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X350 XJR
··Vintage Omega Aficionado1967
1970
1970
Read it and Weep
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Evitzee
·That 1970 Speedmaster price would be $1,465 today. The last 1861 price when it was discontinued was $5,350, so the watch business in general has expanded greatly which seems intuitively odd. People are willing to pay more money today for a product using obsolete technology, partly because a good watch is viewed positively by friends, coworkers and family, and they give a boost to one's self esteem.
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Canuck
·In 1965, a Rolex steel and gold Date-Just on a steel & gold Jubilee bracelet was $495.00, and the 18-karat Rolex day-date on an 18-karat President bracelet was $1,995.00. In 1971, my Rolex Air-King Date, steel case and steel Oyster bracelet was $215.00. Read it and weep. In 1957, a Hamilton 992B in a gold filled case was $195.00.
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DON
·Had some Rolex sales brochures from 1959 and 18kt datejust on gold bracelet was $1000 Canadian and two tone was $500
price of gold in 1959 was $35.00oz. How much gold in the watches?
price of gold in 1959 was $35.00oz. How much gold in the watches?
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Zman4eva
·You know what this means right? Sapphire Speedmasters are retailing for $8,000 right now. By my widely inaccurate projections, they'll be $300,000 watches by 2075. Buy up everything now and store it in a safe.
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Canuck
·I bought my Speedmaster 345.0808 (sapphire case back) in 1991. So, 33 years ago. On the subject of what has happened to prices, check out the hang tag on this one!
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gatorcpa
··ΩF InvestiGatorThat 1970 Speedmaster price would be $1,465 today. The last 1861 price when it was discontinued was $5,350, so the watch business in general has expanded greatly which seems intuitively odd.
A Swiss franc in 1970 bought less than 25 cents. Today, the same Swiss franc, literally the same coin, buys over $1. Call that a factor of 5, on top of inflation.
5 X $1,465 = $7,325.
If you want to look at the price of gold over the years…Gold really didn’t “sell” for $35 in 1970. That was an arbitrary exchange rate used to balance the U.S. government’s books. But we’ll roll with it. Gold today is a little over $2,000 per ounce. That’s a factor of 57.14.
57.14 X $195 = $11,142.
Not exact, but close enough. The effects of 50 years of inflation can be devastating.
gatorcpa
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STANDY
··schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collector10 years in Speedmaster pricing.
Bought my Speedmaster in 2014 for $4300,aud
Today a Speedmaster in 2024 is $11550,aud
Bought my Speedmaster in 2014 for $4300,aud
Today a Speedmaster in 2024 is $11550,aud
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Tire-comedon
·Do you really want to weep?
1968. RAF issued Omega, Longines or Jaeger Lecoultre, Vacheron Constantin, Ulysse Nardin, Longines or Hamilton deck chronometer, split second Minerva, early Seiko diver etc...
I quote 'due to a recent bulk purchase from the [government / admiralty] we are pleased to offer you this watch at a fraction of its original price.'
Compare the selling prices wit hthe standard automatic Seikos or the russian watches....😲😲😲
1968. RAF issued Omega, Longines or Jaeger Lecoultre, Vacheron Constantin, Ulysse Nardin, Longines or Hamilton deck chronometer, split second Minerva, early Seiko diver etc...
I quote 'due to a recent bulk purchase from the [government / admiralty] we are pleased to offer you this watch at a fraction of its original price.'
Compare the selling prices wit hthe standard automatic Seikos or the russian watches....😲😲😲
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qazwsx1
·I wish I had a Time Machine.
$500 for this 18k case and dial .😁
$500 for this 18k case and dial .😁
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Pastorbottle
·You know what this means right? Sapphire Speedmasters are retailing for $8,000 right now. By my widely inaccurate projections, they'll be $300,000 watches by 2075. Buy up everything now and store it in a safe.
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RevZMan123
·
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gatorcpa
··ΩF InvestiGatorThat's $5500 in 2023 dollars
You can get there 2 ways.
1. Gold was $35/oz in 1950’s. Now around $2,000. ($550/$35) = 15.7 oz of gold. Around $31K that way.
2. It took about 4.4 Swiss francs to buy a U.S. dollar in 1956. About 2,200 Francs at the time. Using your inflation ratio of 11:1, that’s a little over 24,000 francs. Current exchange rate is $1.17 per franc, or $28K today.
Think about what a top quality heavy gold Omega watch would sell for today.
https://www.omegawatches.com/en-us/...axial-master-chronometer-39-mm-13053392102002
gatorcpa
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RevZMan123
·Damn, I guess the inflation calculation is too basic when dealing with luxury veblen goods.
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gatorcpa
··ΩF InvestiGatorDamn, I guess the inflation calculation is too basic when dealing with luxury veblen goods.
This is reflected in the movement of the relative exchange rates and the price of gold expressed in dollars since 1971.
gatorcpa
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snunez
·It is. The missing factor is really the fact that Swiss francs have always been backed by gold and US dollars (and most other currencies) have not been since 1971.
This is reflected in the movement of the relative exchange rates and the price of gold expressed in dollars since 1971.
gatorcpa
CHF was historically 40% gold backed, but that's no longer the case and it became 'fiat' in 2000. See Wikipedia's entry for the Swiss Franc.
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bruceleeyoung@ho
·I bought my Speedmaster 345.0808 (sapphire case back) in 1991. So, 33 years ago. On the subject of what has happened to prices, check out the hang tag on this one!
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pdxleaf
·Bought my Hesalite Speedy on bracelet new for $3316 in Dec, 2019. There was a 19% holiday sale on top of the normal 10% discount, plus an additional 10% off if you used the store credit card.
They used to do sales regularly. 10% off was pretty common. So it's not just msrp that has jumped. They also stopped discounts and holiday sales, which makes the new prices even higher.
If new watch sales slow in the next year or so, Omega won't lower prices but I wonder if they'll offer 10% discounts again to people who ask.
They used to do sales regularly. 10% off was pretty common. So it's not just msrp that has jumped. They also stopped discounts and holiday sales, which makes the new prices even higher.
If new watch sales slow in the next year or so, Omega won't lower prices but I wonder if they'll offer 10% discounts again to people who ask.
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Dsplash
·I wonder if there were people collecting watches in the 50s/70s like today… someone enjoying the technical and aesthetic properties of a nice piece and buying just tons of them for what would be considered now pennies…
The « older » collector I know has been into vintage Rolex since the 80s and I only know a tiny fraction of what his collection is like but the little I’ve seen is just unbelievable 😅
The « older » collector I know has been into vintage Rolex since the 80s and I only know a tiny fraction of what his collection is like but the little I’ve seen is just unbelievable 😅