Great article and the HV has long been on my, 'Maybe one day list' of modern watches. After reading this I think it may have moved up to the, ' Actively hunting list' 😀
Ash's more recent thread on the Orbis version of these tipped me over the edge into a purchase, I've posted my thoughts here to keep that one less messy. Mine is not the Orbis but the black dial original version which came my way at a very reasonable price, mostly due to the tired condition. The former owner clearly loved it and wore it to death but got scared when he got the OSC service quote. I've never seen a grottier leather strap, now replaced with the same part number.
This has just come back from a well overdue fettle, its first in 15 years it seems. It feels just right on the wrist, very comfortable and despite the 8500 movement which is typically seen in very chunky watches, at only 12.9mm deep, wears quite discreetly and will hopefully avoid the door frames the 17mm deep monsters like the PO etc seem attracted to. Bizarrely, the large dial and skinny bezel make it feel on the wrist rather like a scaled up Omega Dynamic III, those too are all dial but it must be said they come from very different ends of the Omega catalogue and their planned audiences were rather different, one being a faux mil bargain basement design and the other designed to be a dress watch showcase for a new in house movement utilising innovative case design to show it to its best effect. I'm in the honeymoon phase at present but it feels so right that it might be a keeper, for the medium term at least. I am a bit fickle that way!
Thinking aloud, it might have made a lot more sense for Omega to have branded and marketed this as a Constellation, there is more than a hint of the classic 50s models like the 2852 or 14381 in the tonneau lugs and since the movement was designed to be the top of the tree, it would have made sense to put it there rather than in the DV line which has a rather less illustrious history. A missed opportunity perhaps.
Ash's more recent thread on the Orbis version of these tipped me over the edge into a purchase, I've posted my thoughts here to keep that one less messy. Mine is not the Orbis but the black dial original version which came my way at a very reasonable price, mostly due to the tired condition. The former owner clearly loved it and wore it to death but got scared when he got the OSC service quote. I've never seen a grottier leather strap, now replaced with the same part number.
This has just come back from a well overdue fettle, its first in 15 years it seems. It feels just right on the wrist, very comfortable and despite the 8500 movement which is typically seen in very chunky watches, at only 12.5mm deep, wears quite discreetly and will hopefully avoid the door frames the 17mm deep monsters like the PO etc seem attracted to. Bizarrely, the large dial and skinny bezel make it feel on the wrist rather like a scaled up Omega Dynamic III, those too are all dial but it must be said they come from very different ends of the Omega catalogue and their planned audiences were rather different, one being a faux mil bargain basement design and the other designed to be a dress watch showcase for a new in house movement utilising innovative case design to show it to its best effect. I'm in the honeymoon phase at present but it feels so right that it might be a keeper, for the medium term at least. I am a bit fickle that way!
Thinking aloud, it might have made a lot more sense for Omega to have branded and marketed this as a Constellation, there is more than a hint of the classic 50s models like the 2852 or 14381 in the tonneau lugs and since the movement was designed to be the top of the tree, it would have made sense to put it there rather than in the DV line which has a rather less illustrious history. A missed opportunity perhaps.
The Hour Vision was not just a watch to Omega, it represented the peak of the brand's design creativity, engineering prowess, and served as the flagship for the Calibre 8500 in-house movement. More than that, it signaled a significant step up in quality, finishing and market segment. [..]
Visit The 2007 De Ville Hour Vision - Omega’s Concorde Moment to read the full article.
