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DorsetOmega
·There have been times over the last couple of years where instead of wishing that my enemies lived in interesting times, I could have simply sent them in search of an original black dial. As many others have said, it is a pursuit that can lead you down expensive and frustrating paths.
I now have a black-dialled pie-pan that I’m really delighted with. It’s thanks to some really great OF members that I have. Otherwise I’d still be hanging around on Ebay, ever more desperate, ever more prone to terrible errors of judgement…
I’m posting it in case I can assist others in their search. Not that I’m exactly qualified to advise, as the more I learn, the more I realise I don’t know!
So, the basics – it’s a 168.005, stainless steel case, cal 564, with a 25,3xx,xxx serial number which dates it to 1967. I actually bought it from an American OF member about two years ago, but came up with the cunning plan of having it sent to an American friend so he could deliver it in person, and he kept having to delay his trips to the UK. Then it was serviced, and I’ve faffed around for a while with its bracelet, so it’s only just starting to get regular use.
A friend looked at the various silvery patches on the black background and innocently asked whether that was the ‘constellation’ that gave the watch its name. It’s not actually that fanciful, given that Omega has produced a dial which replicates the surface of the moon. And what with the universe being rather large, I suppose there might actually be a star system out there with precisely the same configuration as the oxidised pitting on the surface of the dial. Do let me know if you find one.
I think – with some guidance and reassurance from people on the forum who know far more than I do – that the dial is correct. This is the reasoning that goes into it:
- MOY seems to check out, the minute hache markers look even, and the indices appear to face each other and line up properly.
- The spacing between the letters seems correct, and also the spacing between the lines, and between the top line and the applied ‘Omega’.
- When it comes to the text, it’s more complicated. The lettering is more white than silver, and this has traditionally been a matter of concern. I read however a very interesting blog from Desmond, where he had been given cause to reconsider his views on this. He wrote that while the lettering on black dials with rhodium-plated markers should have been silver originally, it was quite possible for it to degrade to white over time. Given what has happened to the black part of the dial, it’s not surprising if the lettering has lost a little of its lustre. I’d say it was still silvery white rather than painted-on white.
- The text is quite thick and heavily serifed. Look, for example at the slight tail, going left, at the top of the first ‘A’ in ‘Automatic’. There is also a ‘drop’ in the E’s in ‘Chronometer’ and ‘Officially certified’. Generally though, the font seems to be similar to other pie-pans, if a little extravagant, and it is well executed in terms of letter spacing. The ‘n’, ‘s’, ‘t’ and ‘i’ in ‘Constellation all look good, in terms of curvature, tails and dots. I received some great reassurance here from a very experienced OF member that the black dials were all special orders, so it comes down to an extent to the individual dial manufacturer. I do wonder if this possibility of slighter greater variation with black dials might make them even harder to authenticate.
- The same OF member noted that the star alignment is not as far to the left as they would expect from a pie-pan. I hadn’t noticed this at all, only that the star was pointing upwards, as it should. But he said it could be explained for the same reason, that this was a special order. Again there seems to be a range of normal – albeit a relatively tight range to my eyes – rather than a precisely right or wrong position.
It wasn’t keeping time and was pretty grubby inside, and the marvellous @Mitka (mitka.co.uk) did a wonderful job with the servicing. He’s not only the best person I could have hoped for, technically, but he communicates so well too, and provides an ongoing record of progress with detailed photographs on a dedicated, password-protected page for each watch he is servicing on the website. He also provides a shareable link. I’d like to thank him for the pictures he has allowed me to use in this post.
This is how it was before servicing, with its old crown:
And here's what it looked like after the Mitka magic:
The Samuel Graber case is in reasonable shape, with the stars above the observatory having decent definition and the lugs not too worn. One thing that made a huge difference, for me at least, was acquiring a correct decagonal crown. The sides of the crown seem to go well with the angled facets of the lugs. I’ve also been very fortunate in obtaining a BOR bracelet, ref 1503, which contrasts beautifully with the dial and which I just about get away with on my puny wrist. I had to insert a couple of links, a job which gave me the excuse of buying a cheap watch repair kit and pose studiously under a bright lamp in clear and deliberate view of my neighbours. My watchmaker fantasy took a hit when I was trying to remove the leather strap, slipped with the prongy tool, and ended up leaving a small nick in the side of the case. I could do with tightening the end links a bit so they’re closer to the watch, but I’m convinced I’ll warp them if I do. I’ve reached the point where I’m saying ‘This will do’ and I feel very happy with what I’ve got.
Every time a watch, especially a black-dialled Connie, is presented to the forum I try to make my own judgement about it, only for the experts to usually say something completely different and spot things that were obvious even to me when they were pointed out. Something must be going in, because two years ago I didn’t know my crown from my lugs, but there is still no way that I could safely and confidently buy an Omega by myself. It’s been my great fortune to have received a lot of help from people on the forum. @MtV is the most generous, thoughtful, knowledgeable, and funny friend I could hope to have. I wouldn’t have got anywhere without him. @Peemacgee shared with me some of his exceptional knowledge of Constellations, and gave me some incredibly helpful insights on the dial. Any errors in this post though are firmly mine, not theirs. It’s amazing to be able to connect with people like this; they have so much patience and goodwill. It takes a village to raise a child, and a forum to support an enthusiastic but rather dim member like me. Thank you.
I now have a black-dialled pie-pan that I’m really delighted with. It’s thanks to some really great OF members that I have. Otherwise I’d still be hanging around on Ebay, ever more desperate, ever more prone to terrible errors of judgement…
I’m posting it in case I can assist others in their search. Not that I’m exactly qualified to advise, as the more I learn, the more I realise I don’t know!
So, the basics – it’s a 168.005, stainless steel case, cal 564, with a 25,3xx,xxx serial number which dates it to 1967. I actually bought it from an American OF member about two years ago, but came up with the cunning plan of having it sent to an American friend so he could deliver it in person, and he kept having to delay his trips to the UK. Then it was serviced, and I’ve faffed around for a while with its bracelet, so it’s only just starting to get regular use.
A friend looked at the various silvery patches on the black background and innocently asked whether that was the ‘constellation’ that gave the watch its name. It’s not actually that fanciful, given that Omega has produced a dial which replicates the surface of the moon. And what with the universe being rather large, I suppose there might actually be a star system out there with precisely the same configuration as the oxidised pitting on the surface of the dial. Do let me know if you find one.
I think – with some guidance and reassurance from people on the forum who know far more than I do – that the dial is correct. This is the reasoning that goes into it:
- MOY seems to check out, the minute hache markers look even, and the indices appear to face each other and line up properly.
- The spacing between the letters seems correct, and also the spacing between the lines, and between the top line and the applied ‘Omega’.
- When it comes to the text, it’s more complicated. The lettering is more white than silver, and this has traditionally been a matter of concern. I read however a very interesting blog from Desmond, where he had been given cause to reconsider his views on this. He wrote that while the lettering on black dials with rhodium-plated markers should have been silver originally, it was quite possible for it to degrade to white over time. Given what has happened to the black part of the dial, it’s not surprising if the lettering has lost a little of its lustre. I’d say it was still silvery white rather than painted-on white.
- The text is quite thick and heavily serifed. Look, for example at the slight tail, going left, at the top of the first ‘A’ in ‘Automatic’. There is also a ‘drop’ in the E’s in ‘Chronometer’ and ‘Officially certified’. Generally though, the font seems to be similar to other pie-pans, if a little extravagant, and it is well executed in terms of letter spacing. The ‘n’, ‘s’, ‘t’ and ‘i’ in ‘Constellation all look good, in terms of curvature, tails and dots. I received some great reassurance here from a very experienced OF member that the black dials were all special orders, so it comes down to an extent to the individual dial manufacturer. I do wonder if this possibility of slighter greater variation with black dials might make them even harder to authenticate.
- The same OF member noted that the star alignment is not as far to the left as they would expect from a pie-pan. I hadn’t noticed this at all, only that the star was pointing upwards, as it should. But he said it could be explained for the same reason, that this was a special order. Again there seems to be a range of normal – albeit a relatively tight range to my eyes – rather than a precisely right or wrong position.
It wasn’t keeping time and was pretty grubby inside, and the marvellous @Mitka (mitka.co.uk) did a wonderful job with the servicing. He’s not only the best person I could have hoped for, technically, but he communicates so well too, and provides an ongoing record of progress with detailed photographs on a dedicated, password-protected page for each watch he is servicing on the website. He also provides a shareable link. I’d like to thank him for the pictures he has allowed me to use in this post.
This is how it was before servicing, with its old crown:
And here's what it looked like after the Mitka magic:
The Samuel Graber case is in reasonable shape, with the stars above the observatory having decent definition and the lugs not too worn. One thing that made a huge difference, for me at least, was acquiring a correct decagonal crown. The sides of the crown seem to go well with the angled facets of the lugs. I’ve also been very fortunate in obtaining a BOR bracelet, ref 1503, which contrasts beautifully with the dial and which I just about get away with on my puny wrist. I had to insert a couple of links, a job which gave me the excuse of buying a cheap watch repair kit and pose studiously under a bright lamp in clear and deliberate view of my neighbours. My watchmaker fantasy took a hit when I was trying to remove the leather strap, slipped with the prongy tool, and ended up leaving a small nick in the side of the case. I could do with tightening the end links a bit so they’re closer to the watch, but I’m convinced I’ll warp them if I do. I’ve reached the point where I’m saying ‘This will do’ and I feel very happy with what I’ve got.
Every time a watch, especially a black-dialled Connie, is presented to the forum I try to make my own judgement about it, only for the experts to usually say something completely different and spot things that were obvious even to me when they were pointed out. Something must be going in, because two years ago I didn’t know my crown from my lugs, but there is still no way that I could safely and confidently buy an Omega by myself. It’s been my great fortune to have received a lot of help from people on the forum. @MtV is the most generous, thoughtful, knowledgeable, and funny friend I could hope to have. I wouldn’t have got anywhere without him. @Peemacgee shared with me some of his exceptional knowledge of Constellations, and gave me some incredibly helpful insights on the dial. Any errors in this post though are firmly mine, not theirs. It’s amazing to be able to connect with people like this; they have so much patience and goodwill. It takes a village to raise a child, and a forum to support an enthusiastic but rather dim member like me. Thank you.
