My first post on this excellent forum - hello everyone. Nice to be here. I have been looking for a 168.017 Constellation for a while now. Through much research and scrolling I have narrowed my interest down to a particular model (i think), although there is a subtlety in the finish to the dial that I'm struggling with. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish a difference between the dials. From the photos below, I feel the top two are the same, the third another finish and the last obviously another finish too. Can anyone shed any light on the names or main differences in the mid-late 60's Constellation dials? Perhaps this question/thread could be of help to anyone else who maybe interested in a particular finish that these constellations have. (hopefully the same thread hasn't been started before - I had a good search pre-posting this).
The three first are all in a "sunburst" finish, though the third one is more of a silvery/steel colour and the two first are silvery white. The fourth dial is the so-called "linen" finish. The first one is rather dirty... The lighting can make all of these change appearance quite drastically.
agreed on the lighting! thanks for your reply. does anyone know if there is an actual difference in colour within the 'sunburst' finish. Ie white sunburst, silver sunburst, rose sunburst etc...
there also seems to be a white dial. First photo has more detail on the finish. Can anyone confirm this?
Well, whatever tone it shows now, it hasn't been refinished, if that's your worry? As mentioned, there are several finishes on these and due to aging and different lighting they can turn out looking in a number of ways.
not a worry...im only interested in the different dial finishes, for general reference as well for my own potential purchase. The above two dials I believe are the same, but like you said are different in colour due to condition/ageing. That said - does anyone know the actual name/reference for the dial in the above two photos?
Hi there Cramlington. That last Constellation with the bracelet, I actually purchased. I've had other watches with subtle differences in dial color from other brands and I would describe this Constellation as silver with a tiny bit of warmth rather than a cold stainless steel. It definitely has a shimmer to it that is not very apparent in that pic, but its really beautiful in person. I'll try to snap some more pics when I get a chance.
Its more metallic than a matte white, it has a slight shimmer and starburst effect. It only has hints of a slight warmth and looks white in most lighting.
IMHO the 168.017 is a great looking watch and offers a really nice value. Looking to get an 'honest' one myself.
i see! thats good to know. would you say it was the same finish as this dial, which I feel lacks the 'sunburst' finish:
That dial looks more like a parchment texture. I would imagine it would look a little different than mine. It is hard to tell texture though with still pictures, you really need to move it to see how it reacts with light. Anyway, I hope that helps!