
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Omega De Ville watch, 1970s. Gold-plated
- Maker / attribution
- OMEGA (maker)
- Date
- 1970s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- gold, steel
- Dimensions
- 26 mm x 20 mm (excluding the crown)
- Auction house
- Invaluable auction listings
- Lot
- Lot 54C0EEBCE4
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: lot 85, 30th November - Fine Watches & Fountain Pens, Setdart Auction House (2026), via Invaluable
- Catalogue title (original)
- OMEGA De Ville watch, 1970s. Gold-plated. (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Invaluable auction listings (lot Lot 54C0EEBCE4), this is a wristwatch by OMEGA, made in Switzerland, dated 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: gold, steel. Recorded dimensions: 26 mm x 20 mm (excluding the crown). The record is illustrated with 4 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Lot description — Setdart Auction House
OMEGA De Ville watch, Switzerland, 1970s. Circular case with a glossy gold-plated finish; smooth bezel integrated into the case. Stainless steel screw-down case back. Fluted crown with a black cabochon finial. Light champagne-colored dial signed “OMEGA/DE VILLE” with linear brushing; straight applied black hour markers with gold outlines; thin, straight-cut black hands without a central seconds hand. Flat mineral crystal. Leather strap with a gold buckle. Caliber 625 manual-winding movement with 17 jewels. It works. Measurements: 26 mm x 20 mm (excluding the crown). Omega De Ville, an elegant Swiss dress watch with a classic aesthetic, whose champagne-colored dial with a vertical satin finish reflects the understated elegance and refinement characteristic of the collection. Its applied hour markers, slender central hands, and configuration without a seconds hand or calendar create a design with clean, balanced lines. A piece representative of Omega’s timeless elegance during the second half of the 20th century.
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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