So your timing devices have to be sturdier for the winter games? They have to be adapted for the environment, sure. I’m no expert, but I’ve seen a lot of them. I’m not sure if the devices are sturdier or maybe that some of the fiberoptic cable has to be protected when it’s minus 30 degrees. On the marketing side, we have two facilities, one in Vancouver and one in Whistler, where most of the skiing will take place. Omega has a strong presence in Vancouver; the Fairmont Hotel was commissioned as our headquarters. We’ll have all our hospitality events there and we’ll have a big shop — a shop as big as this one, in fact.
You mentioned some of the timing innovations that the company’s come up with over the years. Have any of those made their way into Omega’s wristwatch designs in any way? To be honest, not really… Of course, in the old days, back in 1932, the watches they used to time the games were the same watches people wore in their waistcoats — mechanical pocket watches with stopwatch functions. Obviously, today, timing the Olympics is a different ballgame. The technology used for that obviously can’t be used in watches. However, we have incorporated some of the same production techniques — the machining and such — into the regular wristwatch line. So you could say that has been useful.
Is Omega releasing any special limited-edition watches to coincide with the Vancouver games? Well, to be clear, making a limited-edition watch is not the primary reason Omega is timing the games. It’s more of a side project — nice to have, but its importance shouldn’t be exaggerated. The Chinese consumers were very enthusiastic about these limited editions during the Beijing games, so we thought it was important to release a big collection in China — probably even a little too big, in my opinion. But they sold very well because the Chinese wanted limited-edition watches. In Vancouver, we will have omega replica watches uk, the piece that you’ve seen, and those people who want a commemorative item can get it. It is a pretty standard model, with a bezel in maple-leaf red, aimed very much at the Canadian market, which is very different than that of Europe or even the U. S.
The other big event that Omega is involved in this year is the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. How’s that doing for the brand, and what is Omega’s current involvement in the space program? We’ve been heavily involved in the space program since 1969 and even before. I’d say the last few years we’re really been pushing it a lot because that link is so important to Omega. Every year we’ve found some kind of anniversary to commemorate, like the space walk, et cetera. But this year, I’ve got to admit that it was incredible to see the enthusiasm for the 40th anniversary because it wasn’t there as much for the 30th in 1999. Maybe it has something to do with the new President, the connection of Obama to Kennedy. I don’t know, but I felt that this year we put forth a tremendous effort. We made an incredible investment; Omega had never done such a big program for the Moon Watch before. The JFK television commercial was fantastic. It seemed as though every TV station had big, long programs on the moon story. I don’t remember seeing those 10 years ago. Maybe the fact that we were in the middle of a financial crisis made this a message that the American people related to… nostalgia for a better time, some good news, not some damn broker saying that the stock market will go down.
I saw that television commercial with the JFK footage a lot in prime time; you don’t see that much from watch companies. What made you decide to use that medium? We had a fabulous message and we had a fantastic person to deliver the message, that being JFK. The Kennedy foundation was very open to our proposal to use him and I think it’s a great, great message. Continue reading "So your timing devices have to be sturdier for Omega watches"
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