Omega vs Rolex "rivalry". Never understood it.

[JP.]

I own two Omega Seamasters and I have owned three (yes THREE) Planet Oceans, one black GMT and one Omega SMP Chronograph. I'm a Omega fan... what a GREAT watch brand! There is a lot of things I don't like about Rolex... but it's very difficult to find anything negative to say about Omega (besides that I find their endless "special editions" very cheesy and gimmicky).

But I always found this Rolex vs Omega comparison a bit stupid as they're in very, very different price category. I don't know the retail price for the new Bonds but you can buy a preowned early Bond Seamasters for around 1.3K while 5/6-digit Subs start from around 5.5-6K.

It's like comparing VW Passat to S-class Mercedes. Not to say that the Passat isn't a good car... it can be more reliable than the Merc... but let's face the reality: Omega and VW will never, ever have the prestige of Rolex or Mercedes. Yet Seamaster has always seen as a "rival to Rolex Submariner".

That being said, I think Omega is much better value for money and the movements are very well made. But that doesn't explain why these brands are seen as "rivals". Volkswagen is not considered a rival of Mercedes, Porsche or Jaguar so why should Omega be a rival to Rolex?

Breguet and IWC are rivals to Rolex, imho. Omega is a rival to TAG Heuer and Breitling.

I hope this doesn't start any negative debate... it's not my intention... let's just discuss this objectively.