Champion bracelets on Constellation?

Were Champion bracelets ever offered by Omega as an accessory to the Constellations? I always thought this bracelet on my dad's watch was an Omega, and was recently surprised when my brother sent a picture of the marking inside the clasp!

First of all, that's an Accutron bracelet.

But, second, Jacoby-Bender did indeed make bracelets in the United States for Omega. I own one myself. It's co-branded.

Lol, thank you for this! How embarrassing, I never even noticed that! I guess that I always presumed that it was an Omega bracelet since it was always on my dad's Constellation from ever since I can remember. Looks like a perfectly good excuse to find myself a vintage Accutron!

Have your brother measure it. I suspect it's 11/16th fit, which implies your father's Constellation was US Collection and also 11/16" fit.

No disrespect meant, but can you kindly translate that to newbie terms? Pretty new to the world of vintage Omegas and am trying to learn as much as I can.... thanks!!

Way back when, in a galax... excuse me, in the earliest part of the 20th century, watch straps were sized in fractions of an inch. Europe switched to the metric system and eventually standardized on mostly even sizes in millimeters as standard.

The United States eventually changed when the American watch industry died, but for many years, watches sold in the US wore straps of 5/8", 11/16", and 3/4", for the most part. 5/8" is very close to 16mm, and 3/4" is very close to 19mm. So many watches were produced in those sizes, because US straps or European straps would fit each others watches.

Alas, 11/16" does not correspond closely with a European size, being 17.25mm. Approximately no current watches are produced in 17mm, but straps in that size are sold to fit 11/16" watches.

Many US bracelet and strap makers made straps to fit whichever and labeled them in inch sizes. 23/32" of an inch is... 18mm!

So, what does this mean in terms of Omega? They sold watches in the "US Collection" in 11/16" lug size to fit American straps. I have one myself, an early Seamaster Calendar from the mid-50s. It wears 11/16" straps or bracelets.

...and in fact, I have an International Collection watch that requires an 11/16" strap, made before the Swiss went metric.

Thank you all, your comments have been much appreciated! So is it even possible that the Connie may not have the correct size lug to properly fit 18mm spring bars? Those may indeed be a pain to locate! I'm afraid that I can't count on my brother to measure the lug width correctly, considering how difficult it was for him to even get a picture of the markings inside the clasp, lol.

The watch was gifted to my dad by his father in law (my grandfather) shortly after passing the bar. I had always hoped to inherit it after he passed, and my brother located it while coming across an box containing some of my dad's personal effects during a major renovation of our ancestral home. It no longer runs, and my brother describes a rattling sound when the watch is shaken, indicating something loose inside. Needless to say, the tropical humidity has also not been kind to it, but I can't wait for things to get back to normal so I can finally get it in hand and have it repaired, running and restored!

Most 18mm bars can compress enough to fit 11/16".