168.5004 Conundrum

Hi all,

As I've posted previously - I picked up my first vintage Omega from a member on here a few months ago. A 168.5004 with a 561 movement.

The watch had a replacement (service) crown and an incorrect crystal. It was also losing about 60s a day, and on a particularly cold day, moving to a warm room caused some condensation inside the crystal which gave me some concern.

I decided to send it in for a service, crystal replacement, and as I had also managed to source a correct replacement crown, a crown swap.

168.5004 is a "hidden crown" Constellation, and whilst plenty of people have said they were frustrating to use (foreshadowing?) - I quite liked the idea of trying to make the watch "correct", as well as liking the aesthetic.

The watchmaker has been in touch, and let me know that the previous crystal had been glued in, perhaps in an attempt to improve water resistance. This required some cleanup, however the Omega replacement was successfully installed.

He also informed me, that whilst the replacement crown I had sourced does appear to be correct, and fits nicely, there is too much friction between the crown and case tube to manually wind, and it's difficult to set the time with the crown pulled out.

As well as this, he let me know that with either crown, the watch doesn't pass a waterproof test.

I know from reading other threads on here that original waterproof specs is not always possible with vintage watches, and I certainly don't want to take the watch for a dip, however I am concerned about the condensation.

I suppose my questions are:

- If the crown is correct (and this not a certainty) what could be preventing it from successfully winding the watch? The watchmaker believes that replacing the case tube is unlikely to resolve this issue
- Are hidden crown Constellations known for a problem like this? And would a soft jaw winding tool allow for winding?
- If I switch back to the old crown, whilst I will have a watch that can be wound, how concerned should I be about condensation? I live in a humid area

Whilst my preferred outcome would be a "correct watch" (in terms of crown and crystal), that can be worn without concern of moisture in the air, and wound (with a tool if necessary). I would settle for a watch with an incorrect crown that I can still wear without concern of humidity/moisture.

Many thanks in advance for advice and opinions!

Sam

Oh, also please tell me if I'm being completely unreasonable in my expectations! I'm very new to this game

Thanks for the response!

I don't have the watch returned yet, so can't post any pics post-service, however this is the watch in question:

Thanks for the advice, that's a great third option.

I'll ask them about a new, service crown.

I'd hope the combination of a new Omega crystal and a new Omega crown would be sufficient to prevent against condensation (I don't expect full waterproofing, and wouldn't subject the watch to anything like that anyway).

Unfortunately the watchmaker wasn't prepared to install a new Omega service crown without also commissioning a jeweller to solder in a new case tube, so the old crown was re-installed and the watch returned.

They did do a great job with the service and the watch is running very nicely, and the new crystal also looks lovely.

I would still like to have a new Omega service crown installed at some point, and although I do think the current hands look really nice, especially with the black inlay against the markers, it would be nice to have a dauphine hand set for the watch.

Does anyone happen to know if Omega still supply replacement dauphine hands for 561 movements? Or would it be a case of hunting some down, if so what should I be looking for? For the last few months I've had a search on eBay for "561 hands" which hasn't been very successful!

Cheers
Sam

I hate hidden crown models. Pain to wind. The reason it may not wind as well is the rubber gasket is new and rubbing against the crown tube.

Doesn’t matter what new crown you add. They all rub. What I usually did when I restored was rub a little watch makers grease on the tube to lubricate and make it easier to wind. Thus avoiding possible complaints from buyers

Thanks for this, v helpful. Cousins UK website still seems to allow you to search for Omega parts by case number (although you can't order them), using 168.004 I see the list in the attached image, the following seem to be most relevant for my watch:

• Hand, Centre Seconds, Gold, Omega 066UX1365 X13513 (13.5mm)
• Hand, Centre Seconds, Gold, Omega 066UX1377550 X13512 (12.75mm)
• Hour & Minute Hand, Gold Plated With Black Infill, Omega 065TX8183 X26760

Searching for 168.5004 (AIUI the UK ref for the 168.004 case) doesn't show any Hour/Minute hands, but does show this seconds hand:

- Hand, Centre Seconds, Gold, Omega 066UX1355 X21200 (10.5mm)

Which is 10.5mm in length(!), so much shorter than the options for the non-UK case.

I'm not sure what to make of this!

I'm also not sure which would be the Omega part number, am I right in thinking it's the one beginning with a 0? So for the dauphine hands I would want to be searching for 065TX8183?

Thanks DON, I will bear this in mind should I try and get the crown fitted again