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New owner/member seeking information on a vintage Constellation ...

  1. flw history nerd Oct 25, 2014

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    Greetings all,

    I just purchased a SMP Diver 300M brand new last week - I've wanted an Omega for about 30 years and this was the time (no pun intended). Totally love the watch, the look, everything (and being a huge Bond fan - the original literary Fleming Bond, that is - the connection doesn't hurt, either). My desire for an Omega has a backstory, and this is where you all come in. I have an open question to those who may know more than I do on this topic - and I expect that includes just about all of you!

    In the mid-80s (1984 or 1985), my Dad gave me his Omega when he bought a new watch at that time. I would guess that it was a 1970s-era watch; my Dad had bought it at the Omega boutique in New York City. I was in college at the time and I had a summer job at a mall-based jewelry store. The watch needed servicing of some kind, and (not knowing any better - I've really never been a watch hobbyist), I accepted the store manager's offer to have it sent to the local watch repair service that the store used. Long story short (and this is predictable, in retrospect): the watch never returned; all I got was a slip months later claiming it had been "lost". (I am convinced to this day that the watch-repair guy, who I thought at the time was shady-looking, took one look at the watch, stole it, and fenced it.) I never got compensation for it, and shortly afterwards I left the store's employ. I have never seen a watch like it since. Here is what I remember:

    It had a yellow gold case, face, and bracelet, and to the best of my recollection it was a Constellation. It had a large case, shaped in a rugged and solid but classic fashion - not plain round, and not a funky square type of thing either. It had a date display at 3', and (here is the really distinctive feature) it had two crowns, at 2' and 4'. I do not recall seeing any specific decoration, such as the observatory logo, on the back of the case; but I do remember that the bracelet clasp had the raised Omega Greek-letter symbol. I have no reason to doubt that the watch was an authentic Omega ... and as I grew older and realized the probable value of the watch (monetary as well as sentimental), I have been longing for redemption of some sort (which I think I have now achieved). In any event, I have never seen another one like it anywhere (and I have no photos of it, unfortunately). So, my question is: Does this description fit any type of Omega that any of you are familiar with? Can any of you suggest a possible identity for the model I have described? I have no fantastic hope of tracing the watch down at this point, but I have been increasingly curious about this.

    Thank you for any and all replies!

    (Oh, and by the way ... I do know that Fleming's Bond wore a Rolex in the books ... but whatever. The watch switch was one of the very few genuine improvements in the movies!)
     
  2. Hijak Oct 25, 2014

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    The only thing I can tell you from all of this is that your Dads watch doesn't sound like a Constellation. I'm sure others will chime in with their two cents...
     
  3. gatorcpa ΩF InvestiGator Staff Member Oct 25, 2014

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    From your description, this sounds like a Chronostop model. Here is a link that explains the complications much better than I can:

    http://www.old-omegas.com/chronostop.html

    This is is the only Omega I can think of with two crowns.
    gatorcpa
     
  4. flw history nerd Oct 25, 2014

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    Ah! OK ... I just took a look at the link, and the shape and position of the crowns seems right. It may well have been a Chronostop. I'll keep looking to see if I can hunt down a photo that matches my best recollection, and if I find it, I'll put it up. Thanks so much! I am on my way back to horological sanity ...
     
  5. Mothra Oct 26, 2014

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  6. flw history nerd Oct 26, 2014

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    Possibly, I think ... The more I see these the more I wonder. I do remember that it had a gold face as well as case and bracelet ... The shape is correct in the reference you posted.
     
  7. gatorcpa ΩF InvestiGator Staff Member Oct 27, 2014

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