OMEGA Constellation Pie Pan 1963 - History & Design

Hey there, this is Felix from Goldammer Vintage Watches and in this video we take you through the history and the design of Omega's answer to the Rolex Datejust, the Constellation. Before we dive into the design of our model, we take a short look into the history of the Constellation collection. The Constellation was launched in 1952 and is one of Omega's oldest watch collections, even five years older than the well-known Speedmaster. In the end of the 50s, you have to spend only $375 for a brand new Omega Constellation pipe pen in gold. So the reason why I search for that information is that many people think that the good life at this time didn't cost a lot. For sure, a new Volkswagen Beetle could be yours for around about $1,300 and the average worth of a new house was around about $7,000. Yeah, that sounds cheap, but the annual income at this time was around about $4,000 a year. That's $300 a month. So you had to raise a monthly income to call a Constellation yours. Nowadays, the annual income into the United States is around about $36,000. Divided by 12, it's $3,000 a month. So if we compare back in the days to nowadays, back in the days you have to spend around about $300, nowadays around about $3,000 and it's pretty the same. So the good life wasn't that cheap as many think. In the intro, I told you that the Constellation was Omega's answer to the Rolex Datejust. And another interesting fact is that you had to spend, in the end of the 50s, $15 more for a golden Constellation pipe pen than for a golden Datejust. So I think that's pretty interesting. In the United States, the first Constellation models were marked as Globemaster. Still with a star above the six, but without the Constellation name. And Omega has to change his name because of copyright issues. If you ever ask yourself, where does the name Constellation came from? So just take a vintage Constellation, turn it around and look at the case back. And on the case back, you can see a medallion with an image of the Geneva Observatory and exactly eight night stars. And these eight night stars represent the eight chronometry records that Omega set since 1931. And these stars are arranged like a constellation, so the name was born. The Constellation take a big transformation since it launched. Started with Constellations in the 50s, followed by ultra-thin quartz watches in the 70s and leading into the Constellation Manhattan in 1982. And the Constellation collection offers a big assortment of metals, from steel to gold capped to gold, then a lot of different dials, a lot of different bracelets and also even different lug options in that area. The golden age of vintage Constellations run from 1952 to the mid-70s and the most popular Constellation was the Constellation with the pie-pan dial, named after an upturned baking pan. But there are a few design details that tie them all together. Vintage Connies always came equipped with a 10-side widened crown, then with a Constellation name and the Constellation star above the 6-hour marker. And last but not least, they all came with the medallion on the case back with the image of the Geneva Observatory. So I think that's enough history for today, let's jump into the design. Vintage Constellations are classical dress watches with a lot of soul and personality. Our model from 1936 has a round case and is simple in nature, but uses several tricks and angles to appear more complex. The good-sized 35mm case is unpolished and shows minor traces of use and everything what looks like gold, from the case back over the 10-sided crown and the slightly downturned lugs are in 14k yellow gold. So then, look at the sunburst-silvered face and take your time to spot all details. Constellation dials are lavishly decorated for this time and all details are in solid gold, even the date window. Omega crafted the famous embossed logo and the Constellation star above the 6-hour marker with a lot of detail and the dauphine hands and the rectangular baton hour markers give the dial a tidy classic and timeless look. Then, pay close attention to the pi-pen dial which pops out in a beautiful 3D effect. The golden indexes applied to the pi-pen form are catching the light in a certain angle which is very unique. Another great detail is a small Omega logo at the middle of the original crystal glass. So let's check the mechanical heart of this beauty. Here we have an Omega Caliber 561, it's an automatic chronometer with a power reserve of approximately 50 hours and a stunning detail is the copper-plated bronzer material which Omega used for this movement. It gives the whole watch so much more class, even if you can't see this detail while you're wearing that corny. These movements are highly respected for being robust, very accurate and highly reliable. So this watch is perfect for everyday use. The automatic winding mechanism is very efficient and if you wear it daily, this watch will never needed winding. So that's all for today, I hope you enjoyed the video and yeah, you would be very thankful if you hit the like button and subscribe to our channel and if you have any questions about the Connie, comment down below and see you in the next video.