When Fake Constellations Were a Push-Over

Ah, to dream! What if we could return to those simple and uncomplicated days of the late nineteen-sixties and early seventies when the only obstacles to an idyllic, carefree existence were the looming oil crisis, annihilation by nuclear war, and the atrocities committed by some governments against their own citizens by sending the unwilling flower of their youth to suffer or die pointlessly in Vietnam?

Oh, and lest we forget, the life-threatening experience of owning a Ford Pinto did cause the odd ripple in our halcyon pond, but the discovery of interesting chemical compounds and botanical specimens that could be ingested or smoked helped to return us to a state of calm, if not equilibrium.

China was still a heaving mass of oppressed humanity (as it remains so); the U.S. still had an economy; one could still take a smell tour of South-East Asia, and while we’re reflecting on the good things in life of the sixties and seventies, even fake Constellations were less likely to cause loss of sleep!

Blame MaartinB for this maudlin ramble down memory lane!  A Rolex collector, Maarten sent me pictures of a fake Constellation from the period to add to our gallery, and, as you can see, this delightfully Neanderthal attempt at impersonation of a late-sixties Constellation is about as convincing as a Tom Cruise acting performance.

A cursory glance at the dial of the watch tells us immediately that it is an impostor.  Such was the reputation of Omega at the time that the company had no need to advertise the number of jewels in the movement or the anti-magnetic qualities of the balance spring. Another give-away is the sub-seconds dial,  a feature never appearing on even the earliest of Constellations.

The case is made of 'pinchbeck', a brass-nickel alloy that, when polished, looks like gold. The outer case back provides further evidence of the spurious origins of the watch. Omega never stamped responsibility and other marks on the outside of the case. The case makers mark and assay office stamp are poorly rendered, and any potential purchaser of the time who had done their homework would know that Constellations were a post-war phenomenon and never manufactured during war-time.

I've reserved the best bit until last. Just look at the movement - those mythical rubies are nowhere to be seen, and the balance wheel looks as though it's been purloined from the engine of an Austin A40!  I suspect this movement is a 1960s Hong Kong special as it has a cottage industry quality about it that even the Russians had managed to surpass.

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