Hi Guys,

Complete watch novice here. I have some questions about an older watch that needs some work done. Hoping you guys could help out!

Backstory:

It was my Grandfather's watch, I think he wore it a bit when he was younger and the set it aside in a drawer, hadn't been warn in many years. Regrettably he passed away a few years back. It was passed on to my father.

The watch itself was a bit gunked up, the crystal was foggy and had a rather large scratch along with a plethora of small ones, and the second hand seemed to have misplaced itself at some point during it's life. Took it to an excellent local watch guy (Frank Seuss, Downtown Watch Repair San Francisco) on behalf of my dad. low and behold after some scrubbing and replacing the worn out/missing parts it came back beautiful. The only thing was that he could only find a replacement second hand in yellow gold, not rose, at the time. Additionally, the dial is worn and has some patina to it, but we decided it was fine to keep it that way. I've attached two pictures, but they don't really do the watch service. I have older junky cellphone--it really washes out all the colors if there isn't perfect studio lights. I can try and take some more this photos this weekend if y'all demand it. I was browsing around the forums here and found this: LinkPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network which seems to be very similar to what I have, not only in design but in color.

Frank was really really happy with how it came out, said it was one of the nicest pieces he'd seen in a while. He told me that there was a bit of grime and metal dust on the inside of the watch, but that was a function of that a part in that particular movement, which "tended to eat itself up with time" but was replaceable. All in all, the internals were in pretty good shape. The outside of the case is also in pretty tip top condition, almost no scratches and the few that there exist are very fine.

At this point all I really know about the thing is that it's probably from the early 50's and has either a 351 or 352 movement (cal?) (I was stupid and didn't write the specifics down). Also, I was foolish and didn't take pictures with the back of the case removed (can I do this safely by myself in order to take some photos of the movement?).

I relayed this information to my father along with the watch and he wore it sparingly and was pretty careful with it. Regrettably, it was unintentionally exposed to water and,even though he dried it off immediately, it stopped working about a week later (he thought it just may have broken, didn't even recollect the water incident until I started asking later).

At this point you probably know where this is going. After some time of sitting on shelf (in retrospect this didn't help at all), he brought it back to me and I took it back to Frank. Somewhere during this transfer, the winding stem fell out and is lost (probably due to the internal damage). A short time later, I get a call from a very disappointed Frank, telling me the movement inside had rusted and it was beyond his ability to repair. I went in to see what could be done and get some more information. Frank mentioned possibly of either: contacting Omega on the east coast to see if they could rebuild parts of the movement, try and scavenge one from somebody selling one on Ebay (he warned of fakes though), or browse one of those "watch fanatic websites and see what they think or if they know someone who could do the work."

So here I am! I'm getting this thing repaired one way or another. Any idea's on what to do next, or what the best course of action is? Is there a reputable source for spare parts or someone who would be willing to take on this kind of project? Also, if you know anything more about this particular watch please share, I'm really interested in knowing more about it.

Thanks!

Jimbo

 

I can understand Frank disappointment. As Mike (MSNwatch) pointed out, this is a rare earliest Constellation with much coveted Caliber 352 in Rose gold case and dial furnitures.
Probably you can PM Archer to see what he can do. I've seen his work on a VERY rusty Speedmaster Pro with incredible result. You will have to be patience since his waiting list is very long.
Now you know the importance of your Grandfather's watch, you could maintain it more carefully. Never put them near water again, never put it in volatile environment: hot, humid & damp, shock, etc.

 

You know it's a 18K solid, rose, gold watch, right? Quite valuable even in that condition, with worn out dial and rusty movement. Sounds like Archer is your guy, and the rest of us may benefit from a nice restoration thread!

 

other option is to buy a spare movement on ebay?

 

Aside from the condition of the movement - and finding a spare cal 352 may not be easy if you go that route - the loss of the original crown is a problem. Once again, finding the correct rose gold thin decagonal crown will certainly be difficult. I would also have expected a blued steel second hand at this date, not gold.