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Gold bracelet Constellation cal 505 1959

sj97
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Hey guys,
I am a complete newbie to vintage watches collecting but I just purchased a Constellation from 1959 at an auction.
The thing is that I am a bracelet lover and I would like to find a bracelet to fit my watch which is actually on a leather strap with gold plated buckle provided by the auction house. I don't want that. I looked for some bracelets on eBay but none seems to be a good fit with this constellation. Also I am not sure about the lug width (18mm?). The watch is in 18ct yellow gold. See below pictures
Screenshot 2021-05-22 at 8.10.06 pm.png


I am looking for something such as beads of rice or eventually a mesh one, but unfortunately not in solid 18k gold but rather in gold plated. I first looked for replacing just the buckle with an omega one but I found out that many people were struggling with just the buckle so I am going to go with a bracelet.

any advice on which bracelet would better fit and eventually where should I look for (eBay?) and if the lug width I mentioned is correct?

PS: I don't have the watch yet, I am going to collect it in 3 weeks at the auction house

Many thanks!!!

sj97
 
SkunkPrince
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Call Omega to get a 3010/511 in gold plate. Stainless is $450, not sure what the gold-plated version will cost.

Edited to add: 3010 is the 5-row beads of rice.
Edited:
 
gatorcpa
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Lug width is 18mm, so you have that correct.

I would suggest that you wait until you have the watch in hand before looking for a bracelet.

The watch looks like it could be rose gold. If so, your search will be exponentially more difficult. I don't think that I've seen more that 2 or 3 rose gold plated beads of rice type bracelets in rose gold. Even then, there are multiple shades of rose or pink gold that Omega used. There is no guarantee that the bracelet will match the case.

If, as @SkunkPrince says, Omega is now selling new bracelets that will fit this Constellation, that is probably the way to go. You should contact an Omega Boutique in your area. Perhaps they will have a sample to show you to see if you want it before ordering.

Nice watch. Wear in good health.
gatorcpa
 
ConElPueblo
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Even if you source a gold plated BoR, it will be 14k plated, so won't match the 18k case very well.
 
cristos71
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Are you sure it's a cal 505? I don't recall seeing that 2 liner dial style before on a 505 ( without "officially certified" ), it's normally seen on a 551.

What's the reference?
 
padders
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I too have concerns over the OP watch. For one, if the case is Rose, the crown is not which will jar IRL and I too think that is an odd dial for a 505 movement piece, suggesting something might be amiss. That said there was a lot of overlap in the late 50s early 60s period.
 
Peemacgee
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looks like a 14382 deluxe to me - which should have a cal 551 inside.
Earlier 'fat' replacement crown
The hands do look pink - and lumed
 
sj97
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SkunkPrince SkunkPrince
Call Omega to get a 3010/511 in gold plate. Stainless is $450, not sure what the gold-plated version will cost.

Edited to add: 3010 is the 5-row beads of rice.
Will to estimate the price, many thanks for the ref!
 
sj97
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gatorcpa gatorcpa
Lug width is 18mm, so you have that correct.

I would suggest that you wait until you have the watch in hand before looking for a bracelet.

The watch looks like it could be rose gold. If so, your search will be exponentially more difficult. I don't think that I've seen more that 2 or 3 rose gold plated beads of rice type bracelets in rose gold. Even then, there are multiple shades of rose or pink gold that Omega used. There is no guarantee that the bracelet will match the case.

If, as @SkunkPrince says, Omega is now selling new bracelets that will fit this Constellation, that is probably the way to go. You should contact an Omega Boutique in your area. Perhaps they will have a sample to show you to see if you want it before ordering.

Nice watch. Wear in good health.
gatorcpa
Many thanks for your help!

I had the same feeling about which gold it was at first, but the longer you look the more yellow it becomes. Auction house confirmed it was yellow as well.
 
cristos71
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Peemacgee Peemacgee
looks like a 14382 deluxe to me - which should have a cal 551 inside.
Earlier 'fat' replacement crown
The hands do look pink - and lumed

Could well be, it has certainly been quite aggressively polishing too which is not helping identification much
 
sj97
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cristos71 cristos71
Are you sure it's a cal 505? I don't recall seeing that 2 liner dial style before on a 505 ( without "officially certified" ), it's normally seen on a 551.

What's the reference?
Well, I can't be completely sure it is a 505 because the auction house didn't mention the caliber number but I found the exact same watch for sale there https://www.vintagegoldwatches.com/product/omega-constellation-cal-503-18ct-1957/ and they listed it as a 505. Also from the omega vintage website, the only watches matching the year of prod, material of case, mvmt type and caseback type would be a 505/501 as shown here : https://www.omegawatches.com/en-gb/...atches_movement=2770&v_watches_watchcase=2553
And still according to this website, the reference would be a 2852, which doesn't make sense (right?)
 
sj97
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padders padders
I too have concerns over the OP watch. For one, if the case is Rose, the crown is not which will jar IRL and I too think that is an odd dial for a 505 movement piece, suggesting something might be amiss. That said there was a lot of overlap in the late 50s early 60s period.

The watch I purchased is the same as the one which is being sold here https://www.vintagegoldwatches.com/product/omega-constellation-cal-503-18ct-1957/
And is listed as a 505, and the inside case back indicates a ref 2852/2853. The case is yellow gold
 
cristos71
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ConElPueblo ConElPueblo
I've had a late one (albeit not a DeLuxe) and they are uncommon, but certainly exist.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/took-a-chance-on-an-interesting-constellation.77262/

That's interesting, I didn't know that 2852's came with this dial style.

I see that @X350 XJR example was a late 505 serial of 16.5 million ( and yours too ) which is close to around the 17 million which I generally estimate as a starting range for 551/14381's.

I thought this dial style was introduced with the 551 and 14381/2 etc case ref. Clearly not!
 
Peemacgee
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The most embarrassing thing is that I’d completely forgotten about Troels find
😬
 
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