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Geneve vs DeVille

taem111
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I am new to this forum and am pondering a quite specific question. In the early 1970's, my then girlfriend, now wife of over 45 years bought me a new automatic Deville watch with date and gold case, but no name other than Omega on the dial.* I wore it daily for easily 25 years and sadly had it slip off my wrist unnoticed when one of the pins broke while plowing in the garden. Despite much looking later that day, it never turned up in our yard and is now probably 6" deep and will only be found by archeologists. I now am in a place to replace it. What would be the replacement most like it, and by the way, what are the major differences between that era DeVille and Geneve watches?. I am speaking of appearance, reliability and availability (in good condition) if I were to try to replace it with something similar. I am watching Chrono24, ebay and several other watch sellers.

By way of introduction, I am a retired pediatrician living in northern Vermont, a part time farmer still in action, have a strong attraction to analog rather than digital objects, and enjoy things like old steam engines, antique farm equipment, antiquarian books and a number of other off beat interests. Bet there a few others on this forum. And yes, I have flogged the heck out of Google and Facebook groups as well as a lot of resellers sites as a beginning, but haven't really satisfied myself that I know enough to buy over the net. Happy for any advice suitable to my status of a well intentioned (and not lazy) novice.

*This was an amazing gift at the time, given our relative penury, me being a grad student and she a public health nurse in a rotten part of town. I have only recently realized what a stretch that was for her at the time, which is part of why I want to replace it with something similar
 
Dan S
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If you find something that resembles the watch, be sure to post it so we can get a sense of what you are after. There were many styles back then, things were very much in flux in the early 70s, and some photos would help. Also, solid gold case, gold-capped, etc?
 
Davidt
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If it didn’t say DeVille on the dial, why do you think it was a DeVille?
Both the DeVille and Geneve were entry/mid level models in the early 70’s and were used across a range of references but had very little crossover.
 
X350 XJR
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As Dan said, we can't know what you are thinking or what your memory may (or not) be telling you. Post photos of the things you are considering, "Chrono24, ebay and several other watch sellers".
Edited:
 
cfw
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If u lost it in your yard have u considered a metal detector
 
TimeODanaos
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Exactly this ^
It's not quite clear whether you still live on the same property, and I'm a bit confused by your "plowing in the garden" (is it a yard or a farm?), but even if it's quite a big spread, Vermont's the sort of area where you might get some historical enthusiasts with detectors interested. I just know how I'd feel losing something like that - you're taking it pretty well, OP!
 
Horologist
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taem111 taem111
I am new to this forum and am pondering a quite specific question. In the early 1970's, my then girlfriend, now wife of over 45 years bought me a new automatic Deville watch with date and gold case, but no name other than Omega on the dial.* I wore it daily for easily 25 years and sadly had it slip off my wrist unnoticed when one of the pins broke while plowing in the garden. Despite much looking later that day, it never turned up in our yard and is now probably 6" deep and will only be found by archeologists. I now am in a place to replace it. What would be the replacement most like it, and by the way, what are the major differences between that era DeVille and Geneve watches?. I am speaking of appearance, reliability and availability (in good condition) if I were to try to replace it with something similar. I am watching Chrono24, ebay and several other watch sellers.

By way of introduction, I am a retired pediatrician living in northern Vermont, a part time farmer still in action, have a strong attraction to analog rather than digital objects, and enjoy things like old steam engines, antique farm equipment, antiquarian books and a number of other off beat interests. Bet there a few others on this forum. And yes, I have flogged the heck out of Google and Facebook groups as well as a lot of resellers sites as a beginning, but haven't really satisfied myself that I know enough to buy over the net. Happy for any advice suitable to my status of a well intentioned (and not lazy) novice.

*This was an amazing gift at the time, given our relative penury, me being a grad student and she a public health nurse in a rotten part of town. I have only recently realized what a stretch that was for her at the time, which is part of why I want to replace it with something similar

Welcome for joining! You will find that this forum consists of a unique group of people that see outside the square of the square for having this particular interest which is not only archaic but also esoteric!! When you add Classic cars, Steam trains, analogue instrumentation etc into the equation then it defines a different culture to a higher horizon

Posts like this are very touchy for me as I know what it is like to lose a watch that is sentimental especially if they are linked t a memory of what they relic or represent!!

Do you have a photo of the watch or of yourself wearing it! This would at least narrow your search down for us to help you if you want to replace it with the closet you can find.

If your lost watch is a Deville model purchased by your then girlfriend in early 1970’s,, chances are that it would be a monocoque case (one piece case where mechanism comes from the front - I call them front loaders) Seamaster! As others have commented it could be something totally different. It would be very unlikely that it is a Geneve model, even though I have also seen Geneve Seamasters ( something more of a tautology for me)). As I mentioned in a previous post, Geneve models were more of a economy line of Omega, where the same great movements were used in economy cases making them more affordable for those wanting an omega being priced a little less for an equivalent seamaster. model! For me they were equally good

If you find the model you like on the internet, you should have no problems with the purchase as long as you buy from a reputable seller who offers you a grace period for you to check out the watch and offer you a refund if you are not happy! Most sellers on eBay do offer this as a peace of mind to buyer. I myself have bought from reputable sellers who have behaved way beyond the call of duty. Buy the seller - NOT the watch!!

Have you checked the sales section of this forum? You will find that this forum is a great circle to belong to as it is a give and take environment where the expertise here is second to none. I will refrain to mention names in case I miss some out and there is a lot to mention. I have found items here for watches that I thought were no longer in existence from mainstream sellers. If you could post some photos of what your lost model looks like or links to images of it, then this may help you finalise your quest sooner than you may imagine!!
 
speedb
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cfw cfw
If u lost it in your yard have u considered a metal detector

pretty sure op is saying that he lost the watch years ago. Although there would be a lot of sentimental value in finding it, the watch will probably be in pretty terrible condition, if found.
 
Horologist
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taem111 taem111
In the early 1970's, my then girlfriend, now wife of over 45 years bought me a new automatic Deville watch with date and gold case, but no name other than Omega on the dial.*
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I want to replace it with something similar

following to my previous response, this is the model that came to my mind when I read your post. This is a 14k solid gold model (also came with a gold top capping) which would be consistent with the era or what was available from the late 1960's to early 1970's. This is automatic, has the date and DeVille inscription as you have mentioned. I have never seen Geneve on the models. Surely you would have seen this amongst your search! Would it be this model?
s-l1600.jpg
 
TimeODanaos
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Unfortunately, it's now been 2½ months since OP's second and latest post, so maybe he's over it now... 🤔
 
Dan S
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The OP joined to make this thread and then disappeared.
 
X350 XJR
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Dan S Dan S
The OP joined to make this thread and then disappeared.

Just like his watch. 😁
 
Horologist
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TimeODanaos TimeODanaos
Unfortunately, it's now been 2½ months since OP's second and latest post, so maybe he's over it now... 🤔
Dan S Dan S
The OP joined to make this thread and then disappeared.

Maybe he went back to the garden with metal detector as suggested here and has found it! Possibly in need of a cleanup and service! Maybe he might even surprise us once back from restoration with the resurrected piece from the grave
 
Kieran Walsh
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I am in the same position except the watch was my fathers. I have been looking around and watches such as yours (same as mine, picture attached) might not have Omega inside strange as that seems. Ones without a name had Omega cases. I don't know if that increases or decreases the value.

Watch2.jpg Watch3.jpg
 
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