Omega Constellation 18K Pink Gold 1952 Deluxe – 1st Edition!

Omega Watches

Since the company was founded in 1848, Omega has pioneered a huge range of innovations. Britain’s Royal Flying Corps chose Omega watches in 1917 as official timekeepers for its pilots and again in 1940, RAF Pilots watches were supplied by Omega. The 40s also saw the first tourbillon wristwatch and the first of the famous Seamaster watches, whilst the 50s and 60s introduced the legendary Constellation, Speedmaster, Seamaster 300 and Railmaster. Over these years, everyone from John F Kennedy to Elvis wore Omega watches on official duties. What’s more, in 1962, astronaut Wally Schirra took his Omega Speedmaster to space on NASA’s Mercury Sigma 7 mission, and in 1969 two Omega Speedmasters landed on the moon, worn by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Why This Watch is Important

The Omega Constellation is an iconic timepiece, having been in continuous production since 1952 and has always represented Omega’s most luxurious precision chronometer timepiece. When launched, and throughout the 1950s, it was a very much more prestigious and expensive piece than the equivalent Rolex Oyster Perpetual and contained a far better movement. Finding a nice vintage Constellation is not all that hard, but finding a special, early Constellation, is very hard. The Constellation here outdoes itself. Very early models tend to be firmly locked inside collections of devotees to the brand and model, however this example is from the first year of production making it incredibly rare! It is also a Deluxe model in 18ct Pink gold with ‘Deluxe’ pink gold numerals and hour indices. With a stunning original unrestored two tone silver cross-hair dial, an immaculate Deluxe 35mm 18ct Pink Gold watch case and an equally spectacular Cal.354 bumper movement, this one takes some beating!

The Dial

This non-date cross-hair dial is beautifully balanced with rich pink gold 3, 6, 9, 12, Arabic numerals, divided by Omega Deluxe ‘V’ hour indices. The centre section of the dial has a slightly matt silver finish with vertical graining whereas the outer dial has a slightly higher sheen. This along with the beautiful original ‘Dauphine’ hands, give the dial an unmistakable early 1950s look.

Generally, we restore the watch dials on all the watches offered on this website because nearly all, at this age, will show serious damage through ageing and oxidisation. On rare occasions, we do find a dial which is too good to restore, such as the one here.  The dial is in what we define as being “top original condition”. By this, we mean that only under high magnification can some slight signs of ageing be found. It is far too good to restore and so we have left it completely alone. This is remarkable for a watch of this age!

The lens has been replaced with an original Omega replacement which has the small Omega sign in the middle as can be seen in some photographs.

The Movement

The original Omega Calibre 354, 17 Jewels, Chronometer grade movement, designed by Charles Perregaux, is a true classic which certainly stood the test of time. The bumper used an oscillating weight that wound in one direction. Over 1.3 million of these movements were produced between 1943 and 1955. They are a classic: well designed and robust, to handle the strong vibrations caused by the hammer action, and still going strong on the wrists of owners of early automatic Seamaster and Constellation watches. Over half a million of these movements were certified as ‘Chronometers’ such as this one.

The movement has just been fully overhauled and serviced by our watchmaker. This involves fully dismantling the movement, to all its components, ultrasonic cleaning of all the parts, inspection of all the critical surfaces under high magnification and replacement as required with genuine new original parts. Next, careful reassembly and oiling, using all the correct lubricants to manufacturer’s specification before final testing and calibration. This watch is therefore now running, winding and setting perfectly, having been calibrated and timed at +5 seconds per day! Please note, this timing is outstanding for any watch of this age. The watch movement also has an excellent 42 hr power reserve.

The movement is signed Omega Watch Co, Swiss, Adjusted to five positions and temperatures, 17 Jewels and carries the calibre number ’354’, along with the serial number 13,232,761 which dates this watch to manufacture firmly in the middle of 1952. *We are very happy to provide a 12 month warranty on this watch.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only included if the list price is paid.

The Watch Case

As mentioned above, Rose Gold Omega Constellations from the 1950’s are particularly rare and this Deluxe example is in particularly fine condition.

This Omega Swiss made case is of exceedingly high quality with a beautifully designed profile and lugs. All the lines and edges are well defined, indicating the watch has seldom been polished and when so, only lightly. Note – the case diameter here is 35mm excluding the original Omega signed crown, whereas most 1950s Constellations had 34mm cases.

The case-back, bezel and main case body are all in beautiful condition with no scratches, dings or other damage visible to the naked eye. The watch has been lightly used and carefully looked after, which has meant the case has just required a professional clean and gentle hand polish to bring back the almost new look of the watch!

As can be seen, the inside of the case-back is signed Omega Watch Co., Swiss Made, with Geneva Swiss 18ct hallmarks. It carries the case number 11193241 and the Omega model number 2652SC

Although water resistant when new and even though all the seals have been replaced, water resistance has not be tested and is not guaranteed. – Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap and Buckle

The watch has been fitted with a new high quality, Burgundy Crocodile strap with a gold plated Omega buckle. Please note if a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige, free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown burgundy and black straps in stock, in plain, padded leather, alligator, crocodile or lizard skin.

The Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures, and hallmarks are all correct, dating the watch to 1952. Detailed particulars will be included with the receipt, along with our 12 months Warranty*. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than totally authentic, or not as described, Vintage Gold Watches of London will offer you a full refund at any time”.

The watch comes complete with its original Omega Constellation presentation box as shown in the photographs.

In Conclusion

This is a wonderful, first year of production Omega Constellation dress watch, in 18ct Pink Gold which is not just rare, it is almost unique! – Certainly outside of a museum or private collection.  Prices of bumper movement yellow gold Constellations are already climbing to £5,000 when they can be found, so the list price of this much rarer time-piece is very reasonable.

A word on our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before then restoring them to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post sales care and service. This approach means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are some well-known stores in West London which are highly successful charging between two to three times the price you see here. We, therefore, consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.

We are happy to accept payment via PayPal as this is the quickest method of payment. However, if you would like to pay by UK cheque or by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you.

If you have any questions please call on Landline 0207 727 7095 or Mobile 07515 949250 or if calling from overseas on Landline +44 207 727 7095 or Mobile +44 7515 949250.

Please note, we welcome part exchanges. Also outright purchases of similar watches. We will also offer Watch Service, Watch Repairs & Watch Restoration, please see here.

Please take a look at our other fine vintage gold watches.

Thank you.