Interesting read on Nicolas Hayek, CEO of Swatch

Found this link on Watchtalkforums. A must read!

Hello Google!!

Finally!! Our blog now shows up on the very first page when you search for 'India watch blog' in Google. Its getting there folks - slow and steady! I can't wait to see it at the very top :D

OMEGA Aqua Terra Eau de Toilette pour Homme

source: www.omegawatches.com

I have a habit of going a bit overboard with things every once in a while, but when it comes to fine watches, my (not so fine) salary keeps me under check. However, while flipping through a magazine yesterday, I learnt that Omega had launched a fragrance for men. Being an Omega guy, I was immediately drawn towards it. It's called "Aqua Terra" and according to its website:
"More than a hundred of the most exclusive raw materials were selected and blended. The result is a long-lasting fragrance with energetic, sophisticated, sensuous aspects."
I'm sure it smells great, plus the bottle will be a nice keep. Besides, at Rs 4,100 ($88) it's not going to burn a big hole in my pocket.
Oh, did I mention it's Swiss Made! ;)

Surprise Spotting

So, Crazyfingers and I visited our hometown of Dehradun after a LONG time and though there are some visible changes that have taken place (new eating joints, showrooms, etc), it's still keeps true to its image of a small town known for its MANY schools and green surroundings :)

Dehradun Railway Station

It was quite a refreshing change to be away from the fast paced and stressful lifestyle of Mumbai. I just loved how relaxed and laid back life still is back there. Eating out is cheap, even in the best of restaurants, and it's still quite rare to spot a Merc or a BMW on the roads :p But on the way back, at the airport we were quite surprised to spot 2 Omegas (Planet Ocean and Constellation) and a Rolex (apart from mine and CF's)! The guy with the Planet Ocean was sitting next to CF on the coach to the plane, but was looking a bit too grumpy to start a conversation with.
I had a connecting flight to Mumbai from Delhi the next day, but the evening we arrived, we visited the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon. It's a 142 acre expanse and has one of the best golf courses in the subcontinent. I was kicking myself for not carrying a camera, but I did manage to capture a couple of pictures of the golf course with my cell phone, which needless to say, do not do the place any justice.

DLF Golf and Country Club

Unfortunately, it was really hot out that day and we didn't stick around for very long, but while there I did spot a Rolex Yatchmaster! So in all, it was quite an exciting trip for two watch geeks like us :)

New V/S Pre-owned advantages

Advantages of buying a watch brand new –

1) It’s new!! – A new watch always gives you a happy sensation in your head. It makes the watch special and makes you want to take extra care of it and ‘pampered’ it a little.

2) The only way to get a new model – Hey, if you want those newly launched models, there is no way you can get them pre-owned. This way you also have the exclusive opportunity to enjoy the watch on your wrist before its starts becoming too common.

3) The buying experience – It’s always a nice experience when you buy something new from an AD (unless they are snobbish).

4) Good relations with the AD – Buying from an AD helps you build good relations with them and this is a great way of getting good discounts for your future purchases with them.

5) It supports the watch industry – Its simple, buying a watch directly from an AD will help support the watch industry and enable its growth.

6) The watch is unworn – A new watch is clean and unworn which is important for some people.

7) Don’t have to worry about getting it serviced – when you buy a pre-owned watch, there is always a doubt in your head about when the watch was last serviced and whether it requires to be sent it for one. You don't have to worry about all this when you buy a new one.

Lets face it, as stated above, buying a watch brand new will always have the extra special experience and feel to it, but if you can get beyond all that and don’t mind it being worn a lil, you’ll see that pre-owned watches really have its own advantages. Of course I’ll always recommend cleaning the watch properly and maybe changing the strap if it’s a leather one. Anyway, lets get on with the advantages.

Advantages of buying a watch pre-owned-

1) It’s always cheaper – That’s right! This is perhaps the biggest advantage of pre-owned watches over new ones. If there is a watch that you really want but can’t afford to buy a new one, a pre-owned is always the way to go, especially if it’s in mint condition.

2) You don’t lose much when you sell them – Most pre-owned watches from well known brands like Rolex, TAG, Omega, etc usually can be sold for a similar price as what you paid for them or in some instances, you may even make a profit on them. I have done so myself on 2 occasions. This also makes some of them a good investment.

3) Great for people who love to flip a lot – With pre-owned watches, its easy to buy and sell and hence a great way to try out a lot of different watches. Keep them for as long as you like and whenever you get bored or want to try on some different brand/model, just sell it.

4) Very rare to find a vintage or classic in brand new condition – If you want a vintage watch, then pre-owned may be the only way to go. You will have to get real lucky to get well known classic in new old stock.

So there you see, sometimes pre-owned watches can be the way to go when you think of buying your next watch. Besides, most people consider a watch to be used the moment its been bought and strapped on the wrist.

Wristwatch Annual 2010

I finally got my hands on this year's edition of Wristwatch Annual. It's great for reference purposes (prices are mentioned too!) and beats having to put on the laptop for some lazy browsing. I think it's a must for all watch lovers. I'd definitely recommend it.

Bit of a disappointment :(

It's known at my workplace that CF and I are watch freaks and once in a while, when a question regarding a watch pops up, they all know who to talk to :D. So a few days back, a colleague of mine came up to me and asked me if I could give him any info about his Dad's Omega. He wasn't sure of the model, so a quick browse through Omega's website revealed that he was talking about a rose gold Aqua Terra.

Out of excitement I asked him more about it. He said that it was gifted to his Dad by a friend. He also mentioned that it came in a green box, which immediately made me suspicious since most (if not all) Omegas come in a red box. For fun, I asked him if he had any idea what it was worth and his guess was around Rs 30,000 ($667). When I told him that the watch, if genuine, was closer to Rs 2,25,000 ($5000) it took in a little while to sink in. He couldn't believe his luck. But before he got too excited, I asked him if it was possible for him to bring the watch to work someday so that I could have a look at it and determine whether it was indeed genuine.
So, yesterday he comes to my desk, looking all excited and asks me if I could have a look at the watch. I immediately sprang to my feet and was probably more excited than he was :p He handed me a cheap green box with "Omega" written on it. Almost instantly I knew what was in store. I opened the box and sure enough it was a fake! Everything was wrong with it. Wrong dial color, quality of case and bracelet, no serial number on the back of the lug, long lettering on the caseback, poor movement visible through the display back, etc
I politely told him that it was not genuine and gave him a few pointers on what to watch out for when buying a watch.
I was so disappointed! I was really looking forward to it. I love handling expensive watches and rarely get a chance to do it often (other than the ones CF and I have)
Oh well, maybe next time :)