Hi all, Didn't see a stickied introductions thread so I thought I'd introduce myself here. I'm just getting into collecting vintage watches because I love the history behind them and the research that is needed to make sure you dont get ripped off. So far its been a bit of adventure and adrenaline all mixed up sitting in front of my computer! Anywho...so the De Ville... I fell in love with the elegant TV case, the subtle patina, and the really cool band/clasp. The movement looks legit and the watch seems to be well taken care of in general. I also wanted a quartz for an everday watch to save on servicing costs. The problem is that the ca. 1330 De Ville Quartz listed on the Omega Heritage site only had leather bands, "De Ville" is printed in cursive, and "Quartz" was printed under "De Ville". The watch I bought on eBay had stainless steel bands, "De Ville" in all caps, and "Quartz" under "Omega". I posted a screenshot of additional details listed with the item. So my question is if this watch is just a variation of the ca. 1330 De Ville or if it is a redialed franken watch. I'm still within the return window but I really like the look of it so even if its a redialed franken I might still keep it since it was only $117. I'd love to hear any advice and knowledge from experienced members, thanks in advance! Anthony
Looks fine to me. Back in the 1970s/1980s Omega released hundreds of varieties of quartz watches so trying to pin down an exact reference is difficult as the OVDB doesn't have every watch they made. Your model number will be stamped on the inside of the caseback. As to the bracelet, back in the day, you bought the watch on a leather strap and the jeweller would often provide a bracelet to suit the model if you so wished.
The countersunk centre in your crown is the secret, I believe. If you press in and HOLD that button for a few seconds ( 5 or ten), then release it, and immediately press it in again and hold it, you should find the seconds hand takes off at about one revolution in ten seconds or so. You will see the minute and hour hands moving as well. Keep the button pressed in until the minute hand reaches the correct minute, and release the central button. IIRC, the hour hand is set by pulling out the crown, and turning the hour hand to the correct hour. If I am wrong on that, then you'll have to go back to the button trick, and hold it in until the hands s-l-o-w-l-y move around to the correct time. Omega received a ground swell of complaint from watch owners, watchmakers, and watch dealers over this s-t-u-p-I-d system that they very quickly re-designed these movements to set in the usual manner.
Here you go http://www.old-omegas.com/1330en.html (and this is my 1000th post - how the hell did that happen )
@JimInOz: Ah very helpful to know that slight variations are normal...comforting to know the watch is all original! @Canuck: Ha it takes about 50 secs to make one revolution so I'm glad pulling out the crown sets the hour hand! Thanks for the help @Mouse_at_Large: Congrats on the 1000th post! Thanks everyone for the insight...looking forward to learning more about vintage omegas! Cheers!
Had I given more thought to my reply to your post, I might have given some thought to the fact that your watch doesn't actually have a seconds hand. So it takes 50 seconds for the minute hand to sweep around the dial. In any case, these watches were very unpopular with a lot of people. The saving grace was that the hour hand was individually settable. I believe that quick, successive press and release of the setting button advances the minute hand a bit with each repetition.
Yeah can see why they were unpopular. When I got the watch the minute hand was in perfect position and I was a bit hesitant to test out the minute hand adjustment sunken crown thing. It was quite the pain to get it set because the watch keeps on ticking even with the crown pulled out so its hard to set the time and start it when you want to. Oh well...its a good looking watch and I hopefully wont need to change the time much ha!