When it comes to vintage dress watches, the Constellation is always one that comes up at discussion. As an icon of the Omega line in the 20th century, it is, to this day, still one of the most loved Omegas around due to its unique design traits and relative affordability.
The Constellation was introduced in 1952 and was only designated to Omega’s top-dress watches that were chronometer certified. Since it’s inception, the Constellation name has been used for many different styles but the one that is the most recognizable and collectible would have to be this one- the 168.005.
This reference is what I would call, the quintessential and most distinctive Constellation. There are two reasons, with the first being the unique case shape that was designed. While this is essentially a 34mm dress watch, the unique case construction made this watch stand out, with its angular ‘dog-leg’ lugs, giving the watch a more geometric feel and contrasting with the overall round design. Even the crown carried on the geometric feel and with high-quality bevelling through the case, there are so many facets of quality that makes this so much more interesting than your average dress watch. Secondly, it must be said that the dial is what made this watch so famous, affectionately nicknamed the ‘pie pan’ by collectors. With this stepped, angular dial, applied logo and star and onyx filled indices and hour hands, the amount of detail going on is truly remarkable.
Fast forward 50 years, and what makes this example even more special is just how well preserved it is. With a super sharp case retaining all of its bevels and a near-perfect dial, this would certainly be classified as a collector grade icon of the Omega name.
