1969 Omega Constellation 18ct Gold on Bracelet C-Case 168.5455/6
Ref: 168.5455/6
Specification
Lugs : 19mm (Integrated)
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & 2023 Service Papers
Case Material : 18ct Yellow Gold
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with an Omega box and 2023 Omega Service paperwork. The watch comes paired with its flowing integrated 19mm 18ct Yellow Gold mesh style multi-link bracelet secured by a clever adjustable folding clasp with 3 adjustments, the full length of the bracelet is 19.5cm. The watch is from Circa. 1969 and is sold in worn vintage condition, but overall very fair condition as you can see, polished by Omega in 2023 with a service crown. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12jHwqMcSSZhc6fqnsldDNmdbBwFHJYV_?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 7:00 - https://youtu.be/URboA9ZgroY
The Watch
Here we have a 1969 Omega Constellation on Bracelet 1685455/6 with a 34mm 18ct Yellow Gold C-Case shape that gently curves over your wrist with fine tapered lugs, and a thin polished chamfered edge leads to a lug-to-lug length of 40mm and a case thickness of 11.5mm ensuring a comfortable fit. On the right side is a signed crown and a polished smooth bezel holds a domed acrylic crystal above a gold-toned crosshatch textured dial. An outer minute track surrounds applied gold-toned baton indexes filled with black fill marking the hours, at 3 o’clock a colour-matched framed day/date, thin black sword hands are complemented by a tapered gold sweeping second hand, at 12 o’clock we have a applied Omega motif “Automatic Chronometer Officially Certified” printed in black ink, at 6 o’clock “Constellation” and the applied gold star. On the reverse, a screw-down 18ct Gold solid case back with an embossed Geneva Observatory and eight stars in the centre, inside an automatic Omega Cal. 751, 24 jewels, beating at 19,800 beats per hour, the movement produced from 1966 until 1975 has a quick-set date for your convenience. The watch comes paired with its flowing integrated 19mm 18ct Yellow Gold mesh style multi-link bracelet secured by a clever adjustable folding clasp and is sold with an Omega box and 2023 Omega Service paperwork.
Personal Note
The vintage Omega Seamaster Constellation with the iconic C-Case is one of the most attractive vintage watches on the market in my opinion, turn that watch into solid gold and add the most incredible integrated bracelet you can imagine and you have made it into something undeniably incredible! I would not hesitate to add this rare gem to your collection whilst you can.
The Brand
They were formerly known as the La Generale Watch Co. in 1848 founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds. When he died in 1879, his sons carried on his dream. In 1880 they moved to 96 Rue Jakob-Stampfli where they remain today. The brothers produced their first mass-produced calibre, the Labrador In 1885. Just a few years later in 1892, they produced the first minute-repeater. In 1903 they renamed the company Omega until 1982 when they officially changed their name to Omega SA. During WW1 Omega watches were used as official timekeepers for the Royal Flying Corps and the US Army. In 1930, Omega and Tissot merged together to form Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère (SSIH) In 1931, another group was formed - Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG (ASUAG). Where SSIH was primarily French-speaking, ASUAG was founded by the more German-speaking members of the Swiss watch industry. In 1948 they introduced the first edition of one of its most symbolic watches: the Seamaster. Omega first introduced the Constellation in 1952. At the time it was Omega's flagship timepiece. The first models had a Cal. 354 bumper movement in them. Later in 1955, Omega introduced the Automatic Cal. 50x, followed in 1959 by the Cal.55x (no date) and 56x (date) versions. Many of the Constellations came with pie-pan dials, diamond indexes, and fancy lug configurations. All the gold Constellations of that time have the Observatory of Geneva's hand engraved on the back. The stainless steel and stainless steel/gold versions had a gold medallion on the back with the Observatory of Geneva. The eight stars above the Observatory stand for the many exploits of Omega in the world Chronometer competition. Celebrating the fact that all Constellations are Chronometer Certified. In 1962, when astronaut Wally Schirra wore a Speedmaster on his Mercury Sigma 7 Mission, making it the first Omega watch to enter space. After rigorous tests, NASA used Omega for all their Apollo missions including the 1969 Moon landing of Apollo 11. Today Omega is still an astronaut's first choice. In 1969, President Nixon famously said it was “too valuable” and turned down the first-ever all-gold Speedmaster Professional Deluxe. As a response to the ever-growing threat of electronic watches to the manufacturers of mechanical watches, Omega and many Swiss brands such as Rolex and Patek Philippe formed Centre Electronique Horologer (CEH). Prototypes began to appear in 1967 with their production starting in 1968. Then In 1972, Omega introduced the reference, 198.030, which included the Omega calibre 1250, a ‘tuning-fork electronic movement which was made under licence from Bulova. Later we saw a merger of SSIH and ASUAG into SMH, or Société de Microélectronique et d’Horlogerie. This merger took place in 1983. In 1992, the company acquired Blancpain, and in 1998 it officially rebranded itself from SMH to the Swatch Group. Then, in 1999, they purchased and integrated Breguet into the Swatch Group.