Big, Bold, Rare, Gold and made for the American Market, the Seamaster De Ville KM6326 is a 41.5mm beast produced by Norman Morris in a time when more was more.
More Jumbo Than Other Jumbo’s
Typically a Jumbo vintage Seamaster or De Ville means 36mm, maybe 37mm or 38mm.
This is a 41.5mm diameter watch even without the crown, featuring a fluted bezel and giant outer rim with integrated lugs. As mentioned, this watch does indeed very much resemble a rather elaborate 1980's ashtray my parents had in the living room when I was young, complete with the fluting for you to rest your butts on.
This is a watch design born of the early 1970's, and it is as vulgar as it is enormous. While far from subtle, it was meant to be on the wrist of a hairy shirtless gentleman wearing a gold chain and some tight shorts around a Miami hotel swimming pool.
That is the expertise that Norman Morris were able to bring to the table as Omega's US importer. They knew that the small and conservatively designed Swiss models they received would still find a market in the US, but that there were also untapped buyers, like the Florida Man who still was in need of a watch to match his lifestyle.
As an Australian who has a lot of Florida Man traits, I actually really love these Seamaster De Villes and one day will find one to call my own. They're uncommon, almost rare but still affordable. Unique and unusual yet entirely reliable and well made, vintage and yet still cool in 2024 for all the right and wrong reasons.
Yet Another In The Pantheon Of Norman Morris Creations
The KM6236 is far from the first time Omega's US market importer, Norman Morris has gone out and created something entirely out of left field. Omega in Bienne gave a lot of freedom and trust to their American partners, and that partnership led to some immeasurably successful watches, including the wildly popular Seamaster De Ville.
Norman Morris had a number of domestic US market case suppliers, and local dial-makers willing to aid them in creating entirely new watches not seen anywhere else in the world, powered by 17-jewel variants of Swiss-supplied Omega movements.
Models like the Seamaster De Luxe, Seamaster Grand Lux, square cased dress watches, hooded-lug models, and a wide variety of existing Omega watches with subtle twists like special dials and bezels.
A rather unusual Seamaster De Luxe designed and produced by Norman Morris with Omega's consent
For many years, US market watches were looked upon less favourably than Swiss cased Omega models. Their propensity for gold-filled cases, movements with fewer jewels due to import duty, and their status as official but "not Swiss" led to them selling for a bit less than a watch born entirely in Bienne.
That really isn't fair however.
Omega's popularity and foothold in the US market, is largely thanks to the incredible work of Norman Morris, their creativity, their willingness to bring unique products to market, and Omega's willingness to let Americans lead them in their own market.
Case & Bracelet
The case of the KM6326 Seamaster De Ville really is the main focus and selling point of the watch.
The KM6326 case 41.5mm in diameter measured diagonally, but due to the thin movement, it is a mere 10.5mm thick from front to back, making it a remarkably thin and wearable watch for the abnormally large diameter.
Profile view of the KM 6326 demonstrating just how thin it is relative to the incredible 41.5mm diameter
The case shape itself is somewhat similar to the C-Case Constellation designed by the late Gerald Genta, and features the same 18mm wide lugs as most other vintage Omega dress watch designs. Unlike most Norman Morris Seamaster De Ville models which are front-loading, the KM6326 is a traditional back-loading design with a removable case-back which sits approximately flush with the case and screws into place.
The rear-loading, keyed case-back on the Seamaster De Ville KM6326
The case is available in gold-filled only, there is no steel, no solid gold, and no gold-plate. The gold-filled layer is not especially durable, though far better than plating and should not be polished, especially due to how sharp some of this case's edges are and how prone it is to collecting dings and dents due to its size. Many of these KM6326 cases can appear soft with wear-through of the gold layer uncommon but well worth checking for.
There is a significant difference between a nice sharp example (Left) & a heavily polished example (Right)
It really is worth holding out to find a nice sharp example of this reference, with a sharp and detailed bezel and clean edges as it really does look extremely special when in nice condition, and quite underwhelming when poorly polished or mistreated.
The correct finish on these cases is a brightly polished and sharp fluted bezel, similar to Rolex's Datejust in appearance, surrounded by a flat surface with a vertical brushed grain to it, and polished flat bevels to the edges and sides.
The optional OEM Omega Bracelet carries no markings beyond being 14K Gold Filled with end-links that fit the usual shaped flat lugs
These watches are most commonly found on an 18mm strap, however the rather unusual lugs are compatible with s US market bracelet which bears no markings other than Omega on the clasp and has an end-link which fits neatly into the space between the lugs.
Movement
These enormous Norman Morris Seamaster De Villes are powered by the Omega Calibre 563 automatic movement, which is superb, accurate and reliable.
Oscillating at 19,800 vph, this movement is not chronometer rated, however it does feature hacking, an efficient bi-directional winding system with 50-hour power reserve, and a quick-set mechanism operated by repeatedly pulling the crown out. The key difference between the Calibre 563 and the closely related Calibre 565 is that the 563 is a 17-jewel version designed for the US domestic market due to import duty applied to watches with more jewels.
The Calibre 563 came at the very end of the second generation of the 5xx series and incorporates many improvements over earlier versions, representing the best of the breed. Even though it was a 1960's design, Omega continued using it in limited numbers surprisingly deep into the 1970's on many Seamaster, De Ville & Dynamic Models.
It should be noted that other calibres including the day-date Calibre 75x family should not be in these references, however because dials and movements are compatible, incorrect combinations can often be found.
Because of how robust the Cal 563 movements are, even examples that have not been serviced in many decades are likely to run and even keep decent time without service. This does not mean you should wear them in this condition, as metal-on-metal wear is occurring when lubricating oils have long dried out. This can lead to much more expensive parts bills down the road when the watch is eventually serviced, especially relating to the automatic winding system.
These movements can be serviced cost effectively by any Omega certified independent watchmaker with access to an Omega parts account for much less than the cost of a factory service.
Dial Variants
These watches were produced in the early to mid 1970's and use unusual locally produced dials with some rather interesting patterns.
Dials are available in both a silver / white colour and champagne / gold colour, in a traditional Seamaster De Ville variant, a radial dial variant, and a racing dial variant. There doesn't appear to be any one particularly rare variant, but the racing dial is probably the most visually striking and attractive.
Racing Dial Variant
The KM6326 racing dials feature an applied Omega symbol and date window, along with applied furniture with black inserts and matching hands with black inserts. These dials do not appear to come with luminous material.
The racing dial has seconds indicators, and then fractional seconds indicators between the seconds, although they don’t match the exact beat rate of the movement. The inner area of the dial has a vertically brushed finish and both gold and silver dials have the same layout and design.
Seamaster De Ville KM6326 Racing Dials In Gold (Left) & Silver (Right) With Fractions Of Seconds Indicated
Radial Dial Variant
The radial dial has the same applied Omega symbol and date window as the racing dial, with the exact same dial furniture with black inserts, and with the brushed center and no luminous material. The key difference is that the second markers radiate outwards from the center of the dial, between the hour markers and there are no fractional second markings. Like the racing dial, these are available in both gold and silver colors.
Seamaster De Ville KM6326 Radial Dials In Gold (Left) & Silver (Right)
Regular Dial Variant
The regular dial variant is probably the most unusual of the three, despite having the most classic Seamaster De Ville features. These dials have several dial furniture types, but all share an applied Omega logo and the word OMEGA applied in gold, with a gold-painted date window and non-luminous dial and hands.
Despite every example appearing to be non-luminous, the dials appear to have T Swiss Made T at the bottom indicating tritium, which is a bit of a mystery. Perhaps these dials were made with the intention of having tritium but never eventually did, or perhaps the only die they had to print from by the mid-1970s was tritium marked despite there being no intention to use tritium. In any case, these tend to be the least common of the KM6326 dials.
Two examples of the regular dial variant on the Seamaster De Ville KM 6326, with T Swiss Made T at the bottom despite no luminous material
Buying
The Seamaster De Ville KM6326 was not made in large numbers but did receive enough of a production run in the 1970’s to ensure that there are always at least a few for sale between dealers, eBay, and Chrono24 at any given point in time.
These watches are hard to misidentify, with nothing else coming close but there have been times when sellers have guessed that the case is aftermarket or simply not known what it was, so the keywords ”jumbo” and “de ville” can some times uncover those that are otherwise hidden. Given that the case-back is fairly easy to remove however, it isn’t difficult to find the reference inside for most people.
These watches are very sensitive to case condition, with a soft and heavily polished example looking quite ugly and tired while a clean and sharp example has enormous wrist presence even by modern standards. As such the first priority after an original dial should be finding the sharpest and most original case possible. Although there is a bracelet option, it isn’t the most attractive, and a clean statement strap will be the best approach for most people.
A radial dial Seamaster De Ville KM 6326 showing the gold-filled bracelet that is fitted as an option
Which dial you prefer is entirely a matter of taste, though the racing and radial dials are both quite attractive and unique looking compared to most Seamaster De Villes, not to mention the most common too.
The KM6326 has a ridiculously wide spread of prices online, from $3,000 at some dealers down to $500 or less when going no reserve in eBay auctions. One would expect that this reflects a gaping chasm in condition but it is more a matter of some dealers and sellers trying to tell a grand tale of how incomparably rare and special they are. It’s not entirely wrong, these are definitely uncommon watches, verging on rare, but there are still so few people that know about them that it is very much a buyers market and patience, especially with eBay no-reserve auctions will be rewarded.
These KM 6326 Seamaster De Villes are an odd duck, or rather an odd pelican given their utterly enormous 41.5mm case size and certainly make a statement on any wrist with their grand fluted bezel and unusual c-case shape. While most collectors will never see one much less own one, they’re a piece worth being aware of and keeping an eye out for, as you never know when opportunity might put one on your wrist.
