Omega Updates the De Ville Prestige with New Dials

There’s a trap that you can fall into as a watch nerd when you start associating brands with a single product or type of watch. Sure, some brands lean in to very specific niches, but plenty of big brands with long histories produce watches in styles that we just don’t think too much about (this, of course, is how they got so big in the first place). Rolex, for example, still makes the Cellini line. Zenith is far more than the El Primero. And Omega, though we associate them so closely with their iconic sports watches, still makes a pretty damn good dress watch as well. The De Ville Prestige may not have “Master” in its name, but it’s made to a similarly high standard as Omega’s sportier offerings. Let’s take a look.

Omega De Ville Prestige

• Case Material: Stainless steel
• Dial: Black, silver
• Dimensions: 39.5mm
• Crystal: Sapphire        
• Water Resistance: 30 meters  
• Crown: Push/pull                        
• Movement: Omega Calibre 2500 
• Strap/bracelet: Stainless steel or two-tone bracelet
• Price: $3,850 – $7,400
• Reference Number: 424.20.40.20.02.004, 424.10.40.20.01.002
• Expected Release: Available now

New silver and black  dial variants have been added to the De Ville Prestige line with this refresh, both featuring a graining effect that adds some old world charm to what is, at its core, a very traditional timepiece. Omega give you several options when it comes to dial details and case material as well. The silver dials use either gold plated or grey hour markers, while the black dials get rhodium plated indices. Ultra thin leaf hands have been chosen for the newest De Ville Prestige pieces, and match the tones of the hour markers. In terms of case and bracelet options, the new watches can be had in stainless steel, stainless and yellow gold, or stainless and red gold. 

The watch is powered by Omega’s Co-Axial Calibre 2500, which is a solid and proven automatic movement. While it’s chronometer rated, the new De Villes do not get Omega’s newest Master Chronometer rating, which certifies a watch not only for timekeeping precision, but also magnetic resistance and shock absorption, along with other metrics that are designed to keep the watch ticking away accurately for extended periods between services. While there’s a natural tendency to want your watch to be certified and guaranteed to the greatest degree possible, at the end of the day it’s probably fine that this particular dress watch doesn’t have the absolutely bonkers magnetic resistance of the newest Seamaster, for example. 

At just a hair under 40mm, the De Ville Prestige is a classically styled dress watch in a modern and wearable size. And while the movement isn’t the current top of the line in the Omega catalog, the Calibre 2500 is no slouch, and you still get the benefits of Omega’s co-axial escapement (namely, longer service intervals and a potentially more stable beat rate). The De Ville Prestige ranges between $3,850 and $7,400 depending on metal, and is available now on Omega’s website. Omega