INTERVIEW: Stephen Urquhart, President of Omega Part 2

Andrew McUtchen

The Speedmaster Professional is the pride of the Omega collection for its amazing story (first watch on the moon), but now it’s slipped to basically an entry level piece in terms of price – any plans to move it back upmarket?

Well, it’s not really the intention to keep it low, but it’s true what the gentleman is saying there. It’s true it’s become now a sort of entry price, we’ve upped that a little bit by presenting it into that new box, it’s now sold as ‘the Moon Watch’, in a box with a special instrument to change to bracelet.

It’s true [the Moon Watch has] become now a sort of entry price, we’ve upped that a little bit by presenting it into that new box, it’s now sold as ‘the Moon Watch’, in a box with a special instrument to change to bracelet.

And with the velcro strap, so you get a little bit more. We’re not trying to up the price in a gimmicky way. We are trying to make it a bit more authentic, the problem is, the Professional as it is is what the consumer wants. And NASA are very happy with the watch as it is too. Okay they are not flying to the moon every day, so it’s not like an urgent issue for them. But the 15-20,000 guys who are buying every year the limited editions want the moon watch, they don’t want anything else.

So we have people coming forward saying well what about a new bracelet like the Speedmaster 2, that’s a much better bracelet.

I agree. What about the sapphire crystal? We have it today with the sapphire crystal. We have it with the clear case back, we have it with a different movement. But then it’s not the Moon Watch.

Will Omega protect and cater to the enthusiasts restoring vintage, genuine vintage pieces by maintaining their access to genuine vintage parts?

Absolutely. You have no idea, as the brand gets stronger, which it is every day, the amount of watches that we get in. You could call them vintage, they wouldn’t necessarily be sold in a Christies auction maybe tomorrow but they are watches of the 50s and 60s, and if we do not have the part we can make it. And just a fun little story I’d like to tell you which is true, the only watches that today we sometimes have to say I’m sorry we cannot repair are certain Quartz watches between ’72 and ’88. You cannot repair them. Because the parts do not exist and you cannot just make a new, individual circuit like that, just one piece. It shows the whole reason why mechanical watches have come back so strongly. You can repair a watch from 1920 and make it work beautifully but you cannot repair a watch from 1980.

It shows the whole reason why mechanical watches have come back so strongly. You can repair a watch from 1920 and make it work beautifully but you cannot repair a watch from 1980.

Will you be ceasing to supply certain parts from December 2015?

All this is to protect the consumer, because at the end of the day, there’s a big business in spare parts. Most of the people there are trustworthy people doing their job in the interest of the brand and the consumer, but there has been a little bit of hanky-panky business sometimes, either people charging more than they should or to use parts for counterfeit watches. There’s a lot of different aspects so we believe we should really decide who we sell those parts to. We’re not going to be drastically cutting anything but there is a decision to be made. We are really going to control who gets access to our parts, because we just don’t want them in the wrong hands. It’s in the interest of the consumer and in the end of the day I think he’ll benefit from this.

How does that affect the small guy does restoring watches on his bench as he said?

Some of them will continue. It will go market by market or person by person, or bench by bench, but I think if he can prove that he is doing a viable job he’ll be able to continue to get by, but maybe not from wholesalers. We don’t want to be a sort of a dictatorship in this, but think it’s in the interest of the consumer, because there’s so much, not hype, but there’s so much involvement in mechanical watches with the vintage market as it is today, that I think it’s important that we try to impose a certain quality level.

We don’t want to be a sort of a dictatorship in this, but think it’s in the interest of the consumer, because there’s so much, not hype, but there’s so much involvement in mechanical watches with the vintage market as it is today, that I think it’s important that we try to impose a certain quality level.

What about the issue of counterfeit pieces?

Yes, it’s a question I get asked all the time and it’s true when I see the figures I’m flabbergasted, it’s enormous, a larger market than the actual Swiss watch industry is what I’ve heard. I can’t really prove it but… But I’ve seen the figures and they are mind-boggling, let me tell you. Just a few years ago I saw a figure from Bangkok alone talking about tonnage. Really I can’t believe it, people actually buy this…!

It’s defeating the whole purpose of buying the watch, because when you buy a watch it’s because of the history, the soul, the dream. What do you have if you buy a fake? It’s ridiculous.

What can’t you believe about people buying fakes?

It’s defeating the whole purpose of buying the watch, because when you buy a watch it’s because of the history, the soul, the dream. What do you have if you buy a fake? It’s ridiculous.

Is Omega coming out with another line of watches to add to the Seamaster, Speedmaster, De Ville and Constellation lines?

No, I think the full line is there, we have a line now which is like a family in itself, which we can also develop in the foreseeable future. Each line has its possibilities to grow. I think we’ve seen our Seamaster with the Aqua Terra, Planet Ocean now the new 300, plus the specials like Ploprof, Bullhead. It’s a true collection. It’s a brand within a brand name. Speedmaster is all chronographs so it’s a bit more limited, it’s basically the same case, but there again, we’ve introduced obviously the Dark Side of the Moon, and some other products coming in the future. There’s also the ‘57 model which I think a fabulous watch, a very beautiful watch. The De Ville too. But Constellation is maybe a collection that we can maybe think about it, we have the Constellation as you know today, with the claws, which is okay,  but I think it’s a collection that people forget the origin of that name. There’s so much that can be done there.

Outside of your own company which currently serving horology executive do you most admire and why?

I can’t say that. I mean there are one or two iconic guys out there, but I did not mention the names. In the group obviously my colleagues that I work with, Marc Hayek and my good friend Walter Von Kanel, you know he’s been there in the watchmaking business, he’s been there forever, he’s a fantastic guy.

Well let’s say a different industry then, if that’s more comfortable…

Obviously, one would have said before he passed away, Steve Jobs was an icon. There’s one person who I think is showing incredible courage and that is Michael Dell. Dell is a brand that’s lost a lot of its glory from a few years ago. I had one, but everybody did, you know. But Dell is still there and what he’s trying to do now to become prime again is incredible. I don’t know Michael Dell, I’ve never met him but I feel a certain respect for the guy who against all odds is trying to do something he feels is in the interest of his company and at the end of the day, his customers. There are many fantastic brands out there. You take a brand like, in a clothes industry like Zara, 10 years ago, unbelievable. And that Japanese company Uniqlo, they’re selling at rock bottom prices, it’s unbelievable. I was at the PGA championship, they are even sponsoring golfers.

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Thanks to the team and moderators at Omega Forums for their contribution to questions for Mr. Urquhart.