Considering Making Offer for this Omega Constellation

newbie123 · Oct 2, 2024

Good evening,

I am considering buying this omega constellation solid 14k gold. This would be my first "proper" watch purchase and certainly my first vintage watch and Omega. I would therefore be very grateful for any comments on authenticity, originality and condition as I am a newbie.

I would also find a suggest offer amount helpful.

Recently I have just been looking at UK listings but have expanded my search to global listings having not seen much pop up in the last year or two. This one is from Mexico so would appreciate should anyone have any comments on buying from there?

I understand there are import duties in the UK - are these around 20%?

Many thanks!

newbie123 · Oct 2, 2024

N newbie123
Good evening,

I am considering buying this omega constellation solid 14k gold. This would be my first "proper" watch purchase and certainly my first vintage watch and Omega. I would therefore be very grateful for any comments on authenticity, originality and condition as I am a newbie.

I would also find a suggest offer amount helpful.

Recently I have just been looking at UK listings but have expanded my search to global listings having not seen much pop up in the last year or two. This one is from Mexico so would appreciate should anyone have any comments on buying from there?

I understand there are import duties in the UK - are these around 20%?

Many thanks!

Few more photos:

Dan S · Oct 2, 2024

I'm not really a fan of dog-leg cases, but to the extent that they are appealing, they need to be sharp, IMO. We each have our own individual threshold for polishing, just make sure you know what an original case looks like.

newbie123 · Oct 2, 2024

Dan S
I'm not really a fan of dog-leg cases, but to the extent that they are appealing, they need to be sharp, IMO. We each have our own individual threshold for polishing, just make sure you know what an original case looks like.

Thanks for the message Dan, I am definitely a novice, beyond looking at various listings and sending them (usually not good condition) to this forum. Personally I do rather like the dog leg design, and thought this example of the dogleg and case seemed fairly sharp - but welcome your (undoubtedly more experienced thoughts) on this, as well as originality, condition and value.

padders · Oct 2, 2024

That is over polished. Tell us what the asking price is and we’ll tell you what we think. If you ask a collector to value a watch he doesn’t want he will pretty much say zero so that way round works less well.

dsio · Oct 2, 2024

Yea definitely polished a fair bit, and agree with the above regarding doglegs needing to be sharp to look good. I give more leeway to gold cases though due to how hard it is to avoid it with these due to the number of hard edges. This one is a bit borderline, the dial is nice so it still has that going for it but the case would bother me a bit, probably too much to be a buyer unless it was cheap. If the case being soft doesn’t bother you and the price is right, there might be a deal to be made.

newbie123 · Oct 2, 2024

padders
That is over polished. Tell us what the asking price is and we’ll tell you what we think. If you ask a collector to value a watch he doesn’t want he will pretty much say zero so that way round works less well.

Hi Padders, it is listed for circa £2.3k, plus whatever import duties are likely to be (plus 20% ish is my guess).

If it gets the OmegaForum thumbs up, I would perhaps look to make a first offer of £1.5k with a second/third offer of £1.75k. Potentially up to £2k if the forum thinks its worth it. Plus the import duties thereafter.

padders · Oct 2, 2024

N newbie123
Hi Padders, it is listed for circa £2.3k, plus whatever import duties are likely to be (plus 20% ish is my guess).

If it gets the OmegaForum thumbs up, I would perhaps look to make a first offer of £1.5k with a second/third offer of £1.75k. Potentially up to £2k if the forum thinks its worth it. Plus the import duties thereafter.

Well that’s not a silly ballpark for a solid gold case. The dial is good and a perfect case example would prob attract a higher asking price so maybe your plan has merit.

The import duties will be a killer here. Maybe try to find a local one.

newbie123 · Oct 2, 2024

dsio
Yea definitely polished a fair bit, and agree with the above regarding doglegs needing to be sharp to look good. I give more leeway to gold cases though due to how hard it is to avoid it with these due to the number of hard edges. This one is a bit borderline, the dial is nice so it still has that going for it but the case would bother me a bit, probably too much to be a buyer unless it was cheap. If the case being soft doesn’t bother you and the price is right, there might be a deal to be made.

Thanks dsio, I have just put the list price in the thread and my potential offers. More generally (rather than specific to this watch), the very upper end of my budget is £2.75/3k for a solid gold, but have also been looking at a third / half of that for gold capped examples. Hopefully that gives you a flavour of the sort of level watches I would be looking at in terms of condition and whether this should be a go'er.

newbie123 · Oct 2, 2024

padders
Well that’s not a silly ballpark for a solid gold case. The dial is good and a perfect case example would prob attract a higher asking price so maybe your plan has merit.

The import duties will be a killer here. Maybe try to find a local one.

Thanks, what would be the top offer (factoring the killer duties) I should make for this watch? I have been keeping an eye on uk examples but solid gold ones in worse condition seem to start at circa £3k list price.

Does it otherwise look in decent condition - I want to avoid a refinished dial or a movement in bad condition.

SOG53 · Oct 2, 2024

The seller is well known @dsio often highlights his auctions on the “Recommended EBay listings “ thread.
Movement looks good is correct 561 non-quickset SN dates to 1966. Dial is good not perfect but a good example. Crown is original. The only issue is polishing notes on lugs and caseback and bezel. But hard to find solid gold from this era with no polishing.
The seller is legit as is the watch. I agree w @padders on price. But keep in mind import fees. Good luck let us know how you make out.

gbesq · Oct 2, 2024

This is what an unpolished dog leg case looks like:

Dan S · Oct 2, 2024

N newbie123
Thanks, what would be the top offer (factoring the killer duties) I should make for this watch? I have been keeping an eye on uk examples but solid gold ones in worse condition seem to start at circa £3k list price.

Does it otherwise look in decent condition - I want to avoid a refinished dial or a movement in bad condition.

Two points:

- You absolutely can't use asking prices for valuation. That's not how it works. Asking prices are totally meaningless, 95% of the watches you find for sale on the internet at any moment in time are either crap or ridiculously overpriced (or both). You need to research auction sales, forum sales, eBay sales, etc. Find 10 recent sales of similar references in similar (mediocre) condition.

- We can't tell you how much to offer, that's also not how it works. Collectible vintage watches don't have defined price points, they have different values to different people. Most collectors have plenty of watches already and if we want to pay top dollar, we can find a good watch to buy, so we're not eager to buy a watch like this one. You already said that you're having trouble finding a good example to buy and you're sounding a bit desperate to get your hands on a gold Constellation soon. So I'm pretty sure it's worth more to you than it is to me. I bid in auctions every week, and I don't win even one in 20 because most watches are worth more to someone else. So if you take my advice about how much to offer for this watch, you're pretty much guaranteed not to get it.

Peemacgee · Oct 3, 2024

I’m going to assume that the seller from Mexico is Alex?
If so, I can personally recommend him as a seller as I bought a gold Constellation from him a few years back.
Fortunately I was living in Dubai at the time so there was no import tax - which saved me a fair few quid.

However, I’m with the rest of the gang here in saying that the case of this gold dogleg is far too polished to be considered a good example.

Patience is the key here - it’s true that good ones don’t come up all that often but it will be worth the wait in the end.

newbie123 · Oct 3, 2024

Thanks all for your messages. The seller is indeed Alex and it is good to hear he comes recommended.

Exclusive of any import taxes: I made an offer of circa £1.5k last night. Alex has countered at just south of £2k and replied to my message as follows: Hello the watch running good +/- 5 seconds per day, all parts are original inclusive the strap, recently serviced 2 weeks ago.

Whilst I appreciate the example of a perfectly sharp case above, I do not mind if the watch is not super sharp - I have rarely seen another example like the one above and, in solid gold, these often seem to be floating around for about double the prices we are talking. I do not mind not having a perfectly sharp watch if it is going to cost me £4-5k. If these can still be found for the same price as this watch in current times then that is a different story.

My main requirements are a nice dial and an original watch which runs well that does not have an very soft case. There is also some (albeit small) value in being able to wear an Omega now, having been looking for nigh on a couple of years. It may be that in a decade's time I want something with more sharpness which is why a "market" price indication would be helpful for me to know if I should go much higher with an offer. Or if, as above, you regularly see more perfect watches sell for similar money.

Laneside · Oct 3, 2024

That's a very polished watch. You could shave with it.
My old Procurement Manager had a sign on the wall. He swore by it.

You will always the remember the quality of goods long after the price is forgotten.

gbesq · Oct 3, 2024

Laneside
That's a very polished watch. You could shave with it.
My old Procurement Manager had a sign on the wall. He swore by it.

You will always the remember the quality of goods long after the price is forgotten.

I agree with this. The watch need not be collector grade, but the lugs on dog leg cases tend to show overpolishing much more than lyre lug cases. The case back, particularly the edges, are also overpolished as best I can tell. I would wait for a better example. It may be more expensive, but in the long run you will be far more satisfied than you would with a overpolished case that can’t be fixed even though it is less expensive. The watch is aggressively priced for a reason.

MCC · Oct 3, 2024

@newbie123 With the advice you have already received it would be wise to decide what price you are comfortable spending and stick with it. Don’t go chasing it just because it is currently on sale. We all know it is tempting to increase offers but if you wait there will be another better watch come along in time.

Considering Making Offer for this Omega Constellation

newbie123

newbie123

Dan S

newbie123

padders

dsio

newbie123

padders

newbie123

newbie123

SOG53

gbesq

Dan S

Peemacgee

newbie123

Laneside

gbesq

MCC

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