A BEAUTIFUL 1960s OMEGA DE VILLE CHRONOGRAPH VINTAGE WATCH - CALIBER 320 MODEL 101.009

Are you having a hard time deciding what vintage Omega chronograph to buy? There are many choices if you take the time to search around, but one that I would like to share and discuss in this episode is this simple 1960 DeVille. Before I get started, hit that subscribe button if you have not yet done so, or if this is your first time watching my video. Without further ado, let us get started. In this episode, I would like to introduce this classic vintage Omega two-register chronograph watch under case model 101.009. Omega introduced this model in 1962, but you will find the majority available in today's vintage market would date to 1965 or 1966. 1966 would be the last manufacturing year for this model, and I will explain why later in this video. A quick look at this timepiece, many watch collector would assume it is a chronograph from the 1940s because of the case design and these flat type pushers. But of course, a thorough examination of the dial will tell you that this watch cannot date any older than 1962 for two main reasons. The first is Omega did not introduce their DeVille line until 1962. Secondly, the T's between Swiss made indicates that the luminous on the dial and hands are tritium, and Omega did not introduce tritium luminous to their watches until late 1962. The case dimension of this watch measures 35mm across, excluding the crown by 40.5mm from luctate to luctate. The case thickness is 7.4mm without the crystal, and 10.5mm thick including the current crystal. When closely examined, the low-dome original acrylic crystal will have a sign logo in the center. The original signed crown is 5.5mm wide and 1.9mm thick. This type of crown is called the hermetic crown. This case model exists in a few different case material. The example in this video is the solid stainless steel version. Then some are gold-plated with the steel case back, and some in solid 18k gold. Always double check for oxidation around the case and lugs if you buy a gold-plated version. Oxidation usually occurs around the side and on the behind of the case. This is a three-piece case Omega watch, so it has a removable bezel, the body of the case, and a snap-on back. Case lugged width is 18mm wide. There are a few dials variation for this model. Some will have the word DeVille on the dial, while some don't. The watch will come with a setup index type hour and minute hands, a long center chronograph second timer hands, a 30-minute register timer sub-dial, and the left sub-dial is the actual second hand for the watch. There is also a three-register version on the case model 101.010. You can learn more about this model from the link above. Suppose you happen to recently purchase this model and are unsure how to use it properly. Here is my guide to properly use this watch. The first thing that you want to do is fully wind the watch to get it going. The mainspring is fully wind when you can feel resistant and no longer can turn it forward. You will need to do this daily if you want the watch to perform accurately. If you are not planning to wear it frequently, wind it only the day you plan to wear it. Pull the crown out to set the time. As long as the watch is recently serviced within the past few years, do not worry about turning the hands clock or counterclockwise. Remember that the actual second hand on the watch is the one on the left sub-dial. To activate the chronograph feature, press the top pusher and release. The long center second hand will begin. If you need to pause the timer, press the top pusher once again. Once you press it, it will pause. And if you press it again, it will restart from where it was paused. The 30-minute register dial on the right will tick one minute when it goes around once. And to reset everything back to zero, press the top pusher. It will pause everything. And then press the bottom pusher and everything will reset back to zero. Snap open the case back. Inside, you have a beautiful Omega Caliber 320 chronograph movement with 17 joule. Basically, Caliber 320 is the two-register version of a Caliber 321, which is a three-register movement. The serial number on the movement that I just pointed will allow you to date the watch. Both movement case screw must be there to hold the movement against the case securely. As mentioned earlier, 1966 would be the last year for this model since Omega stopped producing Caliber 320 after this year. Caliber 860 would be the successor to replace a Caliber 320. The only negative thing about this watch I would say would be it is not a water-resistant watch due to those pusher and the case does not take a gasket. So make sure you do not wear this watch while taking a shower or immerge it into water. On the case back, you can see the case model number. You can also leave a comment down below to let me know about your thought about this watch. If you made it this far into this video, thank you for taking the time out of your day to watch my video. I hope as always that you learned something new and will share it with your watch buddies. Making one of these video takes up a lot of my time so your kind support by liking this video will help immensely. That's the end of this episode and I look forward to seeing you in the following video.