Constellation 168.018 Gold Bezel Missing

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rgraham13

·Wed. 6:54pm

Hi everyone,
I’m currently working on restoring a late 1960s Omega Constellation as a surprise for my dad. He originally purchased the watch as a young man while living in Germany, so it has a lot of sentimental value.

Unfortunately, the gold bezel is missing, and I’ve been having a very difficult time tracking down a replacement. I even sent the watch to Omega, but they weren’t able to help source the part.

I’m hoping someone here might have suggestions on where to look or who to contact for vintage Constellation parts—especially bezels. Any guidance, leads, or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

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Dan S

·Wed. 6:58pm

Many threads on this topic have been started, and AFAIK, a loose gold bezel has never been found. Your best options would be a donor watch or a custom fabricated bezel. Please use the search function to find other discussions of missing gold bezels.

 

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ErichKeane

·Wed. 8:45pm

The problem is that these bezels are solid gold, so they are worth more as raw-metal than they are as replacements, so they basically never come up for sale. A donor watch or having someone make one is basically your only option.

IF you figure out your reference number (inside case back, but if you've contacted Omega, I suspect you've already discovered it), you might be able to get one on Ebay. Note the 2 tone variants often have gold bezels, so you can get it not super expensive that way.

 

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Peemacgee

·Thurs. 1:11am·Purrrr-veyor of luxury cat box loungers

ErichKeane

IF you figure out your reference number (inside case back, but if you've contacted Omega, I suspect you've already discovered it), you might be able to get one on Ebay. Note the 2 tone variants often have gold bezels, so you can get it not super expensive that way.

The OP says it’s a 168.018 but they don’t say whether it’s gold cap or solid gold and if solid, what standard - 14k or 18k.
This matters, as the gold cap models were 14k and a donor bezel wouldn’t match the colour of an 18k watch.

 

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Peemacgee

·Thurs. 1:13am·Purrrr-veyor of luxury cat box loungers

Welcome @rgraham13
As above, most bezels but especially gold ones simply don’t come up for sale separately.
Having one made in the correct style is your best bet.

 

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rgraham13

·Thurs. 3:57pm

Thank you all for the replies—I really appreciate the suggestions so far. I’ve explored a few of those options, but I haven’t been able to find anyone willing (or able) to machine a replacement bezel.

If anyone knows of a watchmaker or machinist who could take on something like that, I’d definitely be open to exploring it further.

I’ve also noticed that stainless steel bezels seem to come up much more often than gold versions. Has anyone here ever purchased a stainless bezel and had it gold plated? I’d be curious to hear how that turned out in terms of appearance and durability.

Thanks again for any advice or leads!

 

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rgraham13

·Thurs. 4:00pm

Peemacgee

The OP says it’s a 168.018 but they don’t say whether it’s gold cap or solid gold and if solid, what standard - 14k or 18k.
This matters, as the gold cap models were 14k and a donor bezel wouldn’t match the colour of an 18k watch.

The watchmaker helping me with this says it's the gold caped version. I'm assuming it would be the 14K capped.

 

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Archer

·Thurs. 4:40pm·Omega Qualified Watchmaker

rgraham13

If anyone knows of a watchmaker or machinist who could take on something like that, I’d definitely be open to exploring it further.

I've had a couple made here:

https://www.watchcaserepair.com/

Good work, reasonable pricing.

 

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Dan S

·Thurs. 5:37pm

rgraham13

Thank you all for the replies—I really appreciate the suggestions so far. I’ve explored a few of those options, but I haven’t been able to find anyone willing (or able) to machine a replacement bezel.

If anyone knows of a watchmaker or machinist who could take on something like that, I’d definitely be open to exploring it further.

I’ve also noticed that stainless steel bezels seem to come up much more often than gold versions. Has anyone here ever purchased a stainless bezel and had it gold plated? I’d be curious to hear how that turned out in terms of appearance and durability.

Thanks again for any advice or leads!

Have you tried searching the forum as suggested?

e.g.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/replacement-gold-bezel-for-omega-constellation-ref-168-004.174976/

Thread 'Replacement gold bezel for Omega Constellation Ref. 168.004' ·

I have an Omega Constellation Ref. 168.004. I need a replacement gold bezel. Part number is 082ST168004. Where can I find one?

The watch was sent to Omega and they said they cannot source or...

psiddle · Jul 29, 2024

 

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rgraham13

·Thurs. 11:25pm

Archer

I've had a couple made here:

https://www.watchcaserepair.com/

Good work, reasonable pricing.

Thank you, I'll reach out!