek to devalue or confuse the market as to their position.
I totally agree. But my point is that what is or is not "devalu[ing] or confus[ing] the market" is not necessarily fixed in stone. It is itself dependent on social and cultural constructs. What we might take for granted today is a ripe target for disruption and dismissal tomorrow (or later today).
Shibboleths are being torn down (both literally and metaphorically). Luxury goods are not immune to the winds of this changing fortune.
But, as I say, the best I can say is that we'll see. The proof is in the pudding and it's not going to be served up in full for 20-50 years.
Well time will be the judge of this ... I'd put my money on Rolex and Patek still being positioned as they are today in 20 years from now ... others who are more experimental with their brand maybe in a different space ... but that may be their strategy. The premium space may not be the most profitable and so shareholders demands will prevail.
Swatch own Omega, Breguet, Blancpain etc, not the other way round. I'm sure they know what they're doing long term.
Certainly works for Rolex, with the entry level Oyster Perpetual range.😀
they are nice to look at, but I agree with the above in terms of devaluing the brand.
I think it raises awareness of the brand more than devaluing it. Remember that young people have no memory of the moon landings. I'm far from young but am still too young to have actually seen it live. My generation was however exposed to the mythology of the moon landings growing up, knew all about Saturn V rockets and saw all the footage. It was still a big event in the public consciousness.
Not so for a new generation, the moon landings are ancient history and there's no reason they would be saving up for a moon watch, any more than we'd collect souvenirs from the victorian era, or for that matter Elvis Presley. Before long Omega will run out of consumers who care about one of their most important models. Unless of course, they are provided with a toy model of the moon watch and encouraged to do some research on the subject. So it's a shrewd long term move from Omega, and the advertising campaign is even paid for by the consumers themselves.
I can't see a follow up in the works though, there a very few watches within the Swatch group that would work this way, much as I might enjoy a bio-ceramic 50 Fathoms without the water resistance. It would work well for the more iconic models from other brands like the Royal Oak, or obviously Rolex, but I can't see that happening. Though I can imagine Chinese fakers doing something along those lines.
I once attended a conference where this guy was giving a branding presentation.
He was making a point between awareness and equity ... and that just creating awareness of your brand does not necessarily create equity in the mind of the target.
He gave a good example; he said if he stood on the lectern and dropped his trousers he would be pretty certain that we'd all remember him, probably for ever, but not necessarily for the right reasons ...
I have already seen comments with collectors wanting this and now changing their ‘grail’ from a watch to the speedy pro so it is already having the desired effect on some folk. I think it’s genius. Gives people a taste at a very affordable price and sucks them in. I have an AT and will likely be buying the speedy pro next year. It has not changed my view of the omega brand other than it’s great to see them reaching a wider audience.
I like Omega, had a AT for many years and plan to get a Seamaster with the 1/4 orange bezel at some point in the near(ish) future. The issue I think is (non-WIS) people see a £200 omega and then think why would I spend £10k on another. Same situation with Seiko and Grand Seiko to some extent.
So what you are saying is that Omega have just dropped their pants. As it happens I agree. It reminds me when Cartier brought out those goldplated silver Must. They are just about recovering now from that fiasco. Once those pants are down it's a hard job to get them back up.
Not many, if any Swatch AD's near me, but the step son has just landed in San Fransisco for a mini break so I sent him a link to the San Fran AD hoping he will remember its my birthday
If 0.1% of the people who buy a Moonswatch go on to want and get the real thing then Omega has done very nicely.
People have used the phrase "gateway drug" but this is closer to a free sample or preview.
I wonder whether they will be disappointed? So many are getting a buzz from the Moonswatch they might just feel underwhelmed and overcharged with the real McCoy.
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