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Were Omega watches assembled in local shops during the 1950s?

river rat
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I was thinking the same thing about 1950 Omega watches. Were the ones sold in some jewelry stores were special ordered for the jewelry store specs were they were a little different than some Omega models. In America in the 1800's Jewelry stores did special order watches and the stores name would be on the dial the buyer could pick the case and movement and dial and hands these were pocket watches. On this Omega I just got the box is marked with the Jewelry store name instead of Omega but the warranty card marked Omega with the Jewelry stores info. The box is marked Swiss made on the bottom of the box and has a constellation crown that as old as the watch was wondering if the crown and dial was a special order just a theory. This one sold in Germany.
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F
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Kwijibo Kwijibo
Some gold cases were indeed made by independant companies. Mainly gold filled or solid gold cases. Does that mean that Omega sent the movements and dials alone?
Yes it’s called national production in the archives
Omega never made 9 ct gold cases so U.K. cases and Omega movements were mated and this is recognised as being national production when sent to the distributors
 
Foo2rama
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F fireplace
Yes it’s called national production in the archives
Omega never made 9 ct gold cases so U.K. cases and Omega movements were mated and this is recognised as being national production when sent to the distributors
They are still considered full Omegas. This was done by the importer not small shops.
 
Archer
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Distributor or agent in Omega terms...includes Brandt Frères Paris, OWC London, or SCR Buenos Aires, De Marchi Turin, Norman Morris Corp. New York or Gameo Lausanne.
 
ConElPueblo
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river rat river rat
I was thinking the same thing about 1950 Omega watches. Were the ones sold in some jewelry stores were special ordered for the jewelry store specs were they were a little different than some Omega models. In America in the 1800's Jewelry stores did special order watches and the stores name would be on the dial the buyer could pick the case and movement and dial and hands these were pocket watches. On this Omega I just got the box is marked with the Jewelry store name instead of Omega but the warranty card marked Omega with the Jewelry stores info. The box is marked Swiss made on the bottom of the box and has a constellation crown that as old as the watch was wondering if the crown and dial was a special order just a theory. This one sold in Germany.
XE7HF9H.jpg
lp7f15x.jpg
o1ZEMFR.jpg

Well I have a fifties Constellation with a clover crown from the same era (no way to tell if your or my crown are "as old as the watch"), so odd substitutes do happen - it's bound to with watches of this age.

Your box is just a dealer's box which would be bought from a supplier to the jeweler's specifications and presented to the customer. The Omega box would have been thrown out. Many examples of these, some very ornate designs exists 😀
 
JBDinMad
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Hi All,
As I commented before, in the watch shop in Madrid where I take my Omega watches they have a showcase of old tools, including the metal molds and forms that were used to make the cases for Omega watches in the 50s and 60s.
I was there yesterday to service my Seamsaster, and managed to take a couple of pictures of the molds used for Seamaster and Constellation cases, as well as the molds with the Omega logos.
(Sorry for the poor quality of the pics, bu I was using my phone camera, and also did not have much time to adjust the lighting).
The shop owner was not there yesterday, so I could not ask any questions about how the process worked back then, but I will try next time. The young lady who was attending me told me that she thought the local production of Omega watches was focused on gold cases.

Cheers
20180508_184016.jpg 20180508_184023.jpg
 
JimInOz
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pmontoyap pmontoyap
I also have a rare internationally cased 2648 no name Connie. I believe it was made for the australian market (extract pending to corroborate)

You can read more about it here:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/pre-constellation-2648-look-alike-chronometre.56129/

Cheers

See your OP for the Australian connection.

JBDinMad JBDinMad
............. The young lady who was attending me told me that she thought the local production of Omega watches was focused on gold cases.

Cheers
20180508_184016.jpg 20180508_184023.jpg

She's probably right on the ball. Many countries imported movements only because of high import taxes on gold and other precious metals. Cases were then made locally, as evident in the collection you've shown.
 
ricardopalamino
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I took some watches out of storage recently that were waiting for me to complete a move to another state . Looking at them was like seeing an old friend .

I brought out this vintage Omega Globemaster that I had for a few years . When I got it , it was with my understanding that it may have been one of the watches assembled in the United States by the Norman Morris Corp. AKA Omega USA .

Screen Shot 2020-05-19 at 4.36.41 PM.png Screen Shot 2020-05-19 at 4.39.45 PM.png Screen Shot 2020-05-19 at 3.17.13 PM.png



The dial says SWISS under the 6 O'clock numeral .
I remember reading that the name Globemaster was used instead of Constellation because of some type of copy rite in the USA dealing with the TWA Constellation . It has been awhile since I researched this Info so probably messed the story up someplace .....so sorry if I did .

Any Info or comments on the watch are Invited .


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Foo2rama
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Well star watch case is a US case making company. So you can assume that was built in the US from a dial and movement. Normally to dodge gold import fees.
 
ricardopalamino
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I did read that import tarriffs were high on watches at the time , so I believe you are correct that Gold may have been a leading factor .
 
ricardopalamino
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I guess my main interest is on the Globemaster name . I have yet to acquire a modern Globemaster .
 
Foo2rama
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ricardopalamino ricardopalamino
I did read that import tarriffs were high on watches at the time , so I believe you are correct that Gold may have been a leading factor .
It was THE factor. In fact they are so common they are called locally sourced cases. There are examples from many countries in that time period. UK and the USA are the most common but there are others as well. In fact if you have heard of Denison cases Omegas those are Locally made cases for the UK.

You do not get locally made steel cases. Well with one exception with Star cases but AFAIK non of those are available to the public.
 
X350 XJR
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ricardopalamino ricardopalamino
I took some watches out of storage recently that were waiting for me to complete a move to another state . Looking at them was like seeing an old friend .

I brought out this vintage Omega Globemaster that I had for a few years . When I got it , it was with my understanding that it may have been one of the watches assembled in the United States by the Norman Morris Corp. AKA Omega USA .

Screen Shot 2020-05-19 at 4.36.41 PM.png Screen Shot 2020-05-19 at 4.39.45 PM.png Screen Shot 2020-05-19 at 3.17.13 PM.png



The dial says SWISS under the 6 O'clock numeral .
I remember reading that the name Globemaster was used instead of Constellation because of some type of copy rite in the USA dealing with the TWA Constellation . It has been awhile since I researched this Info so probably messed the story up someplace .....so sorry if I did .

Any Info or comments on the watch are Invited .


Screen Shot 2020-05-19 at 4.41.01 PM.png Screen Shot 2020-05-19 at 4.43.04 PM.png Screen Shot 2020-05-19 at 4.45.11 PM.png Screen Shot 2020-05-19 at 5.00.25 PM.png

http://users.tpg.com.au/mondodec//Globemasterpost.pdf
 
ConElPueblo
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Foo2rama Foo2rama
You do not get locally made steel cases. Well with one exception with Star cases but AFAIK non of those are available to the public.

There are loads of steel English cased Omegas, even in this thread there is one or two. Apart from gold tariffs, I wouldn't be surprised if English legislation also in some way made it profitable to import movements for final assembly in steel cases - national tariffs have had a huge impact on manufacturing and technical development over the years.
 
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