Constellation „Pie Pan“ - pics and straps (update)

Hello all,

wouldn’t life be boring without the occasional stroll through the pie pan minefield. May I present an example that I’m considering at the moment, hoping for your honest feedback. I’ll start with a couple of pictures before I humbly offer my thoughts on it. Let’s see what I’ve learned from you. It’s a 2852-3, cal. 505 (which should be correct for the ref), rose gilded.


(pictures are cropped to maximize readability)

Dial: In suspiciously good condition, but I struggle to find many signs for a redial. Passes the MOY-test, positioning of the star and the line through the “Constellation” seems spot on. I compared the font to the black dial example that is currently being offered here by @Shabbaz and my untrained eye would say it matches. It doesn’t seem to be too thick for me, with the condition of the dial I’m not surprised the text hasn’t faded much. Minute marks don’t touch the edge where the dial falls of. The absence of lume anywhere is consistent.

Two things I spotted, but I might well be too picky here:

1. Positioning of the hour-markers:


They don’t perfectly match with the minute markers at 10/11.

2. Positioning of the Omega logo:



It’s obviously not exactly in the middle of the cross line. I compared that to quite a few Connies on Chrono and that doesn’t seem to be rare - I would, however, not be surprised it they were all redials.

Case: Judging how much a case has been polished is at times pretty hard for me, especially with different types of lugs. Since it’s gilded it can’t have been polished too much, I assumed, but comparing lugs to another 2852, they seem to be considerably thinner on this example:

(left one is the watch I’m interested in)


The case back seems ok to me, I’m sure it has seen some polishing in the last 60-odd years but even the “Constellation” and the “waterproof” are still visible. Same is true for the 8 stars - I wouldn’t want one that has only the 3 bigger stars left.



Movement:

That’s a worry, actually. Whatever happened to the rotor:



Corrosion isn’t too bad and I’d factor in the cost for a service anyway. Not sure if a rotor like this would need replacing, or if it tells us that the rest of the movement is likely damaged, too. Never seen those marks on a rotor so far, especially the scratches in the middle. Pictures were taken from a watchmaker who opened the watch for the seller, quality isn’t the best unfortunately.

Price: Definitely not the main asking point for me, but to give you comprehensive information: It’s offered for 2000€, which I do find pretty steep, even though the condition of the dial seems beautiful. I’d try to get down another ~15-20%, at which point I’d seriously consider it. Rose gilded Pie Pans are difficult to compare due to rarity, but that would mean that I’d end up below 2000€ including a service with a little financial cushion for possibly needed repairs.

Alrighty. Sorry for the long post, I feel like I should provide whatever thought / research I’ve put into this before I ask for your opinion. Thanks to everybody who takes the time out of their day to give me another opinion!

Already been discussed here:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/opinions-on-2852-3-omega-constellation.116261/#post-1542973

Oh boy. My bad. Sorry, and thanks.

i knew i saw this one before. But great post!

Yes, I’ll meet the seller next week. 😀

What an eye you have, sir. Thanks for pointing that out, you’re absolutely right, there’s lots of (I assume) brass shining through.

Is it realistically possible to have the crown re-gilded (if that’s the correct English term) in the right tone of gold? Most manufacturers can’t even repaint a body panel from a car and match the original color, so I’m skeptical here. Not sure I’m lucky enough to actually source a replacement, but I doubt it.

Not sure polishing the already worn crown will have the effect I’m after. 😉 It’ll probably look close to the one on my 2498:


(This crown should be an easier find, though)

Anyway, I’ll try to get a quote for a repair. It’s certainly not going to put me off the watch, but I’ll keep it in mind for negotiations.

I've never let the state of a crown put me off buying a nice looking watch.

Likewise, see picture above. I’m still glad it was pointed out, completely missed it in the pictures.

Short update: We spoke on the phone and agreed on a price that I’d consider reasonable, I made a down payment, watch is reserved for me now and I’ll pick it up next week. Really excited, thanks to everybody here for the input.

Since updates were asked for, here goes:

I picked the Connie up today and it’s an absolute stunner. The seller didn’t just agree with me on a reasonable price but also provided a bottle of champagne along with a nice chat, probably the closest I’ve ever come to an Omega boutique purchase in the vintage market. 😉

Also, the worn-of gold on the crown is simply not noticeable with the bare eye. I might just leave it as is.

I’ll put a new strap on it tonight (I was thinking brown or dark blue croco but I’ll happily take suggestions) and take some pictures for you guys.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your expertise - I wouldn’t have bought it without you.

Alright, I‘ve been trying the dark blue and the brown straps back and forth for about half a day now. I think I’ll actually wear them both, depending on the rest of the outfit.

So, here are a couple of pictures on different straps:

1. On the dark green croco that it came with (not really an option for me)


2. Brown, shiny croco


3. Dark blue shiny croco

(Please ignore the clasp, I hadn’t installed the original one yet)


The Connie leaning on the champagne it came with:


And a frontal picture with lots of sunlight (and many fingerprints):


The reason I posted this last pic, even though the watch isn’t clean is to show the contrast in different lights. None of the pictures above are enhanced in anyway, yet it almost appears so as the 2852 looks so differently.

So. Opinions on the straps? 😀