Omega De Ville Retailed By Meister

The History

Meister, a famous jewelry and watch boutique located in Zurich, Switzerland, was founded in 1881 by a goldsmith Emil Meister. As a jewelry store, they specialize in gold and diamond jewellery, silver dinnerware, crystal glass objects, and porcelain but watches have always held a special relationship with the brand.

Like many other top jewellery stores and watch retailers around the world, watches sold through these special stores would bear the retailer’s name on the dial. This is a tradition that continues today which watches from Patek Philippe bearing the Tiffany and Co. stamp commanding an extreme premium over their non-Tiffany stamped counterparts. This Omega wears the Meister stamp (and wears it well).

The Reference

The Omega De Ville line was first introduced in 1967 as a more dressy alternative to the many tool and sport watches Omega introduced during this period. The De Ville line has always stood for streamlined, classic design and first-rate movements. The watch shown here is an Omega De Ville reference 166.015 featuring an automatic caliber 1002 movement housed in a compressor style stainless case with a brushed silver dial. As mentioned above, what truly makes this watch special is the Meister stamp on the dial. That allows us to trace its origins back to the shop in Zurich where the watch was originally sold. 

The Case and Bracelet

The compressor style case of this Omega De Ville is in great condition. It shows the correct brushed finish on the top of the case and caseback and high polish on the sides of the case. Interestingly, there is no removable caseback and the movement can only be accessed through the front of the watch. The reference stamp on the back of the watch is very faint which could be the result of wear or a previous light polish. The watch comes on a period correct bracelet stamped 1193 on the clast which is fitted with 716 endlinks. 

The Dial and Hands

The vertically brushed silver dial is in excellent condition showing little to no defects. The polished applied hour markers are flanked by small tritium lume dots which are all present and full. Most importantly, this dial has the Meister stamp which can be found at the bottom of the dial. 

The Movement

This watch is powered by an automatic caliber 1002 which was the much lauded replacement for the caliber 552. The watch is in running condition, the seller notes no issues mechanically but service history is unknown.

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