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RARE GEM: 1st Generation Omega De Ville Co-Axial gifted by THE OMEGA MUSEUM to the late great watchmaker GEORGE DANIELS when the first edition of his co-axial escapement De Ville's was released by Omega in 1999.
Inscription on the caseback reads: "To our friend George Daniels from Omega Ltd". Serial no: 000/999.
(Photos taken at an event hosted by Omega, The Omega Museum and "Time and Tide" watch blog in Melbourne in 2015).
(I Was scrolling through my old phone and found these photos). A great event and an Historic watch!
This particular watch was sold as part of the Daniels Horological Collection sale by Sotheby's in 2012, and bought my Omega Museum for their collection.
I must confess I did bid on this piece at the time, but obviously couldn't compete with Omega!
It was fantastic to handle this historic piece from George Daniels' private collection.
Apologies for sub-pan photos - iPhone5 and poor light is to blame. Plus my hands were shaking from excitement 
Hope you enjoy
Manufacture
Take a virtual tour of the Omega Museum in Bienne with AlexSunrise's photo essay, exploring vintage Speedmasters, Seamasters, and unique Omega timepieces.
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RARE GEM: 1st Generation Omega De Ville Co-Axial gifted by THE OMEGA MUSEUM to the late great watchmaker GEORGE DANIELS when the first edition of his co-axial escapement De Ville's was released by Omega in 1999.
Inscription on the caseback reads: "To our friend George Daniels from Omega Ltd". Serial no: 000/999. (Photos taken at an event hosted by Omega, The Omega Museum and "Time and Tide" watch blog in Melbourne in 2015). (I Was scrolling through my old phone a...
A true (time)piece of history for sure
Yes you\'re right. Unfortunately, we cannot win versus a brand which absolutely wants to buy a watch for its museum :-( Best wishes Alkiro
You are right, Alkiro.
But it was a real treat to handle this watch, knowing it came directly from the great GD\'s collection. I am a massive Daniels fan!!! The other Daniels watch I got to handle was even more epic: THE 1st COAXIAL PROTOTYPE made by George himself to prove the...
Well, if you have a picture, I'm your man to appreciate it ;-)
About GD, I think the most impressive thing about him is the fact he was self-taught-man. I\'m absolutely sure that was his main strength. Why? Because that helped him to think out of the box. Best wishes Alkiro
I know one of the 999 pieces ...
I don't know if is the same batch, because is in white gold. Can someone confirm that this white gold belongs to the same limited edition? If it's, I can try to grab it! I'm very passionate about George Daniels work. Cheers, Nilo Thanks in advance, Nilo
Nilo: The original De Ville co-axial limited edition ( cal. 2500) was presented in 1999:
999 in yellow gold/white dial, 999 in red gold/blue dial, 100 in platinum/copper dial, and a small number (~20) in a skeletonized version.) I\'ve never seen a skeletonised version but heard they do exist
There's one in white gold ...
The Omega 5941.31.31 released in 2000. I'm tempted to get it. Cheers, Nilo
There were, going by memory, white, yellow, . . .
. . . rose, and platinum editions, with the latter being produced in even more stringently limited quantity. Now I wish I'd kept all those WatchTime mags from years ago ;-) . . .
Yes, 100 platinum De Ville's with copper dials (stunning pieces).
Rose Gold edition? That one I don\'t recall. At least not in the first release in 1999-2000 Platinum (pic from somewhere else - don\'t remember the originals source, so my apologies if this breaches any guidelines) ...
I was scratching my head after reading your post . . .
. . . but thank goodness for Google search! [image credit: Chrono24] ...
Great piece and photo. True mark of history. It is the transitional piece from George to Omega. I'm sure that it was a remarkable treat.
Now a skeletonized version? Only 20? Hmmmmm. Sounds like we have a hunt on our hands.
Haha, glad I can throw a challenge your way.
I have seen some tantalising pics on Google but have never seen the skeletonised version in the metal. Must confess, skeleton watches aren\'t my thing most of the time; but a skeleton watch + Co Axial with a Daniels connection...Ahhh. You know how I FEEL ...
Challenge accepted. :-)
Will see if one of Jose rare birdies is available anywhere (I doubt it, but will send some feelers out)
That is cool. A bit "too ornate" for my liking
But cool nonetheless. Thanks for posting! Edition of 33? Is an odd number
It is not from 1999, I think these were introduced in 2003 and released in 2004.
I do love the launch pieces, although I very much wish the date had been placed at 6.
Or no date at all, Chase!
In my mind - it would have been perfect sans date! But I still want one of the 1999 edition ones l. Thanks for confirming the date of release
YG Case with white dial is my preference.
Styling is a bit "old school" but the pie pan dial is quite fetching. If only there was no date window. Sigh!
One could argue that white metal is more fitting,
Since Daniels\' Omega prototype was in steel. But every choice among them is the right one.
+1 from me.
Yellow gold with silver dial. As close as some of (mere mortals) will ever get to GD\'s sublime work
That's interesting, because my attitude is completely opposite.
I change watches every couple of days and find Setting the date a chore. So prefer no date (except on my GO perpetual Calendar) (First world problem, I know)
I addressed this concern with a winding box for the non-quickset models.
For those that are quick set, the date takes an insignificant (to me) amount of time.
Ah wow, a real blast from the past!...
I was captivated by these back in 1999. They contained the disastrously unreliable cal. 2500A movements when Omega released them. If I remember correctly, the watches often wouldn't start running due to lubrication problems. When the watches were sent to ...
Here are a few more, plus some info...
I forgot that Omega originally issued just the YG, RG, and PT models. The WG model came a bit later. I found the original literature that I have from that time, which included those original 3 watches that were offered alongside a photo of the YG model (s...
A follow up to this discussion thread about the original Omega DeVille CoAxial Release in 1999.
Just got my hands on a copy of a SIGNED press pack from the London Omega De Ville Co Axial launch event, hosted by George Daniels (date was 2/10/1999) Got it from a friend of GD who was there on the night. (An auspicious and historic date for horology I t...
VERY cool score! Thanks for sharing! Looking at the photos in that launch booklet...
... and the other old materials really brings back memories. I've always found this advertising photo in particular (which I posted earlier in this thread) to be hauntingly beautiful: ...
Cheers.
Yes I really like that photo too. The watch posed on top of George\'s handwritten manuscript - magical! HAGWE