Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Omega Constellation 1001: Against All Odds

Collecting the noncollectable: Omega Constellation Integral



"To be, or not to be...." that was precisely my feeling when deciding whether to grab this Omega. There are so many negative comments, reviews against this Omega movement cal. 1001. So many have classified it as a disaster or even a catastrophic movement.

"In 1968, the Omega 1000 series calibres came into this world with what are said to be significant birth defects..............The newly designed winding mechanism and the self-lubrication system created problems with reliability. Calibres 1000, 1001 and 1002 are best avoided, except by those who can repair and maintain them." wrote Desmond Guilfoyle. His full article can be read HERE!


Well there is always the other side of the coin. I have also heard the story about an Omega Cal. 1001 on someone's wrist for the last 25 years without servicing. Why I decided to have this one in my collection? This is because it was the Cal. 1001 that has launched Omega into the fast beat movements in 1969, eight years ahead of its rival, Rolex. Also the 1000 calibers were the last few Omega in-housed Constellation movement before Omega outsourced its manufacture of mechanical watch movements. Omega, for reasons of cutting costs and surviving the Japanese Quartz revolution, replaced the in-house Constellation movement in 1984 with the ETA 2892-2 and renamed it Calibre 1111.

This Omega Constellation is the same watch that is on display in the Omega museum and is labelled as the Constellation "integral line". The integral line watches were the first in the world to have the bracelet integrated into the case design. 1960's-1970's Constellations were manufactured at a time when mechanical watchmaking technology had reached a high point. The Constellation was one of the finest and most accurate watches available at the time and catered to different budgets and tastes with a choice of stainless steel to a solid 18K gold cases.


This is the most basic 1970's Omega Constellation with date function. It is a square shaped stainless steel case with integrated stainless steel bracelet. Its case measures 36mm x 40.9mm. The crown is signed with Omega logo or the horse shoe logo. This watch is with acrylic crystal and has a tiny little Omega logo engraved at the center of the crystal. The silver dial with baton indexes has had its glory day. 


The factory stainless steel bracelet is still intact and in good condition. The folding clasp is proudly signed with a huge Omega logo. 


The inner clasp is also signed as well with a reference number of 1155/148. 


The screw-down backcase of the Constellations is nicely decorated with a space observatory station with 8 stars in the sky. 


The 1000 series was one of the best-selling of all Omega self-winding calibres. More than 1.5 million were used not only as certified chronometers in Constellations, but also the uncertified movements in Seamasters, Geneve and Speedmasters.


The certified chronometer calibre 1001 was the first of the series to power Constellations. Cal.1001 is a 20 Jewels automatic movement adjusted to 5 positions and temperature. It has a power reserve of 42 hours. Designed by Kurt Vogt under Alfred Rihs, it was an impressive 4.25mm thick. Apart from its high frequency (28,800bph), it incorporated a number of technologies, such as a hacking feature to allow more accurate time setting, instantaneous date and a thinner rotor to slow down and create less stress and wear on the winding mechanism. 



Despite its shortcomings, Cal. 1001 is of significant in Omega's horological history. The Omega Constellation Integral line does have its place in Omega's hall of fame and some may say hall of shame as well. 

(Acknowledgement: A good portion of this post is based on Desmond Guilfoyle's and http://omega-constellation-collectors.blogspot.com works.)

12 comments:

  1. I love my 1001 Constellation, although I wish it worked. One day I'll put her in the shop and have someone treat her well, but for now it's a bit richer than I would like, so she'll sit in the box until that day comes. I DO long to wear it though...

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  2. IS THE SAME DIAL FOR OMEGA cAL 1010?

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    1. NO !!!
      The 1010 is the much improved upgrade of this movement.

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  3. I recently bought an almost complete 168.046 with the 1001 movement and I must say that I am very impressed with it !!!
    Servicing the movement was very easy and after initial wind it ran very strong with amplitude around 280 on a partial wind.
    Timing it was very easy too and achieved a flatline +- 0 seconds per day took less than a minute !!!
    I have looked at reviews saying avoid this movement but I totally disagree with them and only wish I had bought one of these movements many years ago.
    I have 6 Rolex watches includng 1570, 3000, 3035 and 3135 movement and I would rate this movement higher in terms of accuracy ease of servicing and adjustment.
    A VERY UNDERRATED MOVEMENT !!!

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    1. Thank you for such strong Positive testimony , I might get one !!

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  4. I too have worn this watch for, at least ten years, without a downtime. My is the 1002 movement. Is it as reliable as the IWC 853 movement--probally not, but it's not two grand either. There's a evolution that "Waych Guys" morph into. At first, they buy what looks good, and usually trendy. If they get into repair--they begin to change. You look beyond the asthetics, and really value that hidden engine. Let the filthy rich boys buy the name. I can repair watches. To those who want to get into the profession there's many routes. Don't rule out self study. If you live near a privately funded watch school; apply. Right now, most newer watch brands will not sell parts. They want the customer to send the watch to the factory, and it seems like a simple service is always $800. Just my experience, but they always seem to find something that needs replacing. It seems to violate The Sherman Anti-trust Act, but it's just not on the U.S. Government's radar, or priority list--I get it! They claim it's a problem, but it a niche problem. And just about every politician is wearing a gift watch from the Swatch Group--current owner of Rolex, etc. If you have the money--be my guest. I don't like making luxury companies more wealthy. There's a lot of watches to be found on the secondary market. The 1002 is not the watch to learn on, but a year, depending on your commitment, natural ability; you can service (clean, and oil) this watch. Watch repair is not rocket science. The Rolex boys might claim otherwise, but it's just a skill. It feels good to get a broken watch working. As to my 1002, I bought it broken years ago. It was just a stem, and I needed to replace a little piece of metal(fork piece) that holds the rotor on. I filed a tiny piece of metal, and fixed it. It was sold by a Watch Repair person. I believe he bought it, and read the negative reviews, and decided to off it. Fine--I will happily buy it. My whole point is don't believe everything you read on the Internet. And sorry about my rambling. I find spring stressful, especially this year of 2017. I'll leave on this--Watch Repair can be therapeutic. It's easy on the body, unlike auto mechanics. If you get into the hobby/profession their will be a time when you experience a Zen state. It might take a few years, but it will come. The parts will just go together. Watching that balance wheel spin, after a service--will just relax you. It will be awhile though. At first, you might just give it up when that Click Spring flies across the room into the abyss, but their will be a time when accidents just decrease. Oh yea, unless you have a neurological problem; your shaky hands will become steady. I tried to teach a friend basic watch repair, and he tried to use the "My hands are too shaky?". I made him ride it out. A few weeks later he had the dexterity of a good Surgeon. (That lost click spring can be made. It can be salvaged from a spare watch, or just made. I a few months Hope to offer online classes on the repair of watches. I will probally be at watchrepairvideos.com, or horology.biz. Maybe I'll meet you? The cost will be low, and I'm nice. )

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    1. I forgot I wrote this. A little bit embarrassed. To those that have a 1002 movement, the watch Stem is a bit thinner than most. I tried to make one on a lathe, and found it difficult. I needed to buy one. Other than that, it's a good watch movement. What I find crazy is at the time Omega came out with these movement, they were on a price point with Rolex. Crazy?

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  5. Hi, Im Vivek from Malaysia. I got the exact same Omega Constellation 1972 as a gift from my dad. I have been keeping it for a while. Few days ago, my dad wore it for a bit and returned it saying the crown fell off. The watch itself is working but Im reluctant to send it to service center here in my country as there is only one and with their work the originality of the watch is often questioned. They put in dials, hand and movement parts of a newer watch to make some easy cash but the watch never looks the same. Im clueless as to what should be my next step.

    Should I get the parts shipped from overseas? Or just send it in to service center standing to not change out anything? Also, should I do the servicing along with it.

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  6. hi I bought mine in 1969 has the day and date the quick set works perfect..never had it serviced 50 years now and still runs perfect..and looks near mint...

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  7. Tengo un Constellation calibre 1001 de marzo 1973 (inscripta la fecha en kla tijera de su brocee) hasta con su plexy original sellado. A todos los imbéciles que critican este calibre, es seguro que ni siquiera hayan poseñido uno. ES UN CALIBRE DE EXCELENCIA SUPERLATIVA. Cuando lo adquirí y lo revisó mi ténico, sólo tuve que efectuar un reemplazo de piñón de rueda de centro, estando el resto de los c omponentes en óptima condición -ni siquiera ctuve que efectuar un service de lubricación- y la mala prensa en su momento, se debió al sistema de calendario cuya performance dichoi sea de paso, es perfecta. Impresiona asimismo su diseño totalmente en acero pulido a espejo, la caja de 33x36x10mm, dial negro "cara de carbón" ultra elegante- Tal vez un punto en contra esté en las agujas no lumiuiscentes, cosa que se puede subsanbar fácilmente. Anda de putçisima madre que lo reparió, deun reloj de la concha de su madre, eswpectacular, fino, distinguido y de alta alcurnia. Y... es Omega, donde mueren las palabras. Los Rolex no tienen ni para arrabcar, ni para la foto al lado de un Omega.

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  8. I own a beautiful Constellation w/ cal. 1001. It is the square "television" dial and I love it. It works great. Does anybody here know what would be the correct setting for my watch winder? I've looked everywhere online and the 1000 series isn't to be found.

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  9. También tengo un 1001 en oro, perteneció a mi padre el cual lo compró en el 1970; al fallecer mi padre el reloj lo guardé dentro de su estuche y allí estuvo durante 30 años sin tocarlo para nada; con unos cuantos movimientos se puso otra vez en funcionamiento, lo llevo todos los días y la precisión sigue siendo extraordinaria, ni se atrasa y se adelanta. Ya quisieran muchos relojes automáticos actuales tener en su interior menudo corazón .....
    ¡¡ fantástico el calibre 1001 de Omega !!

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