Omega Stories: The 355.0814 / 155.0021 Ultra-Thin Constellation 2000 Calibre 711 Automatic Tank

[dsio]

Around the edges, the Constellation line has some extremely unusual outliers that served as experiments in design, materials science and engineering. The Constellation 2000 Ultra-thin 355.0814 / 155.0021 is one such watch, a 70's design powered by a great movement with an entirely unique look. [..]

Visit The 355.0814 / 155.0021 Ultra-Thin Constellation 2000 Calibre 711 Automatic Tank to read the full article.

 

[RevZMan123]

Always with the "watches I didn't know I needed until I read an article by Ash"

 

[Trev]

Are these all friction fit too? Hopefully they fare better than the medallions.

 

[RevZMan123]

Trev

Are these all friction fit too? Hopefully they fare better than the medallions.

Can you imagine? I can already envision one that has them all popped out in "lightly used condition".

 

[HamDoctor]

I'm really in awe of the fact that these came out in 1966! They look so much like an early 1980s quartz watch (Zenith Port Royal quartz or Certina Newport come to mind).

It's super interesting to see the scope of what Omega had in their "design DNA" for the Constellation series - so, many thanks for making me aware of these. These are certainly "lost" among the other, more well-known models like the Pie-Pan & Dog-leg Constellations, or the C-Shape ones...

 

[dsio]

HamDoctor

I'm really in awe of the fact that these came out in 1966! They look so much like an early 1980s quartz watch (Zenith Port Royal quartz or Certina Newport come to mind).

It's super interesting to see the scope of what Omega had in their "design DNA" for the Constellation series - so, many thanks for making me aware of these. These are certainly "lost" among the other, more well-known models like the Pie-Pan & Dog-leg Constellations, or the C-Shape ones...

Just to correct, the watch is mid-70s, the movement design is from 1966, and that movement continued to be used well into the 1980’s because of how useful it was

 

[HamDoctor]

dsio

Just to correct, the watch is mid-70s, the movement design is from 1966, and that movement continued to be used well into the 1980’s because of how useful it was

Ah, thanks. I confused the introduction of the movement with the model ... Still, being "ahead of the curve" by half a decade is nothing to sneeze at ;-)

1966 for an ultra-thin movement is an interesting date, too. After all, Universal Geneve had just introduced their own ultra-thin movement (the cal. 1-66 microtor) at Baselworld 1966, in their Golden / Gilt / White Shadow watches. This one was 2.5 mm thick, so the Omega 711/712 movement was pretty impressive at 3 mm considering that it has a full rotor.

Apparently, that was a good year for ultra-thin watches.

 

[KaiseRRuby]

I have one of these watches in my posession. Unfortunately the dial is the weak point in these watches indeed, as stated in the article. You see mine crackling and even showing some signs of blushing. Maybe moist is also the problem. The watch was sold in Singapore to me a while ago. See pictures:



There are still dials for sale directly from Omega. Still in doubt if i will replace mine. Bracelet also is a bit loose but thats quite common too, as these watches are way older then i am.