Hello,

I recently purchased a Constellation f300Hz on Ebay, in broken/as-is condition (only $99 shipped!) and it arrived today. The watch looks great; the pictures don't do it justice.

If possible, I'd like to restore it to working condition. The watch hasn't even been tested with a new battery, so I've ordered a new one. In the meantime, is there any way I'd be able to diagnose other possible issues?

Embarrassingly, I don't even know how to adjust the time on the watch (or perhaps that function is broken). The crown seems to only pull out once, and turning it clockwise adjusts the date. I've read that turning the crown counterclockwise on this model can strip one of the gears, so I haven't tried yet.

Any advice/comments/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

I'm going to play Capt. Obvious here. New battery for sure. I would not try to pull the stem any further out and risk damaging something. Find a good independent watch maker and have him give it once over. Where are you located? If your in the Los Angeles area I have a couple of good guys I can recommend.

 

Absolutely; I'll be sure to update once I try a new battery. I'm located in Providence, RI (for college) most of the year.

Do you know if the crown is supposed to have two positions? I would think so, but I'm not going to force it.

 

From the other side of the pond I would be surprised if any independent watchmaker would touch these pieces.
There is one good guy in the U.K. if it comes to it http://electric-watches.co.uk/service-and-repair/

 

Yes the crown works conventionally, first position for date, second for time with hack. If you can't pull it out then there may be something wrong. There are a couple of specialists for these in the UK so if you get nowhere locally then report back. You need a 344 cell.

I have that model, 198.0034 it is very nice and your pictures don't do the blue gold flecked dial justice. Those make good money when working and in good condition.

 

If you turn the date without the battery in. you can destroy the discs? so don't do anything until you have a fresh battery. There are a few persons in UK that service this? There is even someone in USA i think. And i now a few that does it? Not a big deal if you now what you do and have a very good microscope.
Which you and the watch the best. And hope it runs with the new battery?

 

Yep, ordered a 344 battery. My intuition is that one of the gears may be stripped, which is apparently somewhat common for this model I'll be sure to report back once I have a fresh battery in it.

 

If you mean teeth stripped on the date wheel then that can happen but is much more common with the date only 1250 movement models which use thinner plastic wheels, the 1260 movement day-dates are normally OK on that score.

Another thing which may be of interest, those have 80 microns of gold plate which is very thick for a plated watch. So much so that these will rarely show the brassing often seen on plated cases and can even be mildly refinished without breaking through the plate. A more typical thickness on a cheaper piece would be 10 or 20 microns and the theory was that you lost a micron a year to wear. Thus 80 microns is good news!

 

Gotcha, thanks for making the distinction between the 1250 and 1260. I also appreciate the trivia on the gold plating!