I went to the auction viewing to look at a Heuer Carrera but ended up buying an Omega De Ville chronograph. Not knowing much about them, I would welcome any thoughts from the experts. I think I'm right in saying it is a 145.018 reference but I can't find many images of this version with the grey dial and white registers. My biggest concern is the printing in the sub-dials. Does it look ok? Apologies - I currently only have the auctioneer's poor quality photographs.
Nice catch! You'll fin some informations here: https://omegaforums.net/threads/a-little-help-with-a-145-018-de-ville.41056/ @tyrantlizardrex was I think looking at the very same watch.
That was some bold bidding @Mazoue I had a top of estimate bid it, but that thing went way north of what I was comfortable with, without movement shots I'd be interested to see what the movement looks like... and share some concern over the sub-dials - the green looks to have been applied thicker than the red, and the red thicker than the black. No idea if that's right though, as I've only ever seen one other in this dial style.
Thanks for your thoughts, I'll send some some more photos once I have the watch. It's really only the bottom sub-dial that concerns me slightly. As you say, the font does look a little thicker but it could well just be due to the variation in printing at that time.
Yeah, really hard to tell without a pool of others to compare against... Those moonwatch boys have it easy!
I collected the watch today. Cal 861 movement is immaculate and in perfect working condition. Case is sharp and with very little wear. The dial and hands are original and in great condition. The dark grey dial is spectacular and can range in colour depending on the light from black to charcoal grey. The only sign of the age of the watch is a little ageing of the dial around the sub-dials which is much less noticeable in practice than in these macro shots. Having viewed under a loupe, I also now have no doubt about the originality of the printing in the sub-dials.