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Scarecrow Boat
··Burt Macklin, FBIOff with my watchmaker for a fresh service
Onyx-Inlaid Constellations
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norb1967
·
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Peemacgee
·Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I wondered if this might be a good place to discuss this. I’ve read that true onyx inserts can only be found on gold dial/marker constellations, and SS ones have rubber instead. I was wondering if anyone can shed further light on this? The difference is in the depth; onyx is shiny and a deeper black whilst the rubber is more matte.
the question is, where did you read this @norb1967 ?
This claim has been made before in a thread - once again citing someone else’s writings.
But there has never been any evidence to support the claim.
Would be useful if you could link to the source.
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gbesq
·I sold this steel cased 167.005 last year. STUPID! Rose gold dial furniture with onyx inserts. No rubber or black paint. I really should have kept this one.
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norb1967
·
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Peemacgee
·It was in an Instagram post by Omega Enthusiast from early 2021. I didn’t link it at first because I don’t want anyone to think that I’m accusing him of spreading false info or anything! However it did get me thinking. I hope it might spur a discussion. A screenshot of the post below:
thanks @norb1967
IIRC this is the information that was quoted last time the matter was raised.
it’s okay to raise someone’s posted info on the internet when you think it might be wrong or questionable.
Omega enthusiast posts some interesting stuff but he (she?) doesn’t always know what they are talking about.
( I seem to recall a post about hidden crown Connies where most of the info was correct but the remainder was just plain incorrect)
There is no evidence that we know of that Omega ever used rubber in their inserts.
Who knows where Omega enthusiast got this idea from?
I, for one, would love to see their source material because their claim is out there without any evidential proofs.
The pics shown above illustrate Constellations with:
Painted indices.
‘Fat’ flat onyx inserts only found on solid gold deluxe dials
Regular ‘prismatic’ onyx inserts found on 50s & 60s Constellations - yellow gold, pink gold and (I believe) rhodium plated steel silver-coloured indices.
( there are some Connies with white gold indices but I can’t recall seeing any with onyx inserts - but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist)
Note: indices styles on Connies changed towards the end of the 60s and into the 70s whereby they started using more ‘brutal’ chunky indices (some with big flat onyx inlays)
They also reportedly used jet as inserts on some watches from mid/late 60s ( a hard black semi-precious gemstone related to coal)
hope that helps.
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Davidt
·It’s early and I’ve been up through the night with our little boy, but I’m a bit confused about the above posts.
@norb1967 is asking to discuss the possibility that onyx insert were only used on gold dials/markers, quoting OE as the source. However, no where in that post is that claim made. It’s just stating different materials were used and how to identify them.
@norb1967 is asking to discuss the possibility that onyx insert were only used on gold dials/markers, quoting OE as the source. However, no where in that post is that claim made. It’s just stating different materials were used and how to identify them.
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norb1967
·It’s early and I’ve been up through the night with our little boy, but I’m a bit confused about the above posts.
@norb1967 is asking to discuss the possibility that onyx insert were only used on gold dials/markers, quoting OE as the source. However, no where in that post is that claim made. It’s just stating different materials were used and how to identify them.
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STANDY
··schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collectorOh sorry, I should have clarified. He told me that (about onyx only being on gold dial ones) in a PM when discussing a watch.
Well rubber degradation is a issue that is impossible to stop and I have never seen inlays in such a way.
I live tropical and anything rubber is a sticky goo before too long. Even watch straps after a few seasons.
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Peemacgee
·Oh sorry, I should have clarified. He told me that (about onyx only being on gold dial ones) in a PM when discussing a watch.
If you are in direct conversation with Omega Enthusiast it would be really useful if you could ask them where they got their idea of Omega using rubber inserts.
( you can never say never with Omega and it is just possible they experimented with rubber before they used paint. )
If indeed true it would be an interesting additional piece of info to add to the collective knowledge.
but for now, and until proven otherwise, I’ll stick with the accepted premise that 3-D black inserts were onyx ( or jet)
Edited:
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mcemeren
·I have not seen one in the wild, but if there is such, we could have easily nicknamed the variant "the rubbish dial" along with the other usuals "spider", "tropical", etc. 😎
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norb1967
·If you are in direct conversation with Omega Enthusiast it would be really useful if you could ask them where they got their idea of Omega using rubber inserts.
( you can never say never with Omega and it is just possible they experimented with rubber before they used paint. )
If indeed true it would be an interesting additional piece of info to add to the collective knowledge.
but for now, and until proven otherwise, I’ll stick with the accepted premise that 3-D black inserts were onyx ( or jet)
Edit - this has been misunderstood as number of followers=authority on subject. All I was saying was it means he might not reply due to volume of messages received.
Edited:
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norb1967
·Well rubber degradation is a issue that is impossible to stop and I have never seen inlays in such a way.
I live tropical and anything rubber is a sticky goo before too long. Even watch straps after a few seasons.
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MtV
·I’ve asked. I’ll let you know if he responds. He has well over 100k followers on Instagram!
Well, the catholic church has ~1.3 billion followers (and not just on Instagram) and still they refused to accept Galileis heliocentrism as late as the 2nd half of the 20th century, so I wouldnt necessarily use that as an argument...
Edit: Apologies, I misread your post. You mentioned his followers to say that he might not reply, not to prove his point. Mea culpa.
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Davidt
·Yeah I messaged him once about my SM600 as he’s one of the only other people I know with the same dial.
Received an automated response to say he generally only replies to his Patreon contributors due to number of messages he receives (although he did actuall still reply to me).
Received an automated response to say he generally only replies to his Patreon contributors due to number of messages he receives (although he did actuall still reply to me).
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STANDY
··schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collectorI agree in principle. However there are many different rubber compounds, and for the purposes of a solid insert a more sturdy, perhaps vulcanised or otherwise hardened rubber might have been used.
All rubber suffers degradation.
Lack of use, exposure to extremely high or low temperatures, or prolonged exposure to UV radiation can all cause rubber's molecular chains to break down over time — and time itself is a factor, too. Rubber is one polymer that just doesn't last forever, and its descent into decay begins the moment it's manufactured.
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seekingseaquest
·Has anyone poked their “onyx” indices to confirm that they are actually as hard as stone as opposed to a rubber-ish material? I’m guessing this is what Omega Enthusast did to get to his conclusion.
