Cuff Trends

Part A- Omega wristwatches

Last year saw no fewer than 50 wristwatch auctions around the world with more than 9000 watches sold at auction internationally. Spring is traditionally when the first of the important sales takes place and during the following 5 weeks most major auction houses that specialises in the watch field will stage their most important events.

The most expensive lots now are generally Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Rolex or Cartier. But the huge sums that most desirable watches achieve combined with a growing collector base in the mid range means that brands that were once considered too run of the mill to attract much attention at auction are starting to show potential. An excellent example of this is Omega wristwatches.

Omega wristwatches are overlooked in the collector market because high spending collectors concentrate on the three or four top brand names. This often causes frustration among newer collectors as they can not afford to buy or wear, even the lower end of the “big 4” brands. As a result, more recent collectors, as well as vintage fashion aficionados, are finding new inspiration from established brands such as Omega which offer quality, fashion and collectability at a more affordable price.

Omega has a rich history dating back to 1894, but has, until recently, been dismissed by most serious collectors because it is a relatively high volume producer. More than 1.5m examples of its celebrated Speedmaster model have been sold since it was introduced 50 years ago many of which, for now, can still be picked up at auction for as little as $2200. The Seamaster arguably the most popular Omega model is regularly featured as a classic standard and staple of any collection. One of the interesting characteristics of Omega wristwatches over the years is the variety of shape, colour and texture of their dials. So, although there may have been high production of models such as the Seamaster or Speedmaster, we often find the more rare models with textured or painted dials, selling for more than double the “stock standard” version of the same watch proving that high production does not always mean low return on a collectors investment.

Add to this the consistently high profile of Omega timepieces over the years including their appearance in several James Bond films, riding on the arm of Formula Once drivers such as Michael Schumacher, and racing enthusiast Paul Newman an avid advocate of Omega since the 1960s. Omegas has also featured as “Out of this world Omegas” when they were used by NASA and Mir space station as standard equipment.

Recently, Antiquorum held and auction exclusively for Omega timepieces named, quite fittingly, “Omegamania” (April 14-15 2007- Geneva- www.omegamania.com). It featured over 300 Omega watches. If you have any interest in collecting Omega these results should be of particular interest.

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