Omega Speedmaster pips Rolex GMT Master II to win Collectors’ Watch of the Year 2024
Survey of collectors by Subdial and WatchPro results in Omega’s white-dialled Speedmaster beating Rolex’s monochrome GMT Master II to the top of the podium.
By Rob Corder
December 16, 2024
The first annual Big Watch Survey of watch experts, enthusiasts and collectors across the communities of Subdial, WatchPro and Esquire has crowned Omega’s white-dialled Speedmaster as the best launch of 2024.
Commercial brands like Rolex, Patek Philippe and Omega do not participate in awards like the GPHG in Geneva, which leaves the field open for smaller, more artisan independents to compete for top prizes.
But The Big Watch Survey goes a different route, concentrating on how the most successful brands, particularly those with highly-traded watches on the secondary market, are viewed by tens of thousands of people who engage with Esquire, WatchPro and Subdial.
The survey’s first question assesses collectors’ Watch of the Year. Choosing from 21 selected contenders that were released in 2024, the result shows the power of small design changes to collector favourites. The top three positions are all occupied by models that feature a simple colour change to already in-production designs. Two of the three models are currently trading under RRP on the secondary market, presenting a place for this enthusiasm to be channelled. The Speedy is currently trading 11% under retail. Appreciation for deeper innovation can be seen in places – IWC’s GPHG-winning Portugieser Eternal Calendar came fourth, with a new model in the form of Rolex’s 1908 in fifth. Commemorative pieces like Omega’s Specialities Paris 2024 Bronze Gold Edition and Cartier’s Tank Louis 100 Years of Watches of Switzerland failed to excite.
Meanwhile Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Selfwinding Full Gemset received a resounding thumbs-down with under 1% of respondents lending it their vote. The White Speedmaster received support from all age groups, but older collectors (Over 40) were more likely to vote for the GMT-Master II.
Under 40s were more interested in Audemars Piguet’s ‘John Mayer’ Perpetual Calendar for Eternity, a sign of how culture and watches increasingly merging for a younger generation of collectors.
Respondents who work within the watch industry are particularly fond of the Piaget Polo 79, with 9.9% voting it their watch of the year, compared with only 2.0% of non-industry respondents.
