De Ville offers

Hi
I’m a newbie and a bit of a watch novice.
I’m tempted by the De Ville Tresorpower reserve which is currently on offer at £4.6k with interest free credit

https://www.beaverbrooks.co.uk/0126411/OMEGA-De-Ville-Tresor-Automatic-Mens-Watch/p

looks to me like a great deal and other DVs on there

just wondering if this is fairly typical discount at this time of year or one that needs to be pounced on?

thanks

Thanks, really useful. Will resist the urge for an apparent bargain and carry on hunting

I have to admit, I never even knew that piece existed. FWIW, I think it’s really sharp, and nicely proportioned. Thin (10.1mm) and 40mm, it’ll wear beautifully. Definitely not something you’re going to see all the time.

Just to be sure you’re aware (since you mentioned being a novice): this is a manual wind watch, not an automatic. It’s an excellent Master Chrono caliber—antimagnetic, 72 hours of power reserve, and with the power reserve indicator you’ll always know when it needs winding. But it will indeed need winding. I, for one, like that: IMO, winding a manual watch is one of this hobby’s joys. But not everyone agrees.

If you like it, I’d say that’s a pretty good discount. It’s probably not a piece that will be easy to resell, if that’s a concern. Just one person’s opinion—and I do genuinely like the look of it!—if someone offered me a like new preowned one as a full set, I would tap out at 2500k USD.

Could be worth asking if they’ll come down a bit more!

Can't comment on pricing or value, but as someone who practically never notices modern DVs, despite owning several vintages ones, this is a very nice watch with clean lines and excellent proportions. If you like it and plan on keeping it, it strikes me as an easy pice to get on with and get plenty of wear out of.

As to resale -- agree with @Annapolis above that it may be a bit trickier than with the usual Speedies and Seamasters, and it's definitely worth pushing for the best deal you can make, but I've long since stopped worrying about buying-to-maybe-sell with the watches I buy, partly because it tended to lead me towards a whole bunch of watches other people also bought and then sold that I never really connected to.

My 2-3 most-worn watches are distinctive and not particularly standard WiS faves. Sometimes ya gotta just go with what moves you.

Thanks for the really useful reply. May go in store tomorrow and see it in flesh, but ability to resell is important. Do you know if that’s the same with all De Villes?

I'm not sure... it probably varies a lot depending on the model and the material (gold vs. stainless). I'd spend some time looking at Chrono24 and eBay to see what any particular model is selling for (or better yet has actually sold for). That said, I wouldn't recommend buying on either of those platforms. They can just be helpful for research like this.

To add a bit more, now that I'm back at my computer---with apologies if this is old news to you, but you said watch novice.

This piece is categorized as a "dress watch." Such categories are increasingly useless, as many of us will wear a sports watch (like a Speedmaster or a Submariner) with a suit & tie and a dress watch (such as this) with jeans and a t-shirt. Sartorial rules don't seem to matter much to most people nowadays, and in my view that's a good thing. (I probably wouldn't rock a yellow G-Shock with a tuxedo, but I might admire the boldness of someone who would.)

I mention this in the context of resale and desirability. Steel sports watches are garnering most of the hype these days, which is why you might have to spend 6 months on a waitlist to get a new Rolex Submariner, and why something as (in my very biased view) hideous as a Patek Phillipe Nautilus that retailed for $35k might get flipped for $129k. Omega has managed to escape the hype-train for the most part, but there are certain Speedies and Seamasters that are harder to get in certain configurations and that sell preowned above retail.

Dress watches, though... not so much. There are exceptions--especially from Patek--but by and large, dress watches in the current market do not hold value well. Under no circumstances is it a good financial decision to buy a new dress watch from Omega at full MSRP. I mean, if you really love the watch, go ahead--it's worth what it's worth to you. But if you're thinking at all about potential resale (and I'm not saying that one should, when a buying a watch, but let's face it), you should definitely pursue the most robust discount you can get or else see about buying preowned and letting someone else take the hit.

It sounds like you can get the watch for considerably under MSRP---that's good, and it tells you something (as another user mentioned above) about how these models are selling. (You won't see any such discount on a hot sports model right now.)

It's a bit silly, really. The watch you picked is "dressy" because it's fairly simple: hour and minute; small seconds subdial; power reserve. No date. Fairly formal-looking alligator strap. But I think it would look killer on a brown calfskin or even a NATO, which would make it much sportier. To my eyes, it's better looking than some of the super-hyped-up pieces.

But something else to consider: at the price-point of MSRP for that watch, you could get into a few offerings from JLC (Jaeger Le Coultre), which is, in terms of horology, a superior brand to Omega. The Polaris is a really underappreciated sporty watch, in my opinion, and the Master Control series includes a few models that are superficially similar to yours---those would be a lot more watch for the money, in terms of finishing and heritage. I'm not sure if JLCs are currently getting discounted, but it could be worth looking into. If I were in the market for a watch like that DeVille at a price like that piece, I'd be looking at JLC, not Omega. Just me.

I’ll add something around discounts, I got a new Speedmaster in December 2021 in the UK and I spent about 3 months looking at local jewellery shops to see what watches they had for sale, general window shopping.

During that time I can’t remember seeing a single mens luxury brand watch reduced in the shop windows.

When I decided on buying the Speedmaster I went in to 2 shops and phoned a 3rd, all gave me a discount, one of 10% and 2 or circa 15% off MSRP just by politely asking if there was any movement on the price.

For the past 6 months I have been going to the local shopping centre with my partner and I’ve been browsing the same jewellery stores and with each month I’ve seen more and more watched being discounted in the window. Today I saw an Omega DV model reduced by £2k in the window and a Seamaster (I think it was this from memory, https://www.ernestjones.co.uk/webstore/d/1184466/Omega+Seamaster+Nekton+Men's+Stainless+Steel+Bracelet+Watch/, I didn’t like the look of it so I didn’t really pay it much attention).

With that being said I’d be quietly confident if you went into a shop ad tried on the watch you posted, chatted with the sales assistant and politely asked if there was anything they could do with the price then they may well discount it further. You can then make a decision if it’s worth it for you.

As others have said though, as it’s a less popular model (at the moment) then it’s resale value is going to be less than you buy it for in all likelihood.

Oh man I couldn't agree more. I'm always surprised with questions like "help me choose" or "which one would you buy".

My general advice for anyone who want to buy a new Omega from the shop it's to try to find a preowned one first. You can find it to a much less price in mint condition.

Be 100% sure about this watch. If you are able to put it on your wrist forget about and love it all the power to you. If on the other hand you go on forums look at utube and are swept away by what other think, want and resale value stay clear of this watch. Best be sure, if you want to sell it in the future you won’t be able too and if you do you will recover a fraction of the paid watch price. Developing love for something takes in my experience a minimum of 2 years and then some if you go on forums and utube. Be prepared that if you ever fall out of love with the watch it can sit in a drawer or you still love the watch and would rather wear a Submariner or Moon watch then go for it. Watches like moon watch, Submariner and Sea master retain value if you want to flip for latest and greatest. Only buy from an AD, they will discount the boutique will not.

For the life of me I can’t understand why in the 60’s people loved these and vintage ones have a following now but modern versions of the DeVile are not popular. You need to love it to have it.

I used to do market research and pricing for a huge gray dealer years ago (mid 2010s). The value of pretty much all DeVilles fell sharply after walking out of the AD/OB back then, and they were much less liquid than common Omega models. They are an excellent value on the pre-owned market and great watches. I always appreciate seeing them on someone’s wrist - it’s nice to see something different. The one you found looks beautiful.