The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Within the past year, my preference for watches has turned gradually away from Breitling to Omega. In fact, last year I owned three Breitlings, now I own three Omegas. My philosophy has always been, that my AD is just as important to me as the watch itself. With that in mind, I found out a very disappointing and unpleasant set of affairs taking place as we speak, involving Omega and my AD. How fitting that Omega21 would make his posting about this time, as his experiences at Omega's New York store very much support some of the comments I am going to make.
As the title of my post says, I have found a disturbing trend lately toward the arrogant and elitist attitude of Omega. Not just on this forum, but others as well, I have heard of situations where the knowledge of the sales staff, and indeed the attitudes of some, have been less than satisfactory. I would seem that Omega is concentrating mainly on the superficialities of the watch trade. Specifically, they are putting all most of their interest and attention into how their watches are showcased, and the sales people are merely selling the aesthetics of the watches, with little or no advice or knowledge of the mechanics.
Getting to the main point of my post: My AD announced that because a representative from Omega North America felt that his shop does not have enough "high end" brands represented, his was going to recommend that his Authorized Dealership for Omegas be revoked. That is indeed what happened. A bit of history about my AD: He was born in Bienne, Switzerland, and had five years of his watchmaking training at Omega. When he came to Vancouver, I believe in the 1960's, he worked for Otto Friedl, who at the time was the leading and most knowledgeable Omega AD in Vancouver. In 1975, he opened his own shop, and has had a thriving business ever since. His brands include Breitling, Perrelet, Tag Heuer, Baume & Mercier, Tissot, Muhle Glashutte, Seiko Spring Drive. They are not the highest end watches available, nor are they the bottom of the barrel. They are all showcased beautifully, the store is in a very prominent main street of downtown Vancouver. He and his staff are all, without exception, friendly, knowledgeable and professional. An unpretentious and relaxed atmosphere prevails at the store. He has a flawless reputation in Vancouver, and is able to service all of the brands he sells. I would also say that he and his staff have an above average knowledge of all the brands they sell. They sell to people from all walks of life. I have been in the store when a father was buying a Breitling Bentley for his son's graduation, people looking at his and her watches for a wedding, and also people looking at Tissots for a few hundred dollars. To my mind, Omegas are not being showcased alongside anything inferior. To me, Omegas are a very special brand, and they have models within their range to fit many budgets and tastes.
Anyway, I wanted to put this out for opinions and comments. I certainly find this attitude Omega seems to be cultivating to be quite upsetting. To me, it is very recent, and not at all in keeping with the Omega name and ideology. I know many Europeans in the watch business, none better than my AD, and it would be hard to meet a more genuine person or anyone with more of a passion for watches. He does not just manage a store, he personally takes part in servicing the brands that they sell.
Obviously, this has upset me. I can only imagine how my AD must feel. I have spent a good deal of time composing a very well-written letter to Omega, which is well on it's way by now. I still like my three Omega watches, but I am having a very hard time working up much love or enthusiasm for them right now.
Cheers,
Carl

ps Sorry for the loooong post!

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'63 Omega Seamaster, 2014 Omega Speedmaster MarkII

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

Very nice post there Carl, and what a shame on Omega. I do hope they respond to your letter, because i want to know their answer to that. I am myself leaning toward a Planet Ocean and i want to find a nice AD where the employees know what they are talking about. There are only 3 Omega AD's here in Montreal, and two of them i Know i will never go again from experience, they are mostly big watch supermarkets. I'll pass by the other one and i'll post comments on him to see if the trend extend to this AD as well.

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Mat

Breitling Navitimer 01
Omega Seamaster 300mc
Omega Speedmaster Pro "Mitsukoshi Mod"
Seiko Prospek Orange Samurai

Disgusting.

My closest Omega AD is Birks! Nothing against them, but they are a main street retailer just one step up from Peoples and they are good enough to carry Omega but your AD isn't?

It makes no sense.

I totally agree with you. Birks handles Omegas here as well, and a few others as well: Baume & Mercier, Concord, TAG, Birks of course, Cartier, Mont Blanc and I think a couple of others. Nothing exciting to me, however. Of course, being Birks they are showcased very well, but it's a bigger and more opulent store as well. Have to say, great staff there, although they do sell mainly Jewellery. Occasionally, they get someone who really knows about watches, too. Unfortunately, the Birks store in Vancouver does not seem to be doing much business. A lot is due to heavy construction in the adjancent area the past few years.
I have never really heard of an AD losing AD status, although it does happen. I imagine there would have to be a pretty good reason, though, and usually if sales are continuously low, it seems that the AD opts out on their own.
This case is very bizaar, especially one of the best known reputable dealers in town.
Cheers,
Carl

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'63 Omega Seamaster, 2014 Omega Speedmaster MarkII

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

In Montreal it's also Birks, but there are two others as i mentionned, one of them is Chateau d'Ivoire. They carry big brands such as A Lange, UN, Breguet, IWC, Panerai, and so on.

Don't even think to walk in there and ask for a rebate on retail prices, they will look at you like you're an alien. If you don't walk in there to buy right now, they don't really care about giving you service. I wouldn't go there to buy anything.

The other one is a small jeweller, as i said i'll go there next week to take a look and post comments.

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Mat

Breitling Navitimer 01
Omega Seamaster 300mc
Omega Speedmaster Pro "Mitsukoshi Mod"
Seiko Prospek Orange Samurai

This is sad to hear. I am mostly a "preowned" shopper, with 99% of my watches coming from the sales forums, but my recent experience buying new from a local AD was the Ploprof. It was such a pleasant experience, with a very knowledgeable salesman, who was so passionate about the watches that we have developed a friendship. He was genuinely as excited about the Ploprof as I was. This particular location was small, and didn't carry many brands, but I do recall Tag and JLC.

I hope your letter doesn't fall on deaf ears, as the kind of AD you describe is such an asset to any brand. Omega would be doing themselves a disservice to lose someone like that. That personal touch is priceless.

Well done and good luck Carl.
Mark

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Carl,
I'm sorry to hear this is happening to your AD, since it seems more uncommon to find an AD with watchmaking experience and knowledge of the actual watches these days. Most of the local AD's here don't even carry some brands in stock and will order them for you, and have more "sales" people then knowledged staff on board. I hope that your letter will carry some weight and they realize that having a knowledged and concerned watch maker/enthusiast "selling" their brand is not something to toss aside so loosely.
I wish I had a place here I could feel that comfortable going to.

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Cheers,
Christopher

Currently...
Blackbird, Black Hercules, PAM 000
Down to a humble three...

Thanks, Mark. The AD that you found, sounds exactly like the type of establishment my AD has. There is absolutely no reason on the face of this earth, that he should not be able to sell Omegas. I bought my Aqua Terra last April largely because of my AD's knowledge, passion and enthusiasm for the brand, and also the particular watch. Needless to say, Omega has managed to take the wind right out of my and my AD's sails. If I am upset, I can only imagine how this poor guy must be feeling!
I am not trying to defend Omega's position on this one bit. However - right or wrong - there is always a reason for things. My personal feeling is, that the North American rep came into Vancouver to case all of the Omega dealerships, because Vancouver is getting such a high profile from the Winter Olympic games, and of course Omega is the official timekeeper. Unfortunately, with such an event, there is also a ton of elitist nonsense and a good deal of pretense. Very little time and effort is really concentrated on the actual sporting events. Just as Omega is concentrating on the visual and the superficialities such as how their watches are displayed. In fact, the displays within the stores are all supplied by Omega, and installed to their specifications. Pretty hard to miss on that one!
Cheers,
Carl

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'63 Omega Seamaster, 2014 Omega Speedmaster MarkII

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

For watch nuts like many of us who come to these forums, it's frustrating, but the reality is that the majority of people who buy luxury watches really buy them for status. I've stated before that most of my friends own Rolexes and I'd bet the farm that none of them know the difference between the crystals, movements, jewels, etc. from one Rolex to the next let alone vs. other watch manufacturers.

Yeah - guys like us want to speak to a rep who really knows what they're talking about, but the reality is that 95% of the people who walk into a high end dealer are really there to buy a status symbol vs. a fine time piece.

Such is life

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PAM359, Omega PO Big Size, 1951 Omega Seamaster, Rolex Sea Dweller

This is not unusual in these times My local jewelers was an Omeag AD until recently but they asked him to hold 48 watches in stock at any time and when he refused they took away the dealership left him with Tissot but the watch he most loved was the Omegas,It is only small town but he sold 2 or so watches a week in his two shops in Melton Mowbray and Oakham ok thats only 200+ a year but with all the servicing and associated things that go with it he did a good buisness,Now hes still doing OK but hes livid and I dont blame him.

I cam to know Tony as a few years ago I bought a Omega Seamaster off the bay but it was too big I took it down and he resized it for free a few years later just after he had lost his Ad status the same thing happened still no charge and he even gave me an old box for another Omega for free as well.

Now thats what sort of customer service that you come to expect when dealing with High end brands.Pity SWG are so narrow minded that they dont see it.

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I think you've hit the nail on the head. The brands know that most people don't have a clue what's going on inside their watches, they're just status symbols. Don't get me wrong, I'm no expert myself, but my old boss bought a Rolex Daytona (the only Rollie I really like), and when I chatted about it with him, he didn't even know the difference between a mechanical movement and a quartz movement. Don't get me wrong, I'm not slating the guy; people can spend their money on what they want for the reasons they want.

But my point is this, if people buy their timepieces only for status, then what matters most is the company they keep. Look at Tag and Tissot: They're in all sorts of shops. In most jewellers, they're the finest watch available. To the people who buy their trinkets from those places, Tag are top notch. But in the high-end jewellers, they're an entry level Swiss.

Keeping in mind that, as a brand, you know most people are looking for status, you want your product to be judged by the company it keeps. Displaying a Patek Phillipe next to Timex would certainly hurt the brand image, so you never see it happen.

I'm not defending the situation, I think it stinks. I think it stems from the watchmakers decision to fight back against the quartz movement (see what I did there?) by marketing mechanicals as status symbols. Advertising based on quality and craftsmanship is rare. Apart from the B-01, I can't think of many that have discussed the movement recently. The way to sell a watch is to put it on the wrist of a movie star or a racing driver. So sad.

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Follow me through my Journalism degree

Some very true points in your post there, Mellow.

One of the AD's I use stocks quite a few high end brands, but there is a definite pecking order in terms of what is dispayed next to what : they start with Patek at the most prominant end, and next to them is Rolex. Probably quite a wise position strategy as it showcases Patek as one of the highest quality brands in the world right alongside the most recognisable sign of status in the watch world - the Big R. Next to Rolex they have Cartier (this AD is also a high end jeweller, not just high end watches, so that explains why the Cartier watch presence is so prominant), followed by Omega and Breitling including the Bentley range. (I guess we could argue all day on whether Breitling should come before or after Omega, but I think of them as servicing similar markets). Next to Breitling is Tag and Corum, with the likes of Tissot and TW Steel almost hidden away at the far end of the display and on the lower shelves.

I agree with the movie/sports star observation too. It always seems to me that this is employed by mid-level brands who are trying to get to the top, but still have enough money to hire a big name. (And yes, I include Breitling in that banding with the John Travolta adversting scheme).

I don't think I've seen Patek, or Lange, or Breguet, or even Blancpain or JLC using stars in their advertising strategies. It seems that true high-end brands are quite happy to appeal to the watch enthusiast who "knows watches" rather than trying to increase market share through some kind of "associated glamour" by hiring stars to wear their products.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

I wish Breitling wouldn't do it. I think it cheapens the brand.

We were looking at advertising in a lecture today and I pointed out a Patek Phillipe ad in The Times. The lecturer said "Er... is that expensive?"
I explained Patek to him while trying to hide both my watch and the Breitling ad featuring John Travolta in The Telegraph.

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Follow me through my Journalism degree

Look at a copy of a watch magazine and the differences really stand out - it really is obvious the different directions that they go in.

I guess Breguet do use ambassadors - I remember a recent ad with Napoleon

At the end of the day, what are you "really" looking for your watch to do?

I love my BlackBird, but in reality, my Hamilton does just fine. I can beat the hell out of it in all kinds of conditions and does it really matter what kind of movements, materials, etc. that it is made out of as long as it's telling me the time and remains accurate when I need it to be? I've got a Panerai on order and appreciate it because of how it's made and I love the way it looks - but I "know" that it's not going to be a better performing watch than my Hamilton that's only worth 1/10th of what the Panerai is worth.

I appreciate the attention to details and subtle nuances in my Ling and other fine timepieces, but really, the premium we pay for those subtle nuances is really outrageous relative to the overall performance of the watch. I don't really think the premium I'm paying for my Panerai is "worth" it, but I like that it's limited, different, and just looks cool. But besides me, only guys like those reading these posts would even know the difference or give a hoot.

There must be some kind of psychological theory behind it and I'd love to know what makes our brain tick to "want" a watch that we think is unique and special vs. practical and "adequate."

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PAM359, Omega PO Big Size, 1951 Omega Seamaster, Rolex Sea Dweller