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Solid gold dial on gold-capped 14393-61 ref

river9
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Hello
I am curious when I see on local ads a gold capped 14393 equiped with solid gold dial.
Could it be a franken watch?
To my understanding gold dial should only be used on "high end" ref, i.e solid gold (14K/18K) cases.
Am I wrong, please enlighten me.
Thank you
IMG_20221227_204917.jpg IMG_20221227_204851.jpg
 
BarbVl
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I think is possible to have a solid gold dial on a stainless steel gold which is gold plated only on the front..my personal opinion because i remember that i seen that in the description of some watches on eBay in the past..
 
Peemacgee
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river9 river9
Hello
I am curious when I see on local ads a gold capped 14393 equiped with solid gold dial.
Could it be a franken watch?
To my understanding gold dial should only be used on "high end" ref, i.e solid gold (14K/18K) cases.
Am I wrong, please enlighten me.
Thank you
IMG_20221227_204917.jpg IMG_20221227_204851.jpg

A solid gold 18k dial would usually be found in a deluxe constellation which would have an 18k case and be denoted a ref 14394, not 14393.

An option would be that a gold dial was an option for special order - but Bearing in mind the deluxe version was a further step up from an 18k cased watch, and has its own reference, I can’t see why Omega would offer that option for a gold cap constellation.

An extract might show its provenance but I suspect it would show it to be a frankenwatch.

More likely the gold dial is a survivor from a scrapped gold case ( but why they didn’t also scrap the dial, who knows)
 
river9
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What would be market prices for that dial alone? Is it hard to find a correct dial for 14393's ref?
Sorry I am not familiar with Fleabay search (never ever registered on it but used to make face to face transaction locally)
 
Dan S
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river9 river9
What would be market prices for that dial alone? Is it hard to find a correct dial for 14393's ref?
Sorry I am not familiar with Fleabay search (never ever registered on it but used to make face to face transaction locally)

IMO, this is a situation where you just leave things alone. The dial looks great in the watch, why borrow trouble?
 
X350 XJR
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Service crown and service strap, wonder if this one has been to Omega for a service?..and a dial?
 
MtV
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river9 river9
What would be market prices for that dial alone? Is it hard to find a correct dial for 14393's ref?
Sorry I am not familiar with Fleabay search (never ever registered on it but used to make face to face transaction locally)

There’s no such thing as a known market value for a 14394 dial, as they hardly ever come up for sale on their own. My rough guess would be 500-800$ for the dome variant.

Finding a spare 14393 dial requires some patience and more often than not they won’t be cheap. Your best bet might be to find an 18k 14393 (which shares a case and case back with the “deluxe” 14394) and switch dials to create a gold-capped 14393 example with a regular and a 14394 with a solid gold dial.

I’ve done the same with the kind help of @X350 XJR and a 2852/2853 when I found this:

74026052-41DE-409C-BDCB-069EC913C7A6.jpeg


Took me about a year though…
 
river9
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The 14393 case (so it is at least with the caseback) I posted comes already with gold dial. I don't intend for now. Just curious and self learning with your help. Tks
 
hoipolloi
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Recently, I bought a 168.006 18k pie pan dial coming with 561 movement. Have it serviced and putting it into a 168.005 gold capped case, bought a 14k gold plated bracelet and an original 10 sided crown for it.
Total cost is @ $3200 for a frankened one but I like it.

Screenshot_20221228_105436_eBay.jpg 20221228_105626.jpg 20221228_105707.jpg 20221228_105816.jpg
 
river9
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hoipolloi hoipolloi
Recently, I bought a 168.006 18k pie pan dial coming with 561 movement. Have it serviced and putting it into a 168.005 gold capped case, bought a 14k gold plated bracelet and an original 10 sided crown for it.
Total cost is @ $3200 for a frankened one but I like it.

What a journey! If ever I buy the 14393 I would let it alone because I am looking for a 'daily beater' and parts are scarce for me (am not really versed into online buys)
Tks for sharing
Edited:
 
Peemacgee
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hoipolloi hoipolloi
Recently, I bought a 168.006 18k pie pan dial coming with 561 movement. Have it serviced and putting it into a 168.005 gold capped case, bought a 14k gold plated bracelet and an original 10 sided crown for it.
Total cost is @ $3200 for a frankened one but I like it.

@river9
This is the most likely explanation of the process of how the watch you are looking at came into existence
 
hoipolloi
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Peemacgee Peemacgee
came into existence
They already existed but they were not put together at some point.😉
 
Peemacgee
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hoipolloi hoipolloi
They already existed but they were not put together at some point.😉

Where else could you find a discussion about fine watches and existential philosophy except on Omega Forums?
 
river9
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Peemacgee Peemacgee
Where else could you find a discussion about fine watches and existential philosophy except on Omega Forums?
Excellent! When I created this entry for information I didn't expect such a edifying discussion 😀
Thanks OFers
 
Canuck
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I recently serviced an 18-karat gold Constellation for a friend. The back side of the dial was stamped 18 K. The baton markers were also 18 K, and the markers were set with onyx stones. V often, the front side of the dial will be marked as well. The dial on the subject watch is 90% certain to be plated.
 
Peemacgee
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Canuck Canuck
I recently serviced an 18-karat gold Constellation for a friend. The back side of the dial was stamped 18 K. The baton markers were also 18 K, and the markers were set with onyx stones. V often, the front side of the dial will be marked as well. The dial on the subject watch is 90% certain to be plated.

The OPs dial has the correct makers mark and 18k stamp on the rear.
More importantly, it has the correct, wide, flat onyx inserts for a deluxe dial.


This is an early 60s dial and Constellation dials weren’t marked ‘OM’ until the late 60s
 
Canuck
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Peemacgee Peemacgee
The OPs dial has the correct makers mark and 18k stamp on the rear.
More importantly, it has the correct, wide, flat onyx inserts for a deluxe dial.


This is an early 60s dial and Constellation dials weren’t marked ‘OM’ until the late 60s

Ah yes! Now I see the 18 stamped on the back of the dial. Faint though it is.
 
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