aTill about the year 2000, an Omega watch was a "watch" to me. I had developed an interest in space due to the fact that my father has been a rocket physicist and was involved in a lot of space programs. I was glued to the monitor or a TV whenever there was a space launch.

   The same fervor that I share for space, I share for an Omega watch today, especially for the Omega Speedmaster Professional, alias the Moonwatch. I had always held in awe, a few of my acquaintances who sported the Omega Moonwatch, until I was told it was not the original but an Omega replica watch. I did not know that replica watches have evolved so greatly, when my eye that has been experienced in looking at and admiring an Omega Moonwatch could not see that the watch worn by my acquaintances has been an Omega replica watch.

   Late in 2000, when I had an opportunity to shop for a new watch for myself, I was fresh out of college and just got a job, with the first month's wages in my pocket. It was obvious that my craving to own an Omega Speedmaster has only increased. I decided to have a look at the Omega website to shop for models that suited my aesthetic senses and my pocket. I wanted an Omega watch, an Omega watch that suited my personality, symbolically and functionally.

   I came across the 40 th year anniversary edition of the Moonwatch bought out by Omega in 1997. Although it caught my senses and blocked them for some time, it really appeared to burn my pants along with my pockets. Well, I saw that I really could not afford to own it, but, it infused a sense of extreme interest in me to know more about Omega and Omega replica watches so that I will be able to wear one some day.

   My interest and research led me to one of the biggest markets of Omega watches in the recent years, China. The fact that, the basic concept and functionality of a watch is to tell time and nothing more is the fundamental principle of the Chinese or for that matter most markets world wide. A watch is also a status symbol and a fashion accessory and a symbol of wealth, come to the fore when we come to the high worth individual markets.