The one I didn’t buy, but why?

I wasn’t looking for this watch, it came looking for me. As a YouTube watch content addict, the Omega CK859 started to pop up in my feed from a number of my favourite creators.

The Omega CK859 is a limited production, numbered edition that Omega issued in late 2022 and was dicontinued just 6 months later. When I saw the watch online, the beautiful sector dial reminded me of one of my favourite Patek’s, the Calatrava 5296G-001. The Patek, itself discontinued in 2020, was, until I’d seen the Omega, the closest thing I’d seen to a perfect modern sector dial. The biggest challenge with the Patek: it’s price tag, which is, let’s face it, well beyond my financial comfort zone.

But this Omega, wow! On paper, the CK859 seemed to me a very close competitor to the PP. Stainless steel, hand wound Coaxial movement, silver dial, blued steel hands, open caseback…. At £5810 (a little over $7000) it’s clearly not inexpensive. But the value proposition seemed pretty impressive.

Of course, the fact that it had been discontinued was, to say the least, a pretty major issue. Of course there were used examples available to buy, most of which appear to be in great condition. But I prefer to buy new, direct from an AD (yeah - I know!).

I looked at the used market. The price of pre-owned was all over the place (anywhere from 20% discount to 20% premium to retail price). Clearly some dealers hope it’s limited run will make this a collectible piece, while other sellers think a vintage style “dress” watch has a more limited audience.

I then saw on a forum someone commenting that the Omega boutiques will, occasionally, hold back stock on limited releases, and that it can be worth asking in store if they have stock. So that’s what I did. Low and behold, they had one, and only one, in stock across the U.K. I was absolutely chuffed, and felt as though I’d won the lottery. A brand new piece, available to buy in store, despite being discontinued over 6 months prior.

The boutique kindly got the watch in from their warehouse and held onto it for me. I made a visit to the boutique the next day to try it on and, I thought, buy it.

When the watch was finally presented to me, I was dumbfounded. It was objectively stunning. The hands, a deep molten blue; the case, a perfect blend of brushed and polished; and the sector dial, a crisp mix of vintage and modern. But something was niggling me, something unexpectedly disappointing. The base of the dial, made from solid silver, a highlight on paper, was, in the flesh, a dull metallic grey. The photos online didn’t really capture this fact. But out of the box it was obvious, and made even more stark when placed next to my “silvered” IWC Portuguese Chrono.

The net effect was one of utter confusion. Here it was, a piece that had no right being so beautiful, which I was insanely lucky to find available brand new, that all the watch nerds online were heralding as a killer watch, and yet I just wasn’t wowed by it.

I asked the boutique if I could take a day to think - and they kindly said they’d hold it for me. I went home, and moped. I knew that I hadn’t bonded with the watch. My heart was not smitten. But my head wouldn’t let go: “You discovered it. Great! You tracked down. Amazing!” But my heart was saying: “It’s not the watch for you. Let it go! Let another collector fall in love with it. Don’t strip them of the opportunity to discover it, track it down, and have the high of buying it.”

So I listened to my heart. I let it go. Did I do the right thing? Should I have taken the risk? I’d love to know your thoughts.