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Stolen Seamaster DeVille, looking to replace for Dad.

K
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Dan S Dan S
If you're trying to convince us that your father can't help, saying that he's 78 isn't helping, he's younger than the US president and many other people who have powerful intellects and important responsibilities. Maybe you can search for gold vintage omega seamaster using google images and help him look through the results. The help we can provide is limited until you post some photos.

Thanks for your input, it’s appreciated.
 
Olhenry56
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Does he remember if it had the quickset feature for the date? i.e. could the date be advanced by changing the time to midnight, then back to 21:00 and back to midnight? If so, that might help narrow down the movement. I'm a novice, but the most likely candidates seem to be either a Cal. 562 if it was not a quickset and a Cal. 565 if it was a quickset. I hope the experts will correct me if I'm mistaken.

edit - I think I misunderstood how the quickset feature for the 565. It seems you would change the date by pulling the crown out to the second position (beyond the position for setting the time) and then returning it to the middle position. Like I said, I'm a novice. I don't own either of those calibers.

So to clarify:
Cal 562 - date would be advanced by changing time back to 21:00, then forward to 24:00.
Cal 565 - date would be advanced by pulling and pushing the crown.
Other calibers may be possible, but these seem to be the common ones for Seamaster Devilles of that era based on my limited knowledge.
Edited:
 
Davidt
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Since some DeVilles came with different movements, both quickset and non-quickset, that’s unlikely to be of significant help in narrowing down the model (unless of course it was something major, such as it was battery powered).
 
Olhenry56
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Davidt Davidt
Since some DeVilles came with different movements, both quickset and non-quickset, that’s unlikely to be of significant help in narrowing down the model (unless of course it was something major, such as it was battery powered).
Oh, I see. Thanks for the correction.
 
K
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Olhenry56 Olhenry56
Oh, I see. Thanks for the correction.

Quick update after speaking to dad this morning.

He’s sure it was the Cal 565 (wind crown for date), he also said, and I don’t know if this is correct, but it self wound while wearing. It didn’t have a battery.

He’s also just remembered that he had it serviced and appraised for insurance a few years before it was stolen and thinks the ticket has the serial number on it - did they have individual serials? And I would assume if it did, that would give us everything we needed to locate it’s replacement?

I’m still not hopeful we can find the stolen one, I’d be over the moon - but I’m pretty sure collectors and traders wouldn’t touch a watch that they didn’t know where it had come from, so I expect it’s been torn down, melted, pawned or sat in some scallys sock draw.

Thanks again for all your help, appreciate it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.
 
Davidt
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The best bet would be to post a picture of the ticket, whilst obscuring any personal info.

Yes the serial can identify the watch, but only by obtaining an archive attract from Omega. This costs around £100 and will also give you date of manufacture, country of delivery etc. It won’t however tell you bracelet or dial type.
its possible any insurance document may also include the reference and this is likely the cheapest and quickest way to identify the watch.
 
K
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Davidt Davidt
The best bet would be to post a picture of the ticket, whilst obscuring any personal info.

Yes the serial can identify the watch, but only by obtaining an archive attract from Omega. This costs around £100 and will also give you date of manufacture, country of delivery etc. It won’t however tell you bracelet or dial type.
its possible any insurance document may also include the reference and this is likely the cheapest and quickest way to identify the watch.

Thanks for the reply and appreciated the help.

He's just moved house, so as soon as he's found it I'll get a picture and post it up.

In regards to purchasing a replacement (once we know what it is) are there any specialists, traders in the UK who you'd recommend or sites that would be good to look to purchase from?
 
Truva1
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Hi
I have a Seamaster DeVille without a mesh bracelet. It is 18 carats gold ( a lot of gold as you describe it) and I think 18c is the usual gold content in watches. Maybe there are some in 24c made by Patek Philip or other high end watches. Do you think, yours was similar that?
 
4B19049D-CDFE-4501-B4C4-5310D994C072.jpeg F2DF1554-BBF4-4FB1-96BE-62EC645BEA28.jpeg
Dan S
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K King_Jut
In regards to purchasing a replacement (once we know what it is) are there any specialists, traders in the UK who you'd recommend or sites that would be good to look to purchase from?

You might try searching the forum for this question. It’s asked very frequently, and by reading previous threads you will find many suggestions, as well as reviews of dealers who are not recommended.

Keep in mind that if you attempt to find a watch that is identical to the previous watch, you may need to be very patient. It could take months, or even years to find the exact variant with the same bracelet. If you are willing to accept a different gold DeVille, then you can buy one today. If you think it through, you may ask yourself if there’s really any point in trying to pin down exactly what watch your father owned, since you are unlikely to find an exact replacement anyway.
 
K
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So…

some news!

While I’ve been searching high and low (mostly internet and local jewellery shops), so has my father.

And yesterday he turned up with a very similar 18k, Seamaster DeVille, Calendar FOR ME!!!

Total surprise, and I was so intent on replacing his, and his intentions were always to pass it down to me. I now have an early 60’s Omega DeVille!

It was from a private collector, fully serviced and looks to be completely original (not that I mind, because that was never the objective).

I’ll admit I’m a little out of my depth with this, so looking for lots of advice and guidance on how to look after it etc. it’s on a leather strap, but I’d love to replace it with something more original when it was new, I’d like to replace the standard box it came in (again hopefully with something period) and I’m sure I’ll have an absolute tonne of questions!!!!

I’ve not worn if for more than 10 minutes, but enjoy looking at it and I’m looking forward to this journey!
 
Dan S
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A leather strap could certainly be correct. You can search for period advertising to see the correct style. Often fully-stitched flat pigskin, but you should probably just buy a strap that appeals to you.

Finding a correct bracelet in decent condition will be more difficult than finding the watch itself, and possibly more expensive.
 
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