Omega Constellation Deluxe 2699

Hi everyone,

I’d consider myself a relatively seasoned collector with a good eye for detail but I always like to double check potential purchases on OF as there is a real wealth of knowledge on here.

I’m looking at a 2699 constellation deluxe. Case looks sharp with bevels in tact. Supposedly original sticker on the caseback which I’m not so sure about as didn’t think the constellations came with a caseback sticker. I intend to remove it as it looks ugly. There’s a small scratch on the top right lug which isn’t as deep as it displays in these photographs. The dial again is cleaner than it looks. A lot of this is scratches on the crystal. Hands looks correct, dial and case in good condition.

My question is more around the originality of the watch. All looks good to me personally but I’m not overly familiar with the bumper movements - all of my Connies being 500 series movements. In addition to this the double ref caseback threw me but from digging through the forums it seems that a lot of the 18k models shared casebacks between these two early 50s references. One denoting the deluxe we have here and the former 2652 ref denoting the solid gold case - but non solid gold dial variant “non deluxe”.

I’d very much welcome your opinions here on whether you think it looks to be all original, perhaps if I’ve missed anything regarding condition etc.

Thank you in advance!

This is nice, looks all fine to me. Serial is ok for a cal 354 in a 2699, too (instead of earlier 352s). If the price is right, go for it.

This is a very nice example. Maybe a slight polish to lugs, which is to be expected after 70 years.

Someone probably put a protective film over the back to protect the medallion, which is a wise move.

Hope this helps,
gatorcpa

I'd be interested in this myself if you end up passing on it!

Thanks for the feedback! Much appreciated. Out of interest, how do you check the serial numbers for movements?

There are serial number charts which correlate with manufacture dates, and charts which document appropriate range SN for specific case references.
See Desmond’s blog for details

Perfect, thank you.

Beautiful watch. Caseback sticker has likely preserved medallion and caseback so nicely.

I wonder if the slight differences in font come from different dial manufacturers. I’d say the fonts look the same but perhaps slightly thinner on your example

Respectfully I’m not sure that’s strictly true as a simple google image search shows me versions of 2699 with both fonts and rounded and sharper logos. I’d argue I’m seeing more examples in line with the one I posted. It would be interesting if anyone could shed more light on this, however I’d imagine as mentioned earlier likely to be different dial manufacturers.

Interesting, I wonder if the issues with the single ref case back are different as all of these examples online have the dual ref caseback and have the more squared off omega logo but the ones I’ve uncovered so far with the rounded seem to have the 2699 ref exclusively. I wonder why omega did dual refs and single ref casebacks. Again can only assume different case manufacturers again?

See pics attached of 2699’s with the more squared off logo

Very interesting read this aprax, thank you. Seems it’s more of an evolution or “facelift” to use automotive terminology as opposed to different dial/case manufacturers.

Funny how it then shifts again when the ref changes to fully applied omega logos.

The joy of vintage watch collecting. I love all the variances.