Hi,

New to watches. I found this in my grandparents things that were left to me and would like to know more about it and if it is worth anything? Thanks in advance!

 

Is the first photo of the dial out of focus, or is the crystal foggy/scratched up considerably?

a clearer photo of the dial will be helpful - others may chime in to suggest how you might accomplish that

 

It is foggy. I haven’t tried cleaning it. Probably won’t as it may damage it. Thanks.

 

more certainly possible to damage it if you do something you shouldn’t do (e.g., in terms of what you use to clean it); but if you do it with the right products, it’s relatively easy and effective

in any event, not being able to see the dial makes it difficult to get your questions well answered

 

Its a nice steel constellation….. what else is there to know.

Get it serviced and the plexi polished... wear the hell out of it!!

 

Welcome to the club. Service and a crystal will have it looking like below.
It’s worth fixing and keeping.

 

Definitely worth the service and crystal!! Beautiful watch. Awesome find.

 

Nice one! Looks familiar!

 

Find yourself a good local watchmaker who specialises in vintage watches. If you state your location, members here may be able to make recommendations. Once it’s serviced, you’ll be able to wear it without fear for years.

As others have mentioned, I think the crystal will need replacing - the scratches around 6 look deep to me and are unlikely to polish out - but get yourself a tube of polywatch whilst she’s in service so you can buff out any scratches you add yourself through wear (and you WILL pick some up!).

it’s a beautiful piece and a great family heirloom. Wear it in good health.

 

Welcome @BenBig
As the others have said, you’ve found yourself a nice watch.
It’s a dome dial, dogleg lug Constellation, case reference 167.005 (no date version)
It is reasonably valuable and certainly worth servicing and keeping.
It needs a service as it’s showing signs of rotor rub and there the case gasket is missing.
A service will cost around £200 plus £50 for a crystal.
if you let us know where you are (country will do) you should get recommendations for a watchmaker.

Here is a link to a great site if you want to look into the history of Constellations
http://omega-constellation-collectors.blogspot.com/


hope that helps

 

Thanks! West Sussex.

 

I don’t really have to money to spend on it so will probably sell it to someone that can restore it. No idea what it’s worth as is though? Or where to sell it?

 

If you're not keeping it sell it in a no reserve auction on eBay, as is. Don't spend any money restoring it.
You'll likely get £600 +/-

 

Agreed. This will do well as a barn find on eBay. Don't even clean it.

The quick release spring bars are interesting. I always though those were a pretty new innovation, but those look old.

 

+1, eBay is your friend here. But if you don’t want to deal with the hassle, just send it to me and I’ll dispose of it for you

 

It’s probably worth nothing so don’t even bother looking it up and just send it to me instead.

 

Probably a rather relevant question is whether it is running or not?

 

Good question!

It was on auction with a final sold price of £554. Now back up with a BIN of £800 and reserve not met with bids.

 

Some go for more extravagant pieces, but these are my grails. Lovely.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202904141000Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

For those who asked