I recently purchased this 60's Seamaster De Ville and have a few questions as I'm new to vintage watches. It's condition is pretty fair and is missing the second hand. With that I would appreciate any insight on the following:

- Any idea what the specific movement is on this watch? It's still in process of shipping to me.
- Should I have this serviced by Omega?
- Is there a type or brand of band I should get to replace the current one to get it back to more of it's original state?
- Did I over pay for a watch in this condition?

Thanks for the help. I'm excited to learn in this new adventure.

 

The website states: "This item has been evaluated and verified by an independent Certified Master Electronic Watchmaker (CINCMEW)"

Where do I sign up to get paid to verify the electronic components in these watches?

Also, nice to see that the watch includes a new battery: - new battery; working at the time of evaluation. That's someone very few places are willing to do with these watches



DO NOT get it serviced by Omega. There are several reasons for this.

1) The service costs will likely outweigh the value of the watch
2) They will likely remove vintage parts

Get it serviced by someone good on the forum.

If you paid $525 for the watch, my 2 cents is that you did overpay. Service costs by an independent watch maker will run $300-400, and there are complete, honest vintage Devilles in the for sale forum on this site that go for less than $700 (including service) (https://omegaforums.net/threads/all...-166-0161-black-dial-cal-1012-serviced.66979/)

Take it as a lesson. You could have done much worse & Welcome!

 

Interesting designation - this appears to be a US based web site and there is no such certification in the US...at least not by any horological association I'm aware of.

 

I found this: https://www.awci.com/awci-certifications/

Not sure the cert means anything.

 

Regardless of the group's authenticity, the seller needs to make sure, when they cut and paste from listings, that they pay attention to what they're selling.

 

Thanks very much for the insight and feedback. Definitely a good lesson, a lot to try and learn on my end. I will certainly reach out to someone on the forum to get it serviced.

 

Being new to this, is there a thread or folks you would recommend who would do the service on this watch?

 

Search the prior threads and forum. You will find people.

As other threads will mention, be careful about bands and how they could potentially damage the watch.

Again, welcome to the forum. Be careful, the addiction is real

 

Yep the CMEW is listed there, but not a "CINCMEW" - the acronym doesn't even make sense.

And do you really want a person certified in electronic watches verifying your mechanical watches?

 

Archer, I bet you're just upset that you failed the electronic certification exam for mechanical watches several times. Don't hold a grudge.

 

Remember I still have your watch mate - don't get too cheeky!

 

Appreciate the welcome. The addiction is certainly real. Hopefully my wife will understand. Haha

 

She won't.

 

Gents - I'm looking to get a new strap/bracelet for the 60s De Ville. What size should I be looking for 19mm, 20mm? With wanting to keep it as original as I can, any recommendations? Happy Thanksgiving!

 

18 mm.

 

Thank you for the insight!

 

CONDITION
Fair

- new battery; working at the time of evaluation.
so, what kind of moverment?

 

"Any idea what the specific movement is on this watch?"

Caliber 670/671 since this is a mid-size watch, case back design tells us this.

"What size should I be looking for 19mm, 20mm?"

17mm, again this is a mid-size watch.

 

Appreciate the information on the movement. The watch is still in transit and I was not 100% sure. Outside of the missing second hand and bracelet/strap, does the rest look original? The forums have been a wealth of knowledge.

 

Any chance it is a Caliber 552, Ref 165.020? From the looks, this seems to be a match - https://www.poshtime.com/499.165/Omega-Seamaster-De-Ville-165.020-c.1965-.php