New emerging "WPAC" subculture is threatening to undermine the luxury watch industry...
11 August 2022 | Author: William Hardlove
In an heroic effort to save the industry from the next quartz crisis, Omega is releasing the new Speedmaster WPAC-edition, limited to only
zero pieces. Hold on, WPAC? Next Quartz crisis? Zero piece limited edition? What in
Hayek's name are you talking about, I hear you thinking. Well, allow me to explain.
The origins of WPAC
WPAC, short for Watch Purchasing Abstinence Club, is a group of WIS that was first founded 5 years ago on the well known Watchuseek forum. Growing increasingly dissatisfied with the offerings of the luxury watch industry, they decided to boycot luxury watches altogether, in an effort to make an irrefutable statement to the establishment of the watch industry. As an act of provocation, they decided to found their club in the relatively obscure
Affordables section of the Watchuseek forum (the place that also birthed the microbrand-crisis, more about that in
this article)
At first the industry did not pay much attention to this group of deviants, as their numbers were only small. But over the years the WPAC thread started to gather much attention, and is now an undeniable force at over 4500 posts only halfway through the year! So understandably the big brands are starting to get a bit nervous, with Rolex being the first to start feeling the heat of the WPAC luxury watch boycot.
Omega Speedmaster WPAC-edition
Seeing the decline of Rolex secondary market value was a big red flag for Omega, who immediately recognized that this was the direct result of letting the interests of the WPAC movement go unheard. So in an effort to repair relations with their highly valued customers, Omega reached out to WPAC frontman Heraldus Hornet to understand their concerns. In the words of marketing director Mark Omegaman:
"We have had a very friendly constructive meeting with Heraldus, under the enjoyment of an exquisite local meal of fish and chips, and a remarkable vintage of Frosters. Our biggest take away was that the latest releases of Speedmaster limited editions were not limited enough to uphold the exclusive nature of the Moonwatch design, which alienated Heraldus and his brethren from the brand."
Thus Mark went to the drawing board and came up with the idea of a zero limited edition. Yes, you hear that right, even rarer than the actual Moonwatch that went to the moon! But how does that work? Mark Omegaman:
"Well the beauty of this release lies in the elegant simplicity of the concept: there is no watch at all! You can sign up to get it at your local AD. But of course not just anyone can get it, you will have to show your WPAC membership number, and sufficient evidence that you are indeed an established member of the WPAC. Once the AD has certified you are eligible for the WPAC limited edition, you are then asked for a deposit to put your name on the waitlist. [red.: Period.]
So while this WPAC edition is indeed extremely limited, and only zero watches will actually be sold, the good news is that practically everyone with sufficient credentials to become a WPAC member (a record of at least 24 verified purchases of luxury watches per annum), is eligible to take a chance at acquiring the Speedmaster WPAC-edition.
