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The Observer

An extract from OMEGA Lifetime - The Family Edition


TREASURES FROM THE VAULT

In 1948, Omega celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary with the aptly named Centenary, an officially certified chronometer bumper automatic. The Constellation collection followed in 1952 and became the world’s first family of watches to be completely chronometer certified.

Constellation OT 2699

Delving into the Omega Museum archive, we have encountered an extraordinary Constellation, a member of the top-of-the-line watch family born to precision. The 18K yellow gold Constellation wristwatch with the reference number OT 2699 features a cloisonné enamel observatory-themed dial and was a limited edition timepiece commissioned by a prominent Middle Eastern client. This water-resistant watch, whose two-part, polished and brushed case with a rounded bezel and slightly downturned lugs measures 35x11mm, boasts a polygonal crown characteristic of the Constellation family. In addition, it has a solid screw-down caseback embossed with a now-classic astronomical observatory emblem. The cloisonné enamel of the dial depicts an observatory under a midnight-blue starry sky and the solid gold outer chapter ring is sprinkled with eleven applied, faceted, polished yellow gold baton-shaped indexes. An applied Omega logo at 6 o’clock represents the twelfth marker, while the yellow gold, polished, dauphine-style hands complete the look.

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The Constellation OT 2699 is powered by an automatic, copper-coloured calibre 28.10 RA SC – 354 (now referred to simply as “calibre 354”) containing seventeen bearing jewels, a straight-line lever escapement, monometallic balance, shock absorber, self-compensating flat balance spring, and a so-called bumper rotor. Naturally, the Constellation OT 2699 was an officially certified chronometer.

Cloisonné enamel

Multi-coloured cloisonné enamel dials remain very rare at Omega up to this day, with most being produced between 1946 and 1956. In 1954, Omega commissioned a small batch of cloisonné enamel dials depicting an astronomical observatory cupola in vivid tones of blue, turquoise, and gold from dial maker Stern Frères, the leading producer of enamel dials at the time. Requiring the utmost in skill and talent, these dials were naturally reserved for Omega’s most prestigious watches.

The cloisonné technique involves separating the coloured fields of an enamel design with miniscule gold threads smaller in diameter than a hair, practically tracing the outlines of the individual colour sections.

The observatory motif

An astronomical observatory emblem has featured on every single Constellation caseback since the collection was initially launched in 1952. The motif depicting the cupola of an observatory surrounded by eight stars was inspired by the observatory competitions. While popular legend pegs the cupola as belonging to the Geneva observatory, Omega Museum Director Petros Protopapas assures us it is more likely to be a generic depiction. The eight stars represent Omega’s greatest chronometric achievements at the annual observatory chronometer tests between 1945 and 1952.

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The Omega Museum purchased the Omega Constellation Reference OT 2699 at an auction in 2007. Sold with its original box and a certificate of authenticity the Lot 160 had an auction estimate of CHF 25,000, but hammered at CHF 152,500. A Grand Luxe edition of the watch with an 18K gold bracelet also emerged at auction in Geneva, selling for CHF 106,250.

But aside from its investment value, the Constellation OT 2699 model is particularly recognised by collectors since to this day it embodies the very best of what Omega stands for: beauty, reliability, and precision.