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 1950s 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 into space on NASA’s Mercury Sigma 7 mission and in 1969 two Speedmasters landed on the moon, worn by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
Description
The Omega Constellation is iconic, having been in continuous production since 1952 and one which has always represented Omega’s most luxurious precision chronometer timepiece. When launched, and throughout the 1950s and ’60s, the Constellation was a more prestigious and expensive piece than the equivalent Rolex Oyster Perpetual and also contained a much better movement. Finding a nice vintage Constellation is not that hard, but finding a nice early Constellation, particularly in this condition, is much more difficult.
This wonderful example of an Omega Seamaster is fully original, unrestored and untouched and carries an outstanding cross hair dial along with a beautiful 18ct pink gold case with rare lugs in scarab form. Not only is the dial and case in stunning condition, the high grade calibre 354 Omega bumper automatic movement is in sparkling condition.
This is a particularly special watch for the following reasons, this watch case is 18ct pink gold and carries wonderful hooded lugs. This is a very early Seamaster from only 4 years after the model was introduced by Omega in 1948.
The Dial
The style here is classic 1950s Omega, comprising of a completely original, unrestored and untouched cross-hair, silver-white dial with gilt pink gold ‘arrowhead’ hour indices, matched with the original, gilt ‘dauphine’ hands. The dial catches the light beautifully, as we have tried to demonstrate in the photographs, however it looks much better face to face in real life.
The dial carries an applied gilt Omega brand and is signed ‘Omega’, ‘Automatic’, ‘Chronometer Officially Certified’ with ‘Seamaster’ and in the upper half of the dial and ‘Seamaster’ in the lower half of the dial along with ‘Swiss Made’ at the very bottom of the dial below the ‘6’.
As mentioned above, this dial is original and unrestored and has been left untouched by our restoration team due to its superb condition. Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone, due to its unusually good condition and to retain its originality and charm for those who prefer this. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored. The hands, likewise, have also been left in their original untouched condition.
Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you’re seeing may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.
Movement
This is the Omega Cal.354 which is the same movement used in the range-topping, Chronometer rated, Omega Constellation of the same period. The Cal.354 movement was designed by Charles Perregaux and is a true classic which has certainly stood the test of time. The bumper automatic uses an oscillating rotor which winds the movement in one direction. Over 1.3 million of these movements were produced between 1943 and 1955 and carefully designed for chronometer levels of accuracy while remaining robust enough to handle the strong vibrations caused by the hammer action.
As can be seen, the fully restored beryllium bronze movement is in amazingly clean condition having been fully overhauled and serviced by our vintage Omega specialist watchmaker. This means it has been completely disassembled to all its component parts, carefully inspected under high magnification, replacement where necessary with only genuine Omega parts before careful reassembly, adjustment and calibration. The watch winds, sets and runs perfectly accurately and reliably within +10 seconds per day, averaged over 5 positions. This has been checked and confirmed on our electronic watch timegrapher and this level of performance is outstanding for any watch, particularly of this age. The movement also has an excellent 50-hour power reserve when fully wound. We are therefore more than confident in offering 12 months’ warranty with this watch movement*.
The Omega Cal.354 movement is very highly regarded for its accuracy and reliability, making this watch ideal for regular daily use.
The movement is signed ‘Omega Watch Co Swiss’, ‘Adjusted Five Positions and Temperatures’ along with the Calibre No. 354, ‘17 Jewels’, and the Serial No. 13424337 which dates this watch to 1950.
*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.
The Case
The sturdy three-piece, 18ct pink gold watch case measures 34mm in diameter, excluding the Omega signed crown, this watch also carries beautiful hooded lugs. The case has been cleaned, carefully inspected and very lightly hand-polished as this was all that was required to bring it back to its current tip-top condition, with no scratches dings or marks of any kind visible to the naked eye. Being 18ct gold, this is often quite worn, but here it is still crisp and distinct, indicating this watch has hardly been worn. The screw-down case-back and sealed crown make this watch water resistant to 20 meters*.
Inside the screw-down case-back, we find all the markings are correct and as expected with The Omega Watch Co. triangle, ‘Fab Suisse’ and ‘Swiss Made’. 18ct hallmarks date the watch case to 1950. The case-back carries the serial number 11232127, along with Omega model reference number 14351 SC.
*Although originally specified as ‘Water Resistant to 20 meters’, this has not been tested and is not guaranteed. As always, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.
The Strap & Buckle
The watch has been fitted with a high quality dark brown leather strap with a pink gold-plated Omega buckle. We think this compliments the gold case and the dial, however, 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 and black in stock, in plain padded leather, crocodile skin or lizard skin, but can also obtain most types and colours of strap from our partners at ‘Watch Obsession’ within 48hrs. Please take a look at their huge range of straps if you wish, here.
Box and Papers
Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct, dating this watch to 1950.
Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. 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 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.
This watch comes complete with a high quality hardwood presentation box, as shown in the photographs.
Payment and Delivery
If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.
Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.
We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.
For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.
As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.
In Conclusion
An exceptional vintage 18ct pink gold Omega Seamaster dress watch in incredible condition. The movement is of a very high grade and on a par with watches far more expensive than this. Indeed when new, this watch would have cost more than the equivalent Rolex. Omega watches are highly collectable and the rarity of this watch means the value will always remain strong.
A word on our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before 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.
Please note, we also welcome part exchanges. If you have a watch or a small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.
We will also be happy to Service your watch, Repair your watch or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.
If you have any questions please call us on 020 7727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.
Please take a look at our other fine vintage gold watches.
Thank you.
Andrew M via feefo 
3rd December 2024 
JLC1891 
