Hidden Gems | OMEGA Constellation | Crown & Caliber

hi i'm mark with crown and caliber and welcome to hidden gems not much in terms of watch design made it out of the 80s and arguably the omega constellation limped out it is largely forgotten about the watch collecting community it is not a big hit in the u.s it's probably because of its data design but it recently got a refresh and that means it deserves a second look so let's get into it [Music] so let's start with the history of the watch in 1982 omega is looking to update the constellation line it's a classic dress watch been around since the 50s but it feels dated for its time and this is the 1980s quartz crisis everything's different swatches in full swing we're looking at a completely different way of wearing watches and they bring in for this a young designer carol didisheim she's from the local design school literally her first job in college she's still finishing school when she starts this job for inspiration while she's trying to think of how to bring a new design how to bring something that doesn't look like everything else to market she's actually looked at a bathroom mirror that uses these claws to hold the mirror in place and that inspired the idea of using these claws to hold down the crystal instead of a bezel and with another new technology of being able to print on the underside of crystal the roman numerals they were able to create a bezel-less butt water tight ultra thin watch and just to complete the watch they create an integrated bracelet so you have in the 80s just a few years after the nautilus the royal oak the vasron 222 when integrated bracelets were becoming part of the higher end watch community omega comes out with their own the omega constellation manhattan that's the original name for it initially huge hit in fact it becomes such a hit that the omega constellation manhattan became the omega constellation the entire line completely took over one of the core lines of omega it got a little refreshed in the 90s where they actually got rid of the claws as a functional element but more as a design element and added a bezel to it so it was a little easier to manufacture it looked a little less art deco in 80s and a little more 90s by the time they brought that around but it doesn't age well it's not like a tank that is a simple design that feels universal throughout its 100 years of existence it is very much of a decade it's a smaller watch integrated bracelet the design does stand out it has existed and continues to exist in that design because of how well it does in other markets but let's be honest the western market is a huge watch market you want something that can work in both markets omega finally in 2020 came out with the 41 millimeter omega constellation it's a slightly larger size on what's classically been it's usually been a 36 millimeter give or take a few it's meant more as a feminine watch or a classically sized men's dress watch i mean it's generally meant to be a dress watch but this gives a completely different feel and it's just little touches the 41 millimeter gets rid of that steel bezel with drilled in numerals instead it puts in a ceramic bezel that puts in the liquid metal numerals that omega has patented which means that the metal that fills in those cracks is flat with the ceramic they're brushed it gives a little bit of a styling to them a little texture to them but it's actually flat with the ceramic that look gives it a sports watch feel and you think of ceramic bezels in general those are sports watches that's the submariner that's the new zenith that's the omega c master 300ms a ceramic bezel means sports watch it has a integrated bracelet in this case it's a leather bracelet so again more of a dress watch feel but integrated steel gives it a little bit of a sports watch feel because that's what we're used to with integrated bracelets for me that's the that's the sweet spot this is the kind of watch that does it all it's a different design it stands out it still has the scalloped edges it still has kind of the claw look to it it's this universal design that feels at home on top of that you have the omega med test certified movement great technology don't have to worry about going through a metal detector and getting magnetized or something like that while traveling i personally love this one because it has a they call it a silk textured rhodium dial i like a textured dial it gives something a little different to it it's something we see in grand seikos that works so well and rhodium is a really cool way to finish a dial it literally does change color from a silver to a gray and depending on how much you use even to a brown in this case the silver to gray and that gives it a little more fun to the watch i'll give the hot take here the watch that's probably thought of most that is simple works anywhere about the same price range and has a date is the rolex datejust which is another one that's the design has been around forever a datejust can be and for many people a perfect one watch but for me i like this watch so much better i like the art deco feel to it i like the different design it feels fantastic on the wrist it feels modern except for it is a design that's been around for four decades and this really is the best iteration of it it really is one of my favorite watches to come out in the past few years and this is not a sales pitch this is a personal opinion i will take this watch over just about anything that's come out in the past few years to me it is that well executed with the exception of the odysseus i'll take an odysseus over this but for the different price range for this where you're talking about the price range this sits in there's no other watch i think is as well executed on a day-to-day basis yet it gets completely ignored and that is really what makes this watch a hidden gem even if the omega constellation doesn't speak to you i hope on a second look you appreciate it that's what hidden gems is all about taking a second look at a watch that doesn't always get that chance see you next time on hidden gems [Music]

Channel: Crown & Caliber by Hodinkee

Views: 18,810

Keywords: crown and caliber, Hodinkee, hidden gems, luxury watches, high end watches, swiss watches, sport watch, Hidden Gems | OMEGA Constellation | Crown & Caliber, omega watches, Omega constellation, constellation Manhattan, integrated bracelet, carol didisheim, Dress watch, co-axial movement, ceramic bezel

Id: wtSFP1iAXuw

Length: 6min 59sec (419 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 29 2022