1978 Omega De Ville Blue 'Mosaic' Dial Mechanical 311.0165

Here we have a very rare 1978 Omega De Ville Blue 'Mosaic' Dial Mechanical 311.0165 with a 28.5mm square stainless steel case with soft rounded corners that flow over your wrist thanks to the elegant integrated bracelet and concealed lugs. The subtly curved, stepped flanks lead to a lug-to-lug length of 27mm and a case thickness of just 6mm, ensuring a comfortable fit. On the right side, there is a signed coin-edged crown. A thin bezel holds the flat crystal above the star of the show, a very rare dynamic mosaic-patterned blue dial that catches the light perfectly as you rotate your wrist. Applied slim baton indexes at the cardinal points mark the hours; at 12, the printed Omega motif and at 6, “De Ville” completes this sophisticated minimalist two-hand dress watch. On the reverse, a brushed solid snap-on case back, inside a manually wound Omega Cal. 625, 17 jewels, beating at 21,600 beats per hour. It is integrated with its original, elegantly tapered 19mm Omega stainless steel fine link bracelet secured by an adjustable signed folding clasp.

This watch is sold as "Watch Only" and, therefore, comes with no Omega box or paperwork. It is paired with its original, elegantly tapered 19mm Omega integrated stainless steel fine link bracelet secured by an adjustable signed folding clasp. The watch is from Circa 1978 and is sold in worn, vintage condition, but overall, fair condition for its age, as you can see. The watch comes with our 12-Months Non-Waterproof Warranty.

Until this watch landed on my desk, I had never seen this exact dial before, a 'Mosaic' blue pattern that has aged to a subtle purple depending on the light, truly mesmerising in person. This Omega De Ville, reference 311.0165, is powered by a manually wound Omega 625 and comes paired on an adjustable integrated bracelet, which means it will fit a large wrist all the way down to a tiny wrist. At 28.5mm by 27mm, the dimensions of this case may seem small, but somehow it demands its presence on the wrist, thanks to the case shape and design. I would not sleep on this gem, add it to your collection today whilst you can!

Reference : 311.0165 / 111.0142
Movement : Manually Wound Omega Cal. 625
Age : Circa. 1978
Year : 1978
Case Size : 28.5mm
Case Thickness : 6mm
Lug to Lug : 27mm
Lugs : 19mm (intergrated)
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box and Papers : None
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12 Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
The wrist model's wrist size is 7inch

Formerly known as the La Generale Watch Co. in 1848, it was founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds. When he died in 1879, his sons carried on his dream. In 1880, they moved to 96 Rue Jakob-Stampfli, where they remain today. The brothers produced their first mass-produced calibre, the Labrador In 1885. Just a few years later, in 1892, they produced the first minute-repeater. In 1903, they renamed the company Omega until 1982, when they officially changed their name to Omega SA. During WW1, Omega watches were used as official timekeepers for the Royal Flying Corps and the US Army. In 1930, Omega and Tissot merged together to form Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère (SSIH). In 1931, another group was formed - Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG (ASUAG). Where SSIH was primarily French-speaking, ASUAG was founded by the more German-speaking members of the Swiss watch industry. In 1948, they introduced the first edition of one of its most symbolic watches: the Seamaster. Omega first introduced the Constellation in 1952. At the time, it was Omega's flagship timepiece. The first models had a Cal. 354 bumper movement in them. Later, in 1955, Omega introduced the Automatic Cal. 50x, followed in 1959 by the Cal.55x (no date) and 56x (date) versions. Many of the Constellations came with pie-pan dials, diamond indexes, and fancy lug configurations. All the gold Constellations of that time have the Observatory of Geneva's hand engraved on the back. The stainless steel and stainless steel/gold versions had a gold medallion on the back with the Observatory of Geneva. The eight stars above the Observatory stand for the many exploits of Omega in the world Chronometer competition. Celebrating the fact that all Constellations are Chronometer Certified. In 1962, when astronaut Wally Schirra wore a Speedmaster on his Mercury Sigma 7 Mission, making it the first Omega watch to enter space. After rigorous tests, NASA used Omega for all their Apollo missions, including the 1969 Moon landing of Apollo 11. Today Omega is still an astronaut's first choice. In 1969, President Nixon famously said it was “too valuable” and turned down the first-ever all-gold Speedmaster Professional Deluxe. As a response to the ever-growing threat of electronic watches to the manufacturers of mechanical watches, Omega and many Swiss brands such as Rolex and Patek Philippe formed Centre Electronique Horologer (CEH). Prototypes began to appear in 1967, and their production started in 1968. Launched in 1969, the Quartz Beta 21 / Omega Cal. 1300 movements were jointly made by the Center of Electronic Horology (CEH) Switzerland, which made the circuit boards, Ebauches SA constructed the quartz crystals and mechanical parts, and Omega Watch Company made the vibration motor for the sweeping second hand, all were finally assembled at the Marin factory by Ebauches Electronique SA (ESA/ETA). Brands that used this movement include Rolex, IWC, and Longines and many others. Then, in 1972, Omega introduced the reference 198.030, which included the Omega calibre 1250, a ‘tuning-fork electronic movement which was made under licence from Bulova. Later we saw a merger of SSIH and ASUAG into SMH, or Société de Microélectronique et d’Horlogerie. This merger took place in 1983. In 1992, the company acquired Blancpain, and in 1998, it officially branded itself from SMH to the Swatch Group. Then, in 1999, they purchased and integrated Breguet into the Swatch Group.