I remembered I had a month anchorage at Salalah at the gulf
of Oman by 1981…when I was on board the merchant vessel “White Sea”.
Salalah is the second largest city of Oman after Dhofar,
also the biggest sea port in the Arab Peninsula.
It is the birthplace of the current Omani leader, Sultan
Qaboos, and is located in the Dhofar Governorate in southern Oman. From the
north, the city is surrounded by a mountain range that turns green with
spectacular waterfalls during the Khareef season. From the south, it has a long
beautiful coast that is embellished with white sands. It is a beautiful place,
but by the summer of 1981, we were awaiting for moor one month before we can
moor for cargo unloading.
I had a great chance to fish, as there was much we can do in
the Arab port, no one is allowed to drink as beer, whisky store was bonded by
Arabian customs officers once the shipped had arrived the port. Salalah shipping
agent told me that Arabians do not eat those beautiful fishes as they called
them fairy because of the colourful outlook. Those are green wrasse (Choerodon schoenleinii) and they are huge
easily weighed 3 to 5 kgs each.
We use crab meat as bait on a string as we did not have fishing line, just put
in we could catch big green wrasse, and we could possible caught 50 big fishes in
just a day… This kind of fish is expensive in Hon Kong. The meat
is so tender and we used to steam and serve with soya sauce, they were very delicious… but after
a week, no one wanted to eat as we had enough with breakfast,
lunch and dinner going to be the same fish!
The moral of this story is…. Try to get something no one
wants in one place and that possible be gems in the eyes of someone… in other
words, in the world of watches try not to compete with people who is looking for
Daytona while price is too competitive already. Ty something else as to get the
best net profit out of it.
Omega had been producing a lot of moon watches which I am
not able to tell what series and model as they are as many as Panerai produced
in the past ten years… unless you are really focusing in the Omega collections.
Jack of all trades but master of nothing is always right to describe.
Alaska is so cold, but this Omega is so hot
OMEGA, SPEEDMASTER PROFESSIONAL, ALASKA PROJECT, LIMITED
SERIES XXX/1970, REF. 311.32.42.30.04.001.
Perhaps no other modern kind of watch has quite encapsulated
the spirit of the original NASA and pre-moon Speedmasters as much as the Alaska
Project Limited edition as modern Icon of Speedmaster historical importance.
The Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Alaska Project was the
limited edition Speedmaster watch model that Omega introduced at Baselworld
2008. It happens to have one of the most interesting "limited-edition
stories" among the modern limited-edition Omega Speedmaster Moon watches.
In 1970, Omega developed a Speedmaster that was a bit
different from the then current Moonwatch models. They called it the Alaska
project (it had to withstand extreme temperatures, especially those on the dark
side of the Moon) and therefore Omega came up with the solution of an external
casing made of red-anodized aluminum. The project title Alaska was from then on
used for every assignment they did for NASA, like this 1978 Alaska III project
watch that was re-certified for the Space Shuttle missions.
The dial was made white so it wouldn't absorb heat, and the
red anodized aluminum case protects the watch in a temperature range from -148F
to +260F. NASA never purchased these
watches and the project was cancelled at the end!
No other watch has captured the hearts minds of Omega
collectors and enthusiasts as much as this. The Red anodized aluminum case is
58mm in diameter and we've still to see any collector quite brave or mad enough
to wear one "On the go". I did it!
Price of Alaska project Omega
It was about $60,000 in 2008.
It was about $80,000 in 2019, then we see there is demand on
it in 2020 January, price rose up to
$90,000 and By May we bought one with $105,000. And price kept rising…
It is now about $350,000!
We here we are talking about Brand new full set unused one…
Price is still going up, what is the estimated price by end of 2021? Interesting.
What is next for Omega
Well, people asked me, I think one of the most successful
project is Omega Snoopy, launched at 2003, then another one in 2015, latest one
was back to 2020, the 50th anniversary Silver Snoopy
Price is now $250,000, after goods are delivered in January
2021…. Price had been risen sharply and I really cannot estimated what price
will it hit by Dec 2021…
From The past record, the 1st generation Snoopy
is now HK$160,000
The second generation is now $380,000
With the new added nice and Start trek movie feature at the
back of the 3rd generation Snoopy, I think this is the potential
rising star or a hype for Omega.
I speculate that the price will overtake the 2nd
generation by 2022… and By 2024 the price could possible go to $600,000!
Of course, this is my speculation, nothing can guarantee the
price will go to that level, or even go above that level.
We you have chance try to get one at your local Omega
boutique for this absolutely stunning piece.
HK Snob
Units here is in HKD (Hong Kong Dollar)
4. Anodized red case for the watch
5,6. Omega Project Alaska watch
7. Port Salalah
8. A green Wrasse
9. M/V similar as the M/V White Sea/HPDS that I worked on it 1981-1982
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