My serial number is also 48335XXX, which was first sold in July of 1997 to the original owner by a jeweller in Italy.

 

One final question from the peanut gallery posed early on. My watch has seen a little use and doesn't appear to have ever been cleaned. I asked early on in the thread about water resistence... have any of you cleaned your Deville? It looks as though the bezel is a separate piece indeed, and mine has some light grime in the very fine seams around it. Normally I'd just wash with soapy water but don't think I'd wanna do this with a 20+ year old watch. Any advice?

 

I have this same model that I got NOS. When I took it to the watchmaker, he said I did not need to overhaul it, although it would have been sitting for more than 15 years by the time I got it. It keeps good time too, but I will keep an eye on it.

I just use a wet wipe to clean in once in a while.

 

If the watch is genuine NOS it shouldn't require a service in terms of worn parts, but I would have thought at least some of the oils would have dried by now, requiring a normal service to avoid potential damage with use. If that is not the case and a watchmaker here knows different I would certainly be interested to know. My understanding was that oils still break down over time and lose their lubricating properties, even when a watch remains unused. I face the same conundrum on certain watches that were serviced say 5 years ago, but hardly worn since.

I couldn't say for sure but I would check to see what chemicals are contained in the wet wipes, since I know some people wash their watches with soap and I've heard this can break down the seals around the pushers.

 

Your understanding is correct. Oils do not last forever, regardless if the watch is being used or not.

Cheers, Al

 

The Cal 861 is really tough, often appearing to be run perfectly, even when the movement is almost destroyed. There was a thread here a month or two ago about a Speedmaster that looked fine at first glance, but after being stripped down it looked like it was last worked on by a stone age man using tools he had gathered from the cave.

Due to the reputation for rugged reliability it is not uncommon for owners to think they can be run for decades without bothering to have them serviced, because they still appear to be running well. I am not recommending that practice, merely pointing out that they should still be looked after properly. Indeed certain replacement parts can be horrendously expensive if neglected.