zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: Having said all that, quartz "is" the
: right choice for certain people. Actually
: it's the right choice for 'most' people. If
: only 10% of the population owns automatics,
: it 'must' be the right choice. Having a
: quartz, doesn't make it any less of a watch.
: Perhaps toys for grown-ups aren't as
: important to them.

Yep, Dave, that's it exactly. I get enough customers coming into the store I work in who want:

" a watch I can take off on Friday night and put back on on Monday morning without having to worry about winding and resetting it."
Sure, I could be a smart-aleck and say 'Well, sir, you need an Omega Speedmaster Professional that'll tick for 55 hours before it stops. That should easily get through an entire weekend.'

But I don't say that. I can appreciate that there are people out there (the majority of customers) who just want a watch that tells the time and looks good while doing it and who don't want to shell out a few hundred dollars every 3 or 4 years to get it serviced.

Then every so often I get some (for want of a better word) lunatic who wants absolute perfect accuracy from a watch down to the second, every day,365 days of the year. This sort of customer is either:
A- very pedantic
B- obsessive-compulsive
C- very,very,very busy
or
D_ just plain lazy.
To them I say 'get yourself a Longines Conquest V.H.P. which unfortunately will be +/- 1 second over the course of a year.'
"That's still not good enough.", they say.

I got no real problem with quartz watches. I tell customers that they will get at least 25 years wear out of a battery-operated watch. To the best of my knowledge, quartz watches really took hold in the mid to late 70s and I do see customers come in wearing quartz timepieces from that long ago. And when they ask me "how long will an auto last?" , on some days when I'm not wearing my SMP, I hold up my left arm and say; "a 1962 Omega Seamaster automatic. It's older tham I am and it's in better shape than I am. Provided you get an auto serviced every few years, it will be trouble-free for at least 40 or 50 years."

As I said, I got no real problem with quartz. Hell, some of my best friends are quartz. I particularly like the Tag Heuer 2000 Exclusive with the electric blue dial. Superb legibility. Pleasant to look at.

My only problem with quartz watches is that some brands out there give you very little for your money. You fork over $1400AUD for a thin, gold plated watch with no date and no second hand with a thin sapphire crystal and only 30m water resistance. I just can't see where the money is in a watch like that.Whereas a brand like Oris will give you an ETA mechanically driven watch that is sturdy, a little more water-resistant and very well made for the same price, if notless.

And that's one advantage to working in a watch store. You get to see which brands stand the test of time, which ones have a higher repair rate than others, how readily available parts are, etc.

I like autos because they have a history and the technology behind them is virtually unchanged since the early 1900s.

I like autos because they have a heart that beats. That alone gives them something in common with all of us.

I like autos because they tick.

Regards,
Teeritz

P.S.- Man, I was gettin' just a little preachy there for a second, guys.