OMEGA X SWATCH mania

I wrote about the OMEGA X SWATCH earlier in the week and expressed my confusion at this move by the Swatch Group, and in particular the idea of making a plastic watch which bear the luxury Omega name.

It felt like a very strange move and one which I struggled to understand in terms of the marketing. And then this happened-

https://youtube.com/shorts/j1480jcJv6U?feature=share

A huge number of people trying to get one of the watch in London and this was replicated around the world as police had to get involved to deal with the huge crowds.

I am fairly certain that this is driven in large part by flippers who want to make some quick money. The lack of unboxing content is evidence of this and there are countless listings with genuine bids way above the retail price.

These watches are not limited and they will be available online in the future so what is going on? I get that this allows people to buy a watch that looks very much like a real Speedmaster for a fraction of the price, but it's still plastic (sorry- Bioceramic) and it has a cheap movement inside. It is a copy of the real thing and while this is kind of appealing in many ways, I would actually like to own one, this feels like a case of people either trying to make a quick buck or simply getting swept up in the mania of owning something first.

Apple and Nike kicked all of this off and it seems to be a growing phenomenon, and one which is painful to watch when so many more important things are happening in the world. Unobtanium truly is the most valuable commodity in 2022.