There are beads of rice and beads of rice. What distinguishing features do original BOR bracelets have? Which Omega Constellation watch heads can be legitimately fitted with Beads of Rice Bracelets?
There is quite some confusion about accessorising in-house manufacture Omega Constellations from 1952 to the mid 70s.
I have written two essays on accessories in an attempt to establish some standards by which collectors can judge which buckles and bracelets go with which watch heads.
Click here for an essay on straps and buckles
Click here for an essay on Bracelets
FYI, the link to the articles on straps & buckles and also the article on bracelets appears to be broken.
ReplyDeleteHi Thanks for alerting me. I checked and the back-up links are down but the first link for each is ok....takes a bit to download though as the files are largish.
ReplyDeleteRegards
Desmond
Desmond,
ReplyDeleteYour site has been a fantastic help and a super read ever since I looked on a long time ago. I purchased a few years ago from a local jeweler a 561 cal black dial stainless steel Constellation. It was fitted with a stainless steel bracelet 7912 marked 3/62 and Swiss made. These pages gave me a lot of 7912 understanding. Are you aware of just how the prices have gone through the roof on e-bay for these 7912 bracelet's? I presume because they also fit Seamaster models it makes them very saleable and are so early.
I worked for the Swiss for many years selling a range of watchmaking machine tools including Ewag, Wahli,Gerber, etc and visited the Biel factory a number of times as well as some of the great clock and watch museums over there. I appreciate the working of my 561 as I am aware of the types of machines used in their manufacture.
Thank you again for such a super website.
Thanks for your kind comments - much appreciated.
DeleteYes, Ive noticed prices for these vintage Omega bracelets and others almost double over the last three years. I suspect you are right about people wanting to match them up with their Seamasters.
Love to hear more about the types of machines used to manufacture parts as it is a little understood aspect of production watch manufacture of those halcyon days.
Regards Desmond
Great information on this site, thank you for providing such a valuable service!
ReplyDeleteI was hoping that you could help me with a buckle question for my 1966 Constellation. The case is solid 18k but the original buckle is missing. Would an original buckle for this model have been solid 18k to match the case or would it have been gold plate? Would there be a particular style buckle of the one's pictured that would most typically be associated with the Constellation circa mid 1960's? Also what would be the correct buckle size? Standard strap taper today seems to be 18-16mm but some vintage straps I notice are 18-14mm.
Thanks again for this treasure trove of a site!!
Yes, with an 18k Watch head it was normal for the buckle to be 18k as well. There were a number of buckles in that period, and either an 18-14 mm or 18-16mm would be correct, depending on the style of the buckle.
ReplyDeleteRegards
desmond
Sr.Desmond
ReplyDeleteDesde hace algun tiempo me he interesado por los relojes Omega, vivo en Guatemala y desde aqui quiero felicitarle por su sitio, donde encontré muchisima información sobre Constallations...Me gustaria mantener comunicación con su persona para aclarar algunas dudas al respecto...Juan J. Luttmann B. Mail jjbrunon@hotmail.con
I've translated your message into English below.
DeletePlease feel free to post any questions you may have
Regards
Desmond
For some time now I have been interested in the Omega watches , I live in Guatemala and from here I want to congratulate you on your site, where I found very many Constellations information ... I would like to maintain communication with youto clarify some doubts ... John J. B. Luttmann Mail jjbrunon@hotmail.con
Dear Desmond,
ReplyDeletethank you for this super useful articles!
I would like to ask about the width of these vintage Omega buckles? Did they come in all kind of sizes (18,16,12 mm etc.)? I would like to distinguish fake buckles offered at Ebay from real ones.
Thanks,
Scipio
Hi Scipio,
DeleteThere were various widths, but, for example with an 18mm lug size, the buckle was usually tapered to 16mm.
The trick to establish authenticity to to only buy buckles that have known stamps on the rear. Price is also an indicator because genuine buckles will attract higher prices.
There is a useful thread on Omega forums which may help you identify trade marks it can be found here: https://omegaforums.net/threads/about-omega-buckles.37347/
Cheers
Desmond
I've recently procured three different vintage omega buckles from the 50's/60's, to match with varying straps and watches. All are gold plated so far, and the interesting thing is they all seem to have a different hue to the gold tone. One is more green tinted, another has a deeper red/orange, a third leans more towards like a champagne color. This means they don't all match every interchangeably (as I perhaps was hoping).
ReplyDeleteDo you have any insight into why this could be the case? My thought is that they would have been different in color originally from factory - due to the composition of the gold plating - rather than having aged differently. By that logic, I'm inclined to belive that a buckle that is advertised as original to a watch but that doesn't match the gold hue of it's case is not an original pairing.
Yes, I think you're right. The buckles were manufactured at different locations globally and it's reasonable to assume that the metal composition may vary. Also 14k is a lighter plate than 18k and so you will notice variations there. The same applies to 14K vs 18K plate crowns.
DeleteAgain, it's reasonable to suppose that if there are variations in colour of buckle and case the strap may have not been with the watch since new. The other thought is that sometimes a buckle with a strap different to that on the watch may have been swapped at the retail end. Further, in some countries only the watch head was supplied from the factory, leaving the distribution to add buckles and boxes locally.
Thanks for raising an interesting point.
Cheers
Desmond