The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Yes, I know this is a Breitling forum, not Omega, but this is a spin off of another thread in which a Breitling buyer discussed the lack of knowledge on the part of the Breitling AD. I just went to the fairly new Omega store (open only a few short months) on 5th AVE in New York City just so I could ogle the new Plotprof diver (which by the way is MASSIVE, but I digress...). I spent some time with a very nice sales lady who was very nice and allowed me try on anything I wanted and ask a million questions. The store is not the 'flagship' store for Omega, but certainly a store on 5th ave is one of the jewels in the crown. As nice as they were, the sales staff was not super knowledgeable on either the Omega brand itself or the watches they were selling. The lady I mostly dealt with (probably in her early to mid 40s) said the staff was all newlly hired for the store opening. She joked with me about how much more knowledgeable I was about Omega than I. I am just a rank amature with practically zero knowledge of watches and a tiny bit of recent reading on Omega as a brand. It was unfortunate to find that some of my questions they could not answer [for example: difference between new and old Plotprof, question about AR coating (sales staff didn't know AR coating was on both sides of crystal on some models) and so on].
I went across the street, to Wempe to look at their watches. They were equally as nice and professional as the Omega store, but exceptionally knowledgeable on multiple brands. In fact the lady I spoke to there at Wempe had a degree in gemology.
At my local AD (there are only 3 ADs in all of Baltimore, actually none are in Baltimore, they are in the suburbs of the city) they were reasonably knowledgeable, and where they didn't have an answer they immediatly picked up the phone to either Breitling (on some questions) or their Brietling distributor (on others). As a bonus, the sales lady wore a Breitling...

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Omega21

Seem to be a few posts like this, in other forums as well. I find that a lot of times looking at watches. The salesperson will say "It's a beautiful watch!" but you ask anything about the mechanics and there is no clue. One of the Breitling AD's here is town is like that, and very pushy. They have all kinds of high end brands: Zenith, Ulysse Nardin, Parmigiani, Breitling, and sell them as though they are selling jewellry. All the effort seems to be the superficialities like aesthetics of the watch, the showcasing (both of which are important), but very little mention of mechanics or reliability.
Cheers,
Carl

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'63 Omega Seamaster, 2014 Omega Speedmaster MarkII

"Those who possess a sense of entitlement are seldom satisfied"

Carl, I read your other post about your AD in Canda - sad. I think what you (we) are witnessing is merely the forces of economics at play. I would suggest that despite the crowd on this and other sites most purchasers of watches nowadays are likely more concerned with the name & the looks, not so much the mechanics of what's inside. Thus, the overlords at places like Swatch Corp are structuring their brand (Omega in this case) for maximum sales at a specific price band while continuing to build the brand's image in a way that supports this. So when you mention "All the effort seems to be the superficialities like aesthetics of the watch, the showcasing " I think you are right, but this is not by chance.
One more thing I want to remind everyone on this forum which applies to all watch brands. A watch - say Breitling - costs $3,000-4,000 or more ONLY because WE are willing to pay that amount. It's not because the components are so well made, so well balanced and tuned, so innovative (eg silicone parts), or the craftsmen such masters that the individual watch costs so much, it's merely because there are enough consumers willing to pay that much. If enough consumers would pay $5,000 for the watch, that would be its cost.
Omega has been working on raising its average price (across all products) according to their literature. They are doing this by marketing and focusing efforts on the things they think will get them there (and they have been successful according to their literature). Sadly for your AD and many watch lovers, it's the quality side of the equation that suffers.

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Omega21

Hi Omega21,
I sadly agree with what you say. Thankfully, there are a lot of watch brands to choose from. As I said in my letter to Omega, often times customers will change brands before they change AD's. Of course, another sad fact is that there are also many who don't care, and will go for what they want regardless of where they get it, or even how they are treated where they purchase goods.
It is also surprising the reactions I have had lately when I talk about Omega watches, to those who really have no interest in watches at all. Most - actually, all - of my friends and family fall into that category. That is not a criticism, just an observation. That's why I spend so much time on these forums. Anyway, most of these people think that Omegas are just a middle-of-the-road type of watch, and I suppose that is the stigma Omega is trying to lose. It is a shame that they have to go about it in such a way.
Cheers,
Carl

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'63 Omega Seamaster, 2014 Omega Speedmaster MarkII

"Those who possess a sense of entitlement are seldom satisfied"

As most here know, the common perception out there (in the US at least, cant speak for other places) is that Rolex is the top of the heap and all others are steps below...

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Omega21