aroma
521
Finally, a couple of Swiss cased Constellations...
.... Both are late 1960s and cal 564 Constellations in solid 18kt gold - I'm not sure who the casemaker was but they are both of Swiss manufacture:-
Firstly a 168.005 Dogleg case
and secondly, a hidden crown 168.004 case
Both of these 18kt Swiss cases seem to have 'applied' medallions and not 'cast into the caseback' medallions like the original and pre mid 60s Constellations. So it seems to me that this practice of sticking embossed metal medallions into machined apertures on the caseback was a universally adopted procedure and not just something seen on UK produced cases. It looks like a cost-cutting measure as it would enable several casebacks to be turned out of a bar of gold - rather than individually cast and subsequently machined casebacks.
As always, any comments would be appreciated.
Cheers
Andrew
Constellation Medallions
Hi All, I know that with the stainless steel Constellations, the medallion is stamped into the caseback and that with gold-capped versions there is a separate gold medallion stuck into the recess - but I wasn't aware that this also applied to solid 18kt g...
I would need more pictures to comment...
... like the inside of the caseback, movement and dial shots. I agree that solid gold Constellations generally has the observatory struck into the case, rather than a medallion as used with gold-capped and early steel cases. Something about that case just...
I did just see a UK cased...
...18K gold Constellation that looks like it may have had a gold medallion set into the back: The reference is seen below: I'm not familiar with these UK made gold cases, other than I know they exist. More research is still needed. gatorcpa ...
Further Photos............
Hi Gatorcpa, The example I showed is indeed the same model (probably the same year - 1968) as your one. It's a Shackman cased 168.(5)004 and here are some more pictures:- FYI, Omega used to send bare movements to the UK for casing and their default casema...
For the record...
...I swiped those photos from the web. For research purposes only, of course. Sometimes, even a blind squirrel can find an acorn. gatorcpa
I don't want to labour this point if there is no interest but..
..I have some more photos of the medallions. First a mid 1960s Dennsion made 168.(5)004 hidden crown Connie and a late 1950s Swiss cased by SERVA Both appear to be medallions which are cast into the caseback and with a machined groove to finish off Then i...
All three of my steel Connies have the applied . . .
. . . Observatory, and they're cal 504/505 models made prior to 1960. Here's an image of a '57 steel Connie caseback (not mine, unfortunately) . . . [image credit: Dr No / watch credit: Jack K] . . . which shows an applied medallion. Your question pertain...
Finally, a couple of Swiss cased Constellations...
.... Both are late 1960s and cal 564 Constellations in solid 18kt gold - I'm not sure who the casemaker was but they are both of Swiss manufacture:- Firstly a 168.005 Dogleg case and secondly, a hidden crown 168.004 case Both of these 18kt Swiss cases see...
medallions
The earlier steel Constellations also had the medallion stuck or glued in. My grandfather's 1953 bumper has a press on back with one such medallion which is gold colored. I think it was sometime in the mid 60s that they changed over to a molded back.
it looks like you have your answer Andrew
i looks to me as if Shackman used a stamped medallion they applied to the caseback. i'm only going on what i've seen from this post of course. getting a replacement may be impossible unless you can get a gold one made for a gold capped connie and apply it...
Hi Graham, The trouble with using a medallion from...
... a gold capped example is that the medallions are of a different design - the observatory is plain with no 'bricks' and the stars are different. Desmond has a very interesting essay on his blog about the different medallions. I need to see a few more e...
very interesting subject Andrew, i...
very interesting subject Andrew, i wish you luck with your endeavours. i'll just not buy one with a medallion missing unless i get a display back made for it :) best G
