Omega Speedmaster - adivce on where to buy/arbitrage

Hi,

I have always wanted this watch, and finally I think I am in a position to cave in a get it (for my upcoming birthday) as a gift to myself. Why not?n

I know a friend who is totally into watches - his preferred method is to buy them in Europe/ Switzerland or France, claim the VAT refund and weat it on the plane ride home. (ship the empty box home or throw it away)

I travel extensively - and I find myself in Asia and Europe regularly - can anyone comment on the cheapest places to buy Omega watches (at the boutique - are the prices the same or is there any sort of price arbitrage?). Often though - I find that the US has the cheapest prices for luxury goods.

Or are the prices the same world wide?

Thanks

cant help on relative pricing but it's a fantastic watch, you should definitely get it.
be aware that IF you should ever wish to sell it on, it will be much more difficult without box and papers.
have you considered buying lightly used at timezone..

Wearing mine right now. Have you considered Bernardwatch.com?

Just got back from China. The quality - and craftsmanship of fakes in China (if you know where to look) astounding.
I could never tell the difference. I bet ya that could probably fake the papers too.

No - nothing short of buying it a an Omeaga boutique will do. (for that amount of money it better be a swiss chronometer)

Thought I'd ask - the prices for Tifany stuff, i.e is different stateside vs Europe vs Asia (its much higher in Europe). Ditto for Cartier.

Originally Posted by meFIRST

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Just got back from China. The quality - and craftsmanship of fakes in China (if you know where to look) astounding.
I could never tell the difference. I bet ya that could probably fake the papers too.

No - nothing short of buying it a an Omeaga boutique will do. (for that amount of money it better be a swiss chronometer)

Thought I'd ask - the prices for Tifany stuff, i.e is different stateside vs Europe vs Asia (its much higher in Europe). Ditto for Cartier.

A FAKE one?

No the real thing. Duh. This watch needs to last years.

I know where to get great fakes in China - its unbelievable - automatic movement and all.
Virtually identical.

Expect one is made in a backhouse in Ghuagzhou.

how can you not tell? did you even try the chronograph? the fake rolex daytona just has 1 hand move everytime you press it.

Even taking VAT into account, watches are often still cheapest in the U.S. You can get a pretty decent discount off of MSRP (20-25%) just by asking.

Originally Posted by meFIRST

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I know where to get great fakes in China - its unbelievable - automatic movement and all.
Virtually identical.


Are you a shill for some website selling Chinese fakes? Otherwise, why even bring them up?

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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Even taking VAT into account, watches are often still cheapest in the U.S. You can get a pretty decent discount off of MSRP (20-25%) just by asking.

really? I thought hong kong trumps the united states in watches.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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Even taking VAT into account, watches are often still cheapest in the U.S. You can get a pretty decent discount off of MSRP (20-25%) just by asking.

+ 1...............most AD's will discount just by asking. Not uncommon to get 25 - 35% off an Omega, however I suspect that a Speedmaster would not be as heavily discounted being that it is their most iconic model.

Originally Posted by Viral

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Speedmaster would not be as heavily discounted.

+1

Originally Posted by acidboy

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really? I thought hong kong trumps the united states in watches.

Actually HK is pretty bad with discounting these days. I was offered 50% off a 125% marked up watch recently. Bargain.

I've found Singapore to have some pretty good deals from time to time.

I agree that Singapore can have some good deals. I bought an Omega there some years back at an astoundingly good price, and got an OEM band thrown in for good measure (which would normally have cost about US$200 or so).

Otherwise, as others have said, visit a few places around where you live, have a chat with the salespeople, and see if you can get a discount. In relative terms, the Speedmaster is not all that expensive and I think that it gives great bang for the buck.

Don't forget the that the "real" Speedmaster - the Speedmaster Professional (Speedy Pro) has a manual wind movement and a hesalite (acrylic) face. This means that you have to wind it every couple of days and that the face can get scratched. There are some special editions, and a "reduced" Speedmaster (slightly smaller size) that have automatic (ie self-winding) movements but, naturally enough, watch purists tend to prefer the Speedy Pro.

It is a great watch and one that I don't think that you would ever regret purchasing.

Check out the Omega sub-forum on watchuseek and look for the 'favorite AD' link. If you're in LA, you can get a nice discount at Feldmars. I bought my PO there about a month ago for 30% off msrp!