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Curves came to the Constellation in 1964. Omega introduced a new case for its chronometer line that year, and the Omega Constellation 168.017 is the later form of that design. The pie-pan Constellation of the 1950s was a round watch with a domed, twelve sided dial, and Omega did not retire it when the new case arrived. The two were made alongside each other, and only gradually through the middle of the decade did the domed dial give way to flatter dials and new case shapes. The new case was drawn in a single sweep from lug to lug, so that from above it reads as two letter Cs set back to back, and Omega dressed it with a plainer dial of slim batons, a scheme this one keeps. Collectors generally associate the design with Gerald Genta.
This watch belongs to the later run of that case. The earliest C-shape references used the caliber 561, and by 1966 Omega’s international collection listed the 168.017 with the caliber 564, a 24 jewel automatic with a quickset date in the chronometer grade. Omega’s own archive records the reference simply as the Constellation C. The case was offered in steel, in gold capped form like this one and in solid gold, with smooth or fluted bezels and dials that ran from plain silver to textured finishes, and a day date version followed. The dial here reads Automatic, Chronometer, Officially Certified. The movement is the same caliber, and the inside of the caseback is stamped CD 168.017 together with the French marking for a stainless steel back. Dial, movement and case agree with one another.
The case is cushion shaped, 35mm wide and 40.5mm lug to lug, 14k gold capped with a stainless steel back that carries the observatory medallion. The bezel is smooth, the crystal rises above it and the ridged crown is signed. The silver dial has a radial finish with slim dark centered batons, an applied star low on the dial and the framed date at three, and it shows a few small spots along with some discoloration on the hands. The watch comes on a gold colored linked bracelet with an Omega signed folding clasp, 18mm at the lugs, and fits wrists up to 7.75 inches. We see the curved case as Omega’s own answer to what a Constellation could look like beside the pie-pan, and this Omega Constellation 168.017 gives that answer quietly.
