For as long as I have been collecting, there has been a small but vocal bunch of folks who've stated "We wish Omega would offer in-house movements, and move the brand upscale". Omega has been listening and been moving away from their previous business model of more affordable choices towards more in-house and exclusive [read EXPENSIVE] offerings. Omegamania was a planned event to give Vintage Omega values a kick in the rump. Most likely with the hopes that such higher values will allow Omega to be able to justify even higher MSRP's in the future. After reading this article it seems Omega is following the Patek path to higher profits.
Does it really come as a surprise that eventually, perhaps inevitably, Omega would try to prime the pump at both ends? Seeking to increase values of Vintage Omega's and hence justify higher MSRP's, and then watch those MSRP's fuel increased vintage value? It doesn't surprise me that Omega is doing this. I've been saying this for months if not years. It does surprise me that anyone is surprised or [if they are newly] upset about it though. It's been a fait accompli as far as I know for quite some time.
I will say one thing though... The moment I heard about this story, the song "I bet you they won't play this song on the radio" popped in my head when thinking about if this story will have any discussion on TimeZone [which is now owned by Antiquorum] given their recent readiness to censor and delete posts and lock threads... I know I'd be [more] upset if I had bid at Omegamania. Perhaps even more upset if I won a lot which Omega/Antiquorum bid on as well. Shill bidding is a fact of life in most auction environments.
I am not especially pleased at the effect Omegamania has had on the values of Vintage Omega's. Sure my holdings are worth more, but the few pieces that I don't yet own are now just that much more difficult to find, more avidly sought by other bidders and that much more costly to acquire. The repercussions have even echoed out to other brands as collectors seek out the next brand to get a value bounce.
As I said just after the event: only time will reveal the ramifications to the Omega Collecting Community... Indeed, only time will reveal the ramifications to the entire watch collecting community.
And so it goes...
Interesting Article in Today's Wall Street Journal Posted By: jeff stein Date: 10/8/07 20:11:36 GMT
Here's an interesting article on the front page of today's Wall Street Journal, regarding the Omegamania auction -- Antiquorum and Omega -- are auctions honest? Honest? I don't know, maybe... Are their actions Ethical? moral? even Legal? I don't know if I have the answers to that...
So what do we think of the big, high-brow auction houses? There is a lot of overhead that is paid by the high bidder with the auction houses. The question of if that overhead is worth it has to be answered by each winning bidder in their own mind.
Are we happier with ebay, where we know that we are dealing with some questionable watches and questionable characters (and take appropriate precautions)? I'm not dissatisfied with eBay, although I am very careful. I haven't dealt [as a winning bidder] with the big auction houses when it comes to watches, so I can't answer that one.
Jeff I'm sure there will be more discussion on this and related topics as time goes on. | 
