Manufacturer: Omega Year: Circa 1956 Reference No: 2582/2583 Movement No: 15’037’747 Case No: 112’517 Model Name: Constellation "Luxe" Material: 18K yellow gold Calibre: Automatic, cal. 501, 19 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Leather Clasp/Buckle: 18K yellow gold Omega pin buckle Dimensions: 35mm Diameter Signed: Case, dial, movement, and buckle signed.
Catalogue Essay
While Omega sports watches are more commonly seen in major auction catalogues, the luxurious dress watches of its mid-century production are also worthy of inclusion. The present Constellation not only displays beautiful, refined aesthetics, but a chronometer-certified automatic movement. Since 1952, the Constellation has been a flagship model for Omega, and has developed significantly in its 70 years of production. The earliest examples are fitted with multi-dimensional dials nicknamed “pie-pan” dials – for reasons that become clear when you wear the present watch and attempt to make a pie simultaneously.
The present Constellation is a remarkable time capsule, surviving in virtually unworn, “new old stock” condition. Fitted with a stunning tone-on-tone, mirrored gold dial with faceted arrow-shaped hour markers and sharp dauphine hands, the caseback displays perfect engravings and a raised medallion to the center with the dome of the Geneva Observatory (Observatoire de Genève) pictured. The observatory, built in 1830 and demolished in 1969, tested chronometers for the Swiss watch industry.
Omega's rich history begins with its founder, Louis Brandt, who established the firm in 1848 in La Chaux de Fonds. In 1903, the company changed its name to Omega, becoming the only watch brand in history to have been named after one its own movements. A full-fledged manufacturer of highly accurate, affordable and reliable watches, its sterling reputation enabled them to be chosen as the first watch company to time the Olympic Games beginning in 1932. Its continued focus on precision and reliability ultimately led their Speedmaster chronograph wristwatch to be chosen by NASA in 1965 — the first watch worn on the moon.
Key models sought-after by collectors include their first, oversized water-resistant chronograph — the reference 2077, early Speedmaster models such as the CK 2915 and 2998, military-issued versions of the Seamaster and oversized chronometer models such as those fitted with their prestigious caliber 30T2Rg.