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Constellation pie pan, my first vintage watch ?

B
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Hi all,

I'm passionate about watches for a moment now but I got interested in vintage watches only very recently (and I just regret I didn't consider those vintage watches before...)

After many searches for a nice dress watch and looking at many models, I fell in love with the Constellation Pie Pan, and I guess I'm not the only one. But as for modern watches I also discovered that there are a lot of franken and even fake vintage watches (which quite surprised me TBH) and knowing all the history of a model that exists since decades is really not something you can learn quickly.

So here I'm asking for your help. I found this 14393 1 SC with caliber 561 (photos below), gold cap (rose gold according to the ad, not obvious for me on the photos).

There is no box and papers and no service history (date of last service unknown) but the seller says it works perfectly. No extract from archives neither.

I’ve been on Desmond’s forum and read his guide to check the authenticity of a watch and many points here seem to be ok but with your experience you may notice something I missed…

I’m not sure about the crown (original?), which BTW look a bit rusty and also the date numbers in red (always seen them in black). The dial is in good condition, do you think it has been painted/restored ?

What’s your opinion on that watch ?

upload_2021-6-4_16-28-27.png upload_2021-6-4_16-28-46.png upload_2021-6-4_16-28-57.png upload_2021-6-4_16-29-22.png upload_2021-6-4_16-29-40.png upload_2021-6-4_16-29-58.png upload_2021-6-4_16-30-12.png upload_2021-6-4_16-30-26.png
 
Peemacgee
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Welcome @BERTY_CLB
The watch is indeed rose gold capped.
The case has seen some polishing.
The crown is a replacement.
I believe the date wheel has been replaced also (but it’s just possible it was a special order)
The watch has some rotor rub, so will require a service.
The dial looks ok but the pics aren’t high quality enough to assess the dial properly.

Hope that helps.

one thing - what is the asking price?
 
tpatta
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Seems like a nice example. Dial does not look refinished to me but others may see something I missed. The crown does not look correct but a correct one can be found. If you are going to wear it regularly I would have a service done and factor that into the price of the watch.
 
B
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Peemacgee Peemacgee
Welcome @BERTY_CLB
The watch is indeed rose gold capped.
The case has seen some polishing.
The crown is a replacement.
I believe the date wheel has been replaced also (but it’s just possible it was a special order)
The watch has some rotor rub, so will require a service.
The dial looks ok but the pics aren’t high quality enough to assess the dial properly.

Hope that helps.

one thing - what is the asking price?

Thanks a lot Peemacgee for the complete answer.

The price asked is 1.700 USD. Do you think it's a fair price ?
 
B
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tpatta tpatta
Seems like a nice example. Dial does not look refinished to me but others may see something I missed. The crown does not look correct but a correct one can be found. If you are going to wear it regularly I would have a service done and factor that into the price of the watch.
Thank you tpatta. I'd like to wear that watch 3/4 day per month so I guess a service is required. Any estimation of the price of a service for the vintage piece ?
 
MtV
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watchyouwant watchyouwant
Too expensive for a capped case.

I agree it’s on the expensive side and finding a rose gold crown will be quite a journey, but from what I’ve seen the last year or so, rose gold capped Connies have achieved significantly higher prices than yellow gold ones. It’s therefore at least not completely absurd money for me.
 
Noddyman
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B BERTY_CLB
The price asked is 1.700 USD. Do you think it's a fair price ?
The case is too polished to command this sort of premium. A correct crown will be hard to come by (a rose gold decagonal crown sold on eBay recently for £122). I don’t like the red date wheel but that can easily be put right when serviced.
 
Noddyman
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omegastar omegastar
+1, it’s the price of an 18k one...
I would say an 18k rose pie pan would be more than double this price.
 
Peemacgee
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B BERTY_CLB
Thanks a lot Peemacgee for the complete answer.

The price asked is 1.700 USD. Do you think it's a fair price ?
Noddyman Noddyman
The case is too polished to command this sort of premium. A correct crown will be hard to come by (a rose gold decagonal crown sold on eBay recently for £122). I don’t like the red date wheel but that can easily be put right when serviced.
Noddyman Noddyman
I would say an 18k rose pie pan would be more than double this price.

@Noddyman has pretty much covered it.

if it were a complete, serviced, rose-gold capped pie pan in good condition, I can see someone shelling out $1700.
But as it is -and only because it is rose-gold and a pie pan - it’s possibly a $1000 watch.
And even then you have to find a rose gold crown, which are like hens’ teeth and expensive.
 
B
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Thanks to everyone for your feedback. Very instructive. I think I probably have to wait and search a little more.
 
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