Help with Omega Constellation

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MikeMaccaFan

·Aug 4, 2021

Hi everyone! I've bought several vintage Omega's from sellers that I trust over the years but I've been looking for a Pie Pan Constellation and have decided to give the online marketplace a go! Just wondering if you lot can see anything wrong with this one? The only thing I notice is the hands missing the lume strips entirely. Possibly a replacement crown? Anything else my inexperienced eyes are missing? I would appreciate any help as this one would be at the top of my budget (about $2500 Canadian) and I would hate to miss something obvious (or not!).

The listing merely states that it's a 60's (1966 based on the serial) Constellation 168.005.

Thank you for your time and expertise!

 

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ConElPueblo

·Aug 5, 2021

Apart from the incorrect crown, I cannot tell a thing from those photos. Either they are deliberately bad to mislead customers or the seller has no clue what he's doing.

 

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Caliber561

·Aug 5, 2021

Looks mostly original to me. Relume on hands and dial though. The case has seen a polisher at least once, and as mentioned, the crown is an incorrect contemporary part.

 

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Shabbaz

·Aug 5, 2021

Caliber561

Looks mostly original to me. Relume on hands and dial though. The case has seen a polisher at least once, and as mentioned, the crown is an incorrect contemporary part.

Just wondering. How can you tell from these pictures that the dial and hands are relumed?

 

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watchyouwant

·Aug 5, 2021

Too expensive.......

 

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khangct

·Aug 5, 2021

This one is too expensive, with $2500 you could get a much much much better example of Gold Capped 168.005

 

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Caliber561

·Aug 5, 2021

Shabbaz

Just wondering. How can you tell from these pictures that the dial and hands are relumed?

My thoughts:

If you don't think it's a relume, you may be right. However, I still find these dial dots suspicious for the reasons listed above.
(Also, the date appears to be scratched)


+1 on the comments that this is wayyy too overpriced.

 

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Shabbaz

·Aug 5, 2021

Caliber561

My thoughts:

If you don't think it's a relume, you may be right.

I just can't say at this moment. Quality of pictures are so bad. But you seemed so convinced so I was just curious why.

Edited: Aug 5, 2021

 

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Shabbaz

·Aug 5, 2021

By the way, I would pass. Canadian so it's around eur 1650 right? To much for me.

 

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ConElPueblo

·Aug 5, 2021

Caliber561

My thoughts:

If you don't think it's a relume, you may be right. However, I still find these dial dots suspicious for the reasons listed above.
(Also, the date appears to be scratched)


+1 on the comments that this is wayyy too overpriced.

The lume looks okay to me here - the scratch on the date seems to be on the crystal.

 

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MikeMaccaFan

·Aug 5, 2021

Thank you for all of your replies!

I generally see these going for approximately $2000CAN or more - is that just a pitfall of Chrono24? Is there a place that you all recommend for more realistic pricing?

Thanks again!

 

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Shabbaz

·Aug 5, 2021

MikeMaccaFan

Thank you for all of your replies!

I generally see these going for approximately $2000CAN or more - is that just a pitfall of Chrono24? Is there a place that you all recommend for more realistic pricing?

Thanks again!

Chrono is generally overpriced but there are also lots of deals to be found there. It's just a matter of patience when buying vintage watches. And buy fast when something good comes along. Or else the sharks of OF will beat you to it... : )

Edited: Aug 5, 2021

 

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gatorcpa

·Aug 5, 2021·ΩF InvestiGator

Two thoughts:

1. The pictures are overexposed for a reason. Most likely that the case was over polished.

2. Not so sure that the crown is “incorrect”. I’ve seen many examples (including my own) with this scalloped crown.

The 10-sided crown is preferred, but not definitive.

My opinion is that the seller is asking a top retail price for a watch where the condition doesn’t warrant it.
gatorcpa

 

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Fallout Boy

·Aug 5, 2021

relumed hands : 99% YES
relumed dial : difficult to see, more: NO
redial: I doubt

Edited: Aug 5, 2021

 

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Caliber561

·Aug 5, 2021

ConElPueblo

The lume looks okay to me here - the scratch on the date seems to be on the crystal.

Yeah, I forgot about the second photo when I took a look again - The scratch is definitely on the crystal, as it's clearly not present when viewed at an angle.

It's possible the lume is okay, but it just looks too close to a luminova's translucent white to me, rather than ZnS' more grainy cream color, as I would expect and find attractive.

 

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MikeMaccaFan

·Aug 5, 2021

So I sent the seller a message asking for more photos in "natural" light - and I was sent these... hmmm
The quality of these aren't great but they do show the gold plating a liiiiittle bit better.

 

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MikeMaccaFan

·Aug 5, 2021

gatorcpa

Two thoughts:

1. The pictures are overexposed for a reason. Most likely that the case was over polished.

2. Not so sure that the crown is “incorrect”. I’ve seen many examples (including my own) with this scalloped crown.

The 10-sided crown is preferred, but not definitive.

My opinion is that the seller is asking a top retail price for a watch where the condition doesn’t warrant it.
gatorcpa

I love your Constellation! Looks absolutely beautiful - and that's good to know about the crown. I've seen so many examples without the ten sided crown that I had wondered whether or not so many sellers could be replacing missing crowns with "standard" ones! Thank you for your time!

 

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gatorcpa

·Aug 5, 2021·ΩF InvestiGator

MikeMaccaFan

I love your Constellation! Looks absolutely beautiful

Thank you. It took me 7 years to find one that nice.

The lugs on the watch you are considering are a little worn, but not terribly so. Gold capped version are not as sharp as solid gold or steel.

The main reason why so many 10-sided crowns were replaced was because they were difficult to grip to set the hands or manually wind, especially when they got a little worn down.
gatorcpa

 

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MikeMaccaFan

·Aug 5, 2021

gatorcpa

Thank you. It took me 7 years to find one that nice.

The lugs on the watch you are considering are a little worn, but not terribly so. Gold capped version are not as sharp as solid gold or steel.

The main reason why so many 10-sided crowns were replaced was because they were difficult to grip to set the hands or manually wind, especially when they got a little worn down.
gatorcpa

Well then! It looks like I'll need to be patient and try to out-shark the sharks as Shabbaz says 😉
Wish me luck!