Constellation advice

Posts

53

Likes

36

KiliWatch

·Oct 2, 2022

Dear Omega friends.

After inheriting a 1968 Omega Speedmaster from my grandfather, I developed a recent interest in vintage Omega watches.

I've been offered a Constellation 14902.62 locally. I like the looks, but could use some advice on its condition - hence it's price. I don't believe the crown is original (it's not decagonal). Unsure about the rest.

Is 800 euro/usd reasonable, or should I let it pass?

Thanks for all your opinions.

Kris

 

Posts

425

Likes

1,721

la_lusigne

·Oct 2, 2022

Hello 😀

Welcome to the world of constellation.
You are correct saying the crown isn't the matching one for this reference.

The dial is original but has seen better days. The same can be said for the case condition.
For the price, I'd definitely advise you to wait and pass on this one. The caseback is really in bad condition, the lugs have lost a lot of definition and the dial has lost its shine.

 

Posts

3,199

Likes

12,620

MtV

·Oct 2, 2022

Wow. Whatever happened to the poor case back...

800€ is certainly pretty low for one of those, but I'd give it a hard pass regardless. Do you find it attractive as-is? Destroyed case back, unevenly damaged dial, and a very, very tired looking movement. The crown is a replacement, yes, but that's one of the smallest issues in my opinion.

To end on a positive note: The lugs do actually look better than average. Not good enough to buy the whole watch for that reason, though.

 

Posts

53

Likes

36

KiliWatch

·Oct 2, 2022

Thank you so much for your fast and knowledgeable advice, la_lusigne and MtV. I got the price down to 700 euro and yes, I like it's looks (I'm a total newbie), but after reading your replies, I'm going to let it pass and find a pie pan in better condition.

 

Posts

53

Likes

36

KiliWatch

·Oct 2, 2022

I'll grab the opportunity to learn something here. How can you tell the movement is tired, as MtV wrote?

 

Posts

3,199

Likes

12,620

MtV

·Oct 2, 2022

All the different colors of the parts, there are hardly any left in the original red gold coating. That plus the way the dial looks makes me think that there might very well be rust inside the movement. Oh, and the rotor has been rubbing on the case back for quite a while.

 

Posts

233

Likes

1,869

watch_er

·Oct 2, 2022

MtV

Oh, and the rotor has been rubbing on the case back for quite a while.

Thank you for your keen eye on this. Is this is the indication of the rubbing (right above the red line)?

 

Posts

4,593

Likes

10,791

janice&fred

·Oct 2, 2022

I like the watch...for around $400. I would give it a quick and dirty lube job and wear it at that price. The case back looks like the watch was sitting in a vehicle's glove compartment full of nuts and bolts or coins and rattling around there for years. If there was similar damage to the bottom of the lugs I would then suspect it was on pavement and run over a few times before someone picked it up. As a kid I found a Longines in the street with similar road rash on the back.

 

Posts

3,199

Likes

12,620

MtV

·Oct 2, 2022

watch_er

Thank you for your keen eye on this. Is this is the indication of the rubbing (right above the red line)?

I was mainly thinking of this one:

 

Posts

20,913

Likes

47,865

Dan S

·Oct 2, 2022

The watch has a lot of condition issues, spotting on dial, missing lume in hands, etc. But the only really terrible part is the case-back, and that doesn't show when you're wearing it. So if you can get it really cheap, it could be a fun watch to wear. But it will be hard to sell in the future if you want to upgrade.

 

Posts

53

Likes

36

KiliWatch

·Oct 7, 2022

Very thankful for your great advice. This will help me a lot with my future purchase.