zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: Hi, I am looking to purchase an Omega SMP
: automatic and was looking for some
: purchasing advice. I am not interested in
: gray market and only mildly enthused by used
: retailers, my preference would be a brick
: and mortar AD in the Boston, MA area.

: I'm seeing the SMP retailing at $2150 in the
: Boston, MA area from AD's with the best
: discount I've seen so far of 15% (some of
: 5%-10%). I've seen mentions on different
: forum's that AD's buy at 55% and I should
: expect to see 20%-25% when buying from a
: brick and mortar AD. Outside of playing the
: different AD's against each other, are there
: any other tactics I should use in
: negotiating?

: I also see that Omega released the SMP with a
: Co-Axial movement and added approximately
: $1000 to the list price. From speaking with
: one of the more knowledgeable salespeople
: I've met... Omega's argument is that the
: watch has to be serviced less to make a
: total cost of ownership argument. Any
: comments?

: This will be my first foray into the higher-end
: Swiss market as well.

I just sent you a referral to the forum's favorite AD. As for whether the co-axial is worth the extra money, that's a highly contested debate. Omega officailly claims the co-axial can go 6-8 years between servicings, while non-co-axials can go 4-5 years. Omega originally claimed the co-axial could go 10 years between servicings, but they have since backed off from that statement.

This is just my personal opinion, but I've always felt that the Seamaster Pro models with caliber 1120 (non-co-axial) offer a bit more "bang for the buck". I wish Omega hadn't discontinued these 1120-based models, but rather kept them as sort of the "entry level" Seamaster. In Omega's efforts to move more upscale, they want to sell only co-axial equipped watches that obviously cost more. In the end, it all comes down to personal preference and how much you are willing to spend.

Good luck,
John