Dear Gentlemen,
Offered for sale is a vintage Omega Constellation with Kim Il Sung signature dial. Its the one of the few that exists, custom ordered for special occasions like head of state visits and presented to high ranking foreign officials(Head of state and delegacy,senior diplomatic representative and similar).
Kim Il Sung was the first leader in the Kim dinasty of North Korea and ruled from its establishment 1948 till his death in 1994. He was declared as "eternal President" also know as the "Great Leader" or controversely as a communist dictator but as serious watch enthusiast on the forum, we're mature enough to threat historic facts connected to timepieces with a high level of objectiveness and leave all subjective feelings caused by various inputs, aside.
This Constellation is often referred to as the C shape case Connie and was produced from 1964-1978. The designer of the C-shaped case is Gerald Genta whom we can thank for many significant modern pieces in the world of horology like the AP RO,Patek Nautilus,Bvlgari Bvlgari etc. The watch has the rare ref.166.0248, it is a stainless steel case with white gold bezel.
The steel bracelet is of course also original to the watch(for max. 19cm,7.5inch wrist). The dial has in the upper sector the Kim Il-Sung signature in red and as a curiosity the days are also in Korean. Crystal is without scratches and has a cyclops magnifier above the day/date indicator at 9h. The watch bears the 23 jewels selfwinding cal.1022 with quick day/date set and hack feature that works at 28.800 A/h.
Regarding the condition of the watch please take a detailed look at the dropbox gallery. Summarized, the watch has very light wear on the case, dial and hands are like new, bracelet clasp has few surface scratches,crystal like new, and the most important thing is that the watch case and bracelet was never polished.
The movement is clean,runs well and is accurate. A watchmakers marking on the backlid inner indicates a service in 2011, which was probably the first service this watch got as it was not used earlier in his lifetime.Year of manufacture according to the ser. no. is 1978, 41xxxxx.
The watches origin is from Yugoslavia at that time, as North Korea and Yugoslavia had close diplomatic relations nurtured by the two leaders Josip Broz Tito and Kim Il-Sung (I inserted few pics in the gallery) and both states were also a member of the Non-Aligned movement, a bit deeper info on request only.
I hope it's needless to emphasize but for the record, the watch is all authentic as presented from my side and described in this text and on the photos.
Not getting into polemics about rarity of certain pieces, but these watches are not Rolex Oman nor Saddam Hussein Longines watches,manufactured in X numbers during longer periods, North Korea was/is a completely different and unique environment and it was for me a very surprising fact to learn that they turned to a swiss manufacturer like Omega to order these customised pieces knowing their (external presented)rejection of the western world and economy. Only a handful exemplares ever are known to surfaced and sold (according to my research frames and not knowing about pre-internet era or personal/auction sellings) one constellation which I believe is the same ref. for $9000 in slight worser condition (ebay item 221199526588) and a Geneve with the same cal. for $5500 (ebay item 271759321373),non other watch brands or models are known to bear this signature. Speculative prices? Maybe, but what is the price of a new characterless Constellation? and what was exactly the very special fact regarding the datejust's that resulted in the 眉ber prices at a famous recent auction?! Underlines, fonts, hand shapes,bezels, logos,signatures -to each his own. Viewing from a different angle, this watch has definetively a story to tell. Very rare special order custom dial Omega,evil dictators timepiece or holy grail of communist watches, it's your to decide.
Dropbox gallery with high res. photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mst1cgea5etnl0k/AAAIMmgVF-wjEbG9qixp-wtxa?dl=0
Price is $9500 included DHL insured shipping worldwide , all reasonable offers are welcome and considered
References: many international references on wus forum also 100% pos. feedback on the bay, feel free to enquire
Preffering a face to face deal in EU,ideally Vienna,Venice or nearby but I'm open to all suggestions. In case of shipping, EU deal preferred but possible worldwide of course. Shipping method per buyers request. Possible import duties and taxes are buyers responsibility. Declaration and insurance amount per agreement.
Transit time for DHL is 2-3 workdays but please note that it can take longer because of customs procedures in the country of import.You get tracking provided and can view the detailed status of the shipment.Before shipment the working order of the watch will be video documented.
Preferred payment method is with bank wire transfer USD or EUR,in that case the price is $500 less. Paypal welcome but only with buyers references, thanks for your understanding.
Communication is welcome over PM,mail,phone(also whatsapp,viber),skype etc. For guests: psvintage(at)
hotmail.com
Trade: vintage Rolex,Omega,interested especially in Omega marine chronometer, C case Connie,Eberhard,various mechanical and quartz vintage chronometers (only full authentic pieces please)
Serbia
