Whenever Omega comes up in conversation, the Speedmaster is likely going to take front and center. The two are synonymous with each other, reflective of Omega’s continuing emphasis on excellent tool watches. The company’s lineup is much more expansive than just the Speedmaster and its Seamaster sibling, however, and today we are going to take a look at one of the best bang for your buck dress watches in Omega’s catalogue – the De Ville Prestige Co-Axial Chronometer.
About
I think it is pretty uncontroversial to say that, for any business, they are going to sell what they are best known for the most. The greatest brands tend to create culturally ubiquitous offerings; we see it in cars like with Porsche and the 911, or in guitars like Fender and the Stratocaster. Omega isn’t special in being specialized; they produce tool watches first and foremost. Their 911 is the Speedmaster, and its many derivatives dominate Omega’s lineup. Thankfully, Omega offers more than just a chance at astronaut cosplay – enter the cosmopolitan De Ville collection, home to their dress watches, and the Prestige sub-group located within.
There are multiple sub-collections within the De Ville brand, but the Prestige grouping best emphasizes a design language that today’s hyper modernism has left behind – Omega says it best when describing these watches as “elegant, timeless and understated.” I am not normally one to accept advertisement fluff upfront, but the description is pretty apt. There are more than 270 offerings within the Prestige collection, so we need to be picky when choosing a representative. Luckily, my good friend Sam happens to own a Prestige Co-Axial Chronometer in stainless steel and was kind enough to lend it to me for a review. After spending a week with this dress watch, I can confidently say that we have a criminally underrated timekeeper on our hands.
It is readily apparent when you strap the Co-Axial Chronometer onto your wrist that this watch is all dial. The base color is silver and opaline to the eye, and glistens brightly in the sunlight. There’s really no bezel as one would expect on a dress watch, so the extra surface area makes it wear larger than its 39.5mm case diameter would suggest. Omega makes it work, however, by adding a circular track (mother of pearl-like in coloration) that contains the even-numbered Roman numerals and odd-numbered cabochons within. The product is an efficient reduction of negative space that avoids cluttering, a problem I often have with watches sporting full Roman numerals. The Co-Axial Chronometer does benefit from a very short lug length (unfortunately I did not take the measurement), but we should acknowledge this quasi-sector dial is what really dominates its wearability.
For a watch that could have suffered from being overly monochromatic, Omega’s decision to use rose gold was artful. When you add rose gold in the context of the applied numerals, cabochons, logo as well as the dauphine hands, it provides just the right level of pop to the watch’s face. The “De Ville” typeface with alternating character font size also adds appropriate character versus the more baseball-style cursive font commonly found within Omega’s tool watch lines. Minor side-note that the dial rehaut is uniquely polished instead of brushed here, so you get a nice reflection of the minute-track along the circumference of the dial.
If you’re wondering what the heck “Co-Axial Chronometer” means, that’s a reasonable question to ask! The name is derived from the movement within, which is Omega’s automatic Co-Axial Caliber 2500. This is a base ETA 2892, but the traditional lever escapement has been replaced with a co-axial one. At a high level, escapements manage the release of power from the mainspring. Lever escapements handle geartrain locking and impulse delivery / reception in one go, but unfortunately create sliding friction against what is known as the pallet fork (part of the escapement). This is what you see in most watches and it is tried-and-true watch technology.
As mentioned previously, this watch uses a co-axial escapement. Co-axial escapements use additional pallet forks that reduce friction by separating the geartrain locking and impulse functions, swapping sliding for pushing. Fancy, right? No need for lubrication (a necessary evil of the lever escapement) and more efficient energy transfer makes this movement a winner, although you should be aware that co-axial escapements typically come with a dollar premium attached. The Caliber 2500 is not METAS-certified, but with an out-the-door COSC rating of -4/+6 seconds per day, it is more than capable of accurately saying how late you are to your next meeting.
This movement discussion is a good segway into one of the two issues I have with the Co-Axial Chronometer. Given the engine has been beefed up, I do wish that Omega had opted for a display caseback as this would allow us to see how the rhodium-plated sausage gets made. My other minor issue is the crown size; it is perhaps too true to the sizing queues of yesteryear, and I believe this watch could benefit from a slightly larger crown that is easier to grip when changing the time or winding the watch (yes, you can do that with an automatic). I think these are legitimate gripes about the Co-Axial Chronometer, but given the nature of what I am reaching for complaint-wise, it should be clear that I think highly of this watch.
With so much to like about the Co-Axial Chronometer, why is there not more hustle and media fanfare trumpeting its praise? It is certainly an older release from several years ago, but the Speedmaster came out in 1957 so age is not an explanation. This goes back to my initial words around specialization – Omega is, for better or for worse, always going to have a tool watch emphasis. The Speedmaster and Seamaster will likely be top priority for Omega’s marketing team for time immemorial. We should treat this as a blessing in disguise, however, for it is that exact lack of public-eye focus that enables the discerning watch enthusiast to get a wonderful dress watch at a price point of just $3,750 – perhaps not a cheap play, but a true value one.
For more information about the De Ville Prestige Co-Axial Chronometer, please visit Omega’s website.
The Specs:
- Case Material: Stainless Steel
- Crystal Material: Sapphire
- Features: Date Function
- Movement: Omega Co-Axial Caliber 2500 (Automatic)
- Max. Power Reserve: 48 Hours
- Screwdown Crown: No
- Water Resistance: 30 Meters
- Case Diameter: 39.5mm
- Lug Width: 20mm
- Thickness: 10.1mm
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