Timeline Watch
1959

Omega Constellation pie-pan

Jack S. Kilby of Texas Instruments supervises the development of the first integrated circuit

1959 Omega Constellation pie-pan, rose gold case ref. OT 14.381, automatic Chronometer cal. 27.9 RA SC bull 511.

This is one of the greatest Omega classics. This watch was designed by Gerald Genta and its name comes from the similarity to a real pie pan.

Since 1952 the Omega Constellation has been among the highest level of Luxurious and precise watches.
On the dial the name Constellation is on top of a Gold Star. On the back of the case we find the famous medallion featuring an observatory crowned by a Constellation of eight stars, evoking the numerous exploits of Omega in word chronometer competition.

In 1958 the Constellation Calendar was included. It was available in the three different levels of finish from Standard to Grand Luxe. At that time the Constellation was advertised as being for the man who already has a watch, an allusion to the fact that a Constellation was so much more. The form of the Constellation remained little changed until 1964 when the so-called “C-case” watches were introduced. Nowadays Constellation continues to set the standard for luxury and high precision watches.

Omega was founded in 1848 by Louis Brandt at the age of 23. The brand’s reputation grew fast and in 1895 the watches achieved a precision of 30 seconds a day.
By the turn of the 19th century Omega was one of Switzerland’s largest watch companies with 240,000 watches produced annually and employing 800 people.

Omega made its debut in sports during the Gordon Bennett international ballooning Cup in 1917; since then Omega has gone on to be the official timekeeper at 21 Olympic Games.

In 1936 Omega set the remarkable World precision record of 97.8 points at the Kew-Teddington observatory in England.

In 1957, with motorsport in mind, Omega launched the Speedmaster, which in 1965 was chosen by NASA as its official chronometer in Space. Four years later the Moonwatch was the first watch to be worn on the Moon, when on 21st July 1969 Neil Armstrong made his giant leap for mankind. Currently Omega belongs to the Swatch Group.