Grandpa's Constellation

O Odoyle

Hi All,

I inherited this watch from my grandpa who would wear it everyday.
It's old & worn, I plan on getting it restored and then wear it myself but would first like to get some more info on what exactly it is.
It still holds time great and i'm not sure if he ever previously got it worked on.
He was located in France, so likely purchased in France/Switzerland.
The case is two-tone, the dials have the 3/6/9/12 numberings, no date.
Inside the face reads: "Omega; Automatic; Chronometer; Officially Certified; Constellation"
On the back is written: "Constellation; Waterproof"
The strap appears to be off-brand. I do very much like the black leather strap for it, so will likely get a new one for myself.

Pictures attached, any info on the era/specs of this watch would be much appreciated, and any suggestions for the restoration would also be much appreciated.

Thanks!
Odoyle

Davidt

Id be very wary of a service that cost $100

SOG53

Nice heirloom, heavily worn but still beautiful. Don't send to Omega find independent watchmaker with Omega parts account. Omega will be very expensive and they replace a lot of parts including hands and may lose the vintage appeal and value.
An independant watchmaker can service it without polishing further and give you a nice vintage heirloom watch to wear. Service will likely cost around $500, search OF for watchmakers in your area there are many threads like this.

Dan S

That's a great heirloom. Experienced collectors will typically have watches like these serviced by an experienced independent watchmaker, who will perform the process carefully and sympathetically from beginning to end, instead of having the Omega factory-style service where they will just want to replace anything that looks worn or old. There's no need to limit yourself to a local, however, don't expect to find someone to do this for $100 as mentioned above.

O Odoyle

Thank you David et merci Mathieu!
I definitely don't want to bring it back to new, but maybe just taking it apart and cleaning/polishing everything.

HorsinTime

As others have said, don't send it to Omega. Find someone who can give it a proper service but make sure you specify that you don't want anything polished. Cleaned yes, and the scratches on the glass should be easy enough to buff out, but I would not be touching the case, bezel or lugs. Throw a new strap on it and you have a beautiful watch and reminder of your grandpa.

Dan S

An AD will probably charge about the same as Omega, in my experience. So I'm guessing that you may get a quote in the $700 range.

O Odoyle

Hi All,

I inherited this watch from my grandpa who would wear it everyday.
It's old & worn, I plan on getting it restored and then wear it myself but would first like to get some more info on what exactly it is.
It still holds time great and i'm not sure if he ever previously got it worked on.
He was located in France, so likely purchased in France/Switzerland.
The case is two-tone, the dials have the 3/6/9/12 numberings, no date.
Inside the face reads: "Omega; Automatic; Chronometer; Officially Certified; Constellation"
On the back is written: "Constellation; Waterproof"
The strap appears to be off-brand. I do very much like the black leather strap for it, so will likely get a new one for myself.

Pictures attached, any info on the era/specs of this watch would be much appreciated, and any suggestions for the restoration would also be much appreciated.

Thanks!
Odoyle

O Odoyle

Thank you David et merci Mathieu!
I definitely don't want to bring it back to new, but maybe just taking it apart and cleaning/polishing everything. I also don't know if the insides have ever been serviced..
I was thinking of getting it sent to Omega and getting them to do everything (which surely will be a lot more expensive).
I'll look into alternative services closer to where I'm located (Pittsburgh) but I really don't know too much about the watch world so I'd rather stay on the safer side!