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iamvr
·Hi everyone
I'm happy to use my 200th post to present the recent arrival of a milestone watch (I prefer the term milestone to grail, as you can own several milestones but just one grail 😁) for my young collection. When I started getting interested in vintage Omegas and Constellations in particular last year, I soon knew I wanted a non-date dog-leg Connie.
So my hunt started for a stainless steel 167.005 with a silver dial. In terms of dial style my taste shifted from a preference for dome dial to being indifferent btw. dome dial and pie pan, and eventually to a clear preference for a pie pan dial (I blame the PPP thread). I pride myself for being patient in this search (I haven't been elsewhere) and turned down nice examples that just didn't tick all the boxes for me.
Then unexpectedly, a fellow OF member pointed me towards a black pie pan Connie ref 14900 sold on Instagram, which I instantly fell in love with.
The conditions aren't perfect by all means, but the overall charm got me enchanted. The prerequisite was a reasonably sharp case. This one has been polished in the past from what I can tell, but the chamfers at the lugs are still visible. It came with an original decagonal crown, which was a plus, but it wouldn't have been a deal-breaker if it hadn't been the case.
Now the dial is the interesting part. I had disregarded examples with only slight traces of patina as I wanted a clean dial (it would still be the case if I was looking for a silver dial). However, in this example it is in fact the patina that adds so much to the character of this watch in my opinion. The black dial turned in to a matt brown color with lighter speckles evenly spread, not dissimilar to this example recently sold by @cristos71 if I may draw this comparison. It reminds me of coffee cups made of coffee ground that I own.
Once I've decided to pull the trigger my patience and nerves got tested again. The shipment of the watch took painstaking, nerve-wrecking 1.5 months from Indonesia to Switzerland with a forth and back between the Indonesian post and DHL. It eventually went back to the seller who had to resend it. When it finally arrived and I unpacked it, to my shock, an hour index marker had fallen off 😵💫 and I had to take it to a watchmaker to fix it. Losing patience I didn't take it to my usual guy downtown but a nearby watchmaker who is experienced but not a vintage aficionado. When I asked him whether he could fix it without leaving a trace or damaging the dial, he just goes: "How much more damage can I do to this dial?! It's toast anyway." What? 😲.
After another painful week of waiting I finally, finally got it back last Thursday, and I LOVE IT. Here's a wrist-shot:
My thanks go to @Rudi99,@MtV, and @seekingseaquest who helped me find it and/or provided additional vetting and mental support during the emotional rollercoaster until I could finally put it on my wrist. And of course many thanks to OF for the space, the community and the network. Without it, I wouldn't be wearing this beauty of a watch while writing this post.
I'm happy to use my 200th post to present the recent arrival of a milestone watch (I prefer the term milestone to grail, as you can own several milestones but just one grail 😁) for my young collection. When I started getting interested in vintage Omegas and Constellations in particular last year, I soon knew I wanted a non-date dog-leg Connie.
So my hunt started for a stainless steel 167.005 with a silver dial. In terms of dial style my taste shifted from a preference for dome dial to being indifferent btw. dome dial and pie pan, and eventually to a clear preference for a pie pan dial (I blame the PPP thread). I pride myself for being patient in this search (I haven't been elsewhere) and turned down nice examples that just didn't tick all the boxes for me.
Then unexpectedly, a fellow OF member pointed me towards a black pie pan Connie ref 14900 sold on Instagram, which I instantly fell in love with.
The conditions aren't perfect by all means, but the overall charm got me enchanted. The prerequisite was a reasonably sharp case. This one has been polished in the past from what I can tell, but the chamfers at the lugs are still visible. It came with an original decagonal crown, which was a plus, but it wouldn't have been a deal-breaker if it hadn't been the case.
Now the dial is the interesting part. I had disregarded examples with only slight traces of patina as I wanted a clean dial (it would still be the case if I was looking for a silver dial). However, in this example it is in fact the patina that adds so much to the character of this watch in my opinion. The black dial turned in to a matt brown color with lighter speckles evenly spread, not dissimilar to this example recently sold by @cristos71 if I may draw this comparison. It reminds me of coffee cups made of coffee ground that I own.
Once I've decided to pull the trigger my patience and nerves got tested again. The shipment of the watch took painstaking, nerve-wrecking 1.5 months from Indonesia to Switzerland with a forth and back between the Indonesian post and DHL. It eventually went back to the seller who had to resend it. When it finally arrived and I unpacked it, to my shock, an hour index marker had fallen off 😵💫 and I had to take it to a watchmaker to fix it. Losing patience I didn't take it to my usual guy downtown but a nearby watchmaker who is experienced but not a vintage aficionado. When I asked him whether he could fix it without leaving a trace or damaging the dial, he just goes: "How much more damage can I do to this dial?! It's toast anyway." What? 😲.
After another painful week of waiting I finally, finally got it back last Thursday, and I LOVE IT. Here's a wrist-shot:
My thanks go to @Rudi99,@MtV, and @seekingseaquest who helped me find it and/or provided additional vetting and mental support during the emotional rollercoaster until I could finally put it on my wrist. And of course many thanks to OF for the space, the community and the network. Without it, I wouldn't be wearing this beauty of a watch while writing this post.
