1954 Constellation bumper 354 woes

Agathon · Jan 3, 2026

Hello all, I've been lurking on this forum for a few years but this is my first post.

I have a few vintage Omegas from the 40s through to the 60s, but in 2022 I acquired an 1954 Constellation (see pics) with a tired dial. I had previously had a dial superbly restored by the wonderful late Robin Stampfli in Switzerland and decided to send it to her daughter Lindsay who had taken over the business. This is where it all went horribly wrong.

At first Lindsay was quite communicative and said she'd received the dial and would be working on it soon. I was in no hurry and left it at that. A few months later I contacted her again to see how it was going and she informed me that she had been unwell during her pregnancy and had to take time off. I told her not to worry and there was no hurry with my dial. I think I left it another six months before contacting her again and she said she was still very behind with her work, I was sympathetic and said again there was no hurry. After she had had the dial a couple of years I contacted her again. First there was no reply, then eventually after contacting her on Instagram she told me the dial was painted, she had got someone in to help her and that she'd be sending it soon. That was a couple of years ago.

Despite attempting to get a response by email and telephone many times I have heard nothing and am beginning to think that my watch is now scrap - which is a great shame since apart from the monetary value it has it has great sentimental value.

My questions to you knowledgeable folk are:
1. what are the chances of finding another dial?
2. will another calibre movement/dial fit my 2782-10SC case?
3. if I sell separately, what sort of value does the case and movement have without a dial?

Thanks, David

Dan S · Jan 3, 2026

That dial is not only tired, it's already repainted. With patience you might find a replacement. Though given the overall condition of the watch, personally I would just pass it on and put my energy elsewhere.

Peemacgee · Jan 3, 2026

Agreed that the dial had already been poorly repainted - but it wasn’t uncommon to repaint the dial at service if there was any sign of damage.

If the watch has great sentimental value, as you say, you won’t be selling it (it has little monetary value with or without that dial) so persist in getting your original dial back and keep your eye out for a suitable contemporaneous dial. ( which may be more common as gold constellations get scrapped)

Dan S · Jan 3, 2026

Sorry, I missed the sentimental part by not reading the OP carefully enough. I just saw the part where the OP mentioned they acquired the watch in 2022.

Agathon · Jan 3, 2026

Thanks for the replies. I've refurbished the case and it looks pretty presentable now. Apart from eBay is there anywhere I should be searching for a dial?

Peemacgee · Jan 3, 2026

The case does look presentable but as I’m sure that you are aware, the case and bezel have lost their definition - hence the previous comments about value.
However, this doesn’t stop you wearing and enjoying the watch - especially if it has sentimental value to you.

EBay is probably the best place to watch out for a suitable dial.
But you never know, if you get your original dial back it may be equally presentable enough to wear.

ErichKeane · Jan 3, 2026

I've had the best luck searching for dials by measuring the OD (or approximately figuring it out by the case) and searching by movement number.

That said, I've been on the eBay lookout for a 342 dial that doesn't look awful and doesn't look repainted for a while, with no luck.

Agathon · Jan 3, 2026

Peemacgee
The case does look presentable but as I’m sure that you are aware, the case and bezel have lost their definition - hence the previous comments about value.
However, this doesn’t stop you wearing and enjoying the watch - especially if it has sentimental value to you.

EBay is probably the best place to watch out for a suitable dial.
But you never know, if you get your original dial back it may be equally presentable enough to wear.

Thanks, yes I know what you mean. Very difficult to recover a poor case without rounding-off the edges - especially so with gold caps. I'd be pleased just to be able to wear it if I could only get the dial restorer to communicate.

Agathon · Jan 3, 2026

ErichKeane
I've had the best luck searching for dials by measuring the OD (or approximately figuring it out by the case) and searching by movement number.

That said, I've been on the eBay lookout for a 342 dial that doesn't look awful and doesn't look repainted for a while, with no luck.

Thanks for your reply. I have searched eBay from time to time, but nothing in the UK and those I can find from international sellers are worse than the orignal and very expensive.

ErichKeane · Jan 3, 2026

A Agathon
Thanks for your reply. I have searched eBay from time to time, but nothing in the UK and those I can find from international sellers are worse than the orignal and very expensive.

Yeah, 342 dials haven't been great lately.

Other than of course this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/383369824348?

BUT they don't give the OD and it is incredibly expensive 😀 2x what I paid for my watch!

sheepdoll · Jan 3, 2026

@ErichKeane link does not work when clicked.
I searched on the lot number 383369824348 and this is what came up

Screenshot 2026-01-03 at 11.42.43 AM.webp

Screenshot 2026-01-03 at 11.42.20 AM.webp

Screenshot 2026-01-03 at 11.43.01 AM.webp

Looks a bit too good, and the price is ridiculous. One could buy a nice fixer upper bumper for $1000AUD (which shows as $668USD which would probably add another 2 to 300 in shipping taxes and tariffs.)

Vintage Sub seconds dials seem to be in short supply these days. 30 some years ago under the instruction of my mentor, I stripped a 268 dial. I have been looking ever since.

Recently I was able to replace the indexes from two dials. I did not notice that one of the dials was center seconds. Surprisingly the indexes were transferable.

The result does look a bit better than my zoomed phone photo. I also have the issue with the 354 dial where the finger print damaged the area around the '3.'

One would think that with the cases being scrapped more dials would be out in the wild. Looks more like the dials remain attached to the movements.

There are also the issues with handsets. These need to match the dial. In looking over things, I see I am short a number of sub seconds hands.

I also collect rusted 55x/56x automatics. So have been going through case/dial crystal searches there as well. There are no real good charts for dial variations, and hand lengths.

As noted elsewhere, after destroying the 268 dial and unsatisfactory results sending out for repaint, I spent years looking into dial repainting. I gave up after about 5 years back in the early 2000s. Did look into it again over the last few years, as I now have access to laser equipment.

I noticed the blank I cut for the 1342 case is 27.5 which seems to be a common size for a 30 or so mm case. The issue is that the dials are domed. So without presses and such like the original tooling it is likely the results will remain less than satisfactory.

ErichKeane · Jan 3, 2026

sheepdoll
@ErichKeane link does not work when clicked.
I searched on the lot number 383369824348 and this is what came up

Looks a bit too good, and the price is ridiculous. One could buy a nice fixer upper bumper for $1000AUD (which shows as $668USD which would probably add another 2 to 300 in shipping taxes and tariffs.)

Vintage Sub seconds dials seem to be in short supply these days. 30 some years ago under the instruction of my mentor, I stripped a 268 dial. I have been looking ever since.

Recently I was able to replace the indexes from two dials. I did not notice that one of the dials was center seconds. Surprisingly the indexes were transferable.

The result does look a bit better than my zoomed phone photo. I also have the issue with the 354 dial where the finger print damaged the area around the '3.'

One would think that with the cases being scrapped more dials would be out in the wild. Looks more like the dials remain attached to the movements.

There are also the issues with handsets. These need to match the dial. In looking over things, I see I am short a number of sub seconds hands.

I also collect rusted 55x/56x automatics. So have been going through case/dial crystal searches there as well. There are no real good charts for dial variations, and hand lengths.

As noted elsewhere, after destroying the 268 dial and unsatisfactory results sending out for repaint, I spent years looking into dial repainting. I gave up after about 5 years back in the early 2000s. Did look into it again over the last few years, as I now have access to laser equipment.

I noticed the blank I cut for the 1342 case is 27.5 which seems to be a common size for a 30 or so mm case. The issue is that the dials are domed. So without presses and such like the original tooling it is likely the results will remain less than satisfactory.

Yep, pretty dial, just shockingly highly priced!

1954 Constellation bumper 354 woes

Agathon

Dan S

Peemacgee

Dan S

Agathon

Peemacgee

ErichKeane

Agathon

Agathon

ErichKeane

sheepdoll

ErichKeane

Similar threads

Constellation Bumper - second pinion

Vintage Bumper 354

2709 Tresor 18k bumper

Omega Seamaster Bumper 2577-22 SC Cal 354

1952 Seamaster Bumper 354 cal stem and crown question

1950 Omega Bumper Help Verifying