Hello to all Omega experts.
Firstly can i apologise for my first post being a to buy or not to buy bore fest.I have been lurking for a number of weeks and tried to gather as much information as possible regarding vintage Omegas, but to be frank its never ending circles of ifs and buts...

Anyway I've found one i like the look of but have one or two reservations that have set alarm bells ringing so i thought I'd try to milk you guys for your expertise.

The ebay link is http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111991378638?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:ITPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

Its a two tone gold capped 551 with dog leg lugs, crosshairs but non pie pan dial, I'm not as crazy about the pie pans as everyone else seems to be, but i do love the crosshairs.

The things that worry me are.

1) Are the lugs the correct shape for the case? I thought the underside should be more chamfered.

2) The inside of the case back is stamped 168.005 SD. After searching this reference i came back with a pie pan dial date model with the later 564 movement. Also the back looks quite new and doesn't have any machined swirling that i would have expected from a Constellation of this era.

3) Is the crown original or should it be a 10 sided one?

I've added pics to make it easier to access, the price is £695 or about $900.

Anything else anyone can add would be greatly appreciated.

 

how many stars are you counting on the backside?

 

Ah I've just realised that they have stars on the constellations, I really am new to this vintage game... Do they all have this as a 100% rule?

There does appear to be on spot type thing.

Could you enlighten me to the meaning of this marker? Is it a franken watch with a different case back or just a outright after market copy?

Sorry for all the tedious questions but there is so much to learn about this before jumping in head first.

 

The gold capped cases all have lug shape like that.

It's either wrong case back for the watch, or wrong dial and movement for the case. Both are franken.

The original has been discontinued. It had usability issue anyways.

 

So my amateur radar was working, at least I'm not a complete sucker and pulled the trigger, though i have to admit I was pretty close :/

It's a shame because it's a damn fine looking watch, in fact if it was cheap enough i would buy it anyway as I'm not really a stickler for originality, though it's obviously always preferable.

Doe's this watch have any value as far as you're concerned?

 

It may be worth something if you need and can use all the parts. Not worth it to build a correct watch from. If you don't want a correct watch, you don't need to buy one that has Omega label. It'd just cost you more for nothing.

 

Yes i totally understand. Actually i wasn't buying it for the Omega label, I wish I could find something as good looking from a cheaper brand, I'am looking but it's slim pickings.
The main things that attracted me to this watch was how well the sandwiched two tone works. I'm not really a fan of 2T but this one really hits the mark, plus it has those fantastic lugs and the crosshairs i love so much.
I have been looking for a something to wear with a beautiful vintage gold ring that I've recently inherited and something like this would be a fitting match. I find full gold watches a bit much for me to pull off.
This vintage watch hunting can be disheartening to say the least.

 

Those lugs are pretty much exclusive to these Constellations. With luck and patient, you can find an all correct one in decent condition for about the same price. With different lug styles, many other vintage Omega good capped models can be had for much less. Many other Swiss brands also cost less as well, like Longines...

 

If your not stuck on Omega, the world is your oyster. Loads of different, lovely gold capped/solid gold watches from that era with very good movements are available, often a fair bit cheaper than Constellations. Crosshairs aren't very common outside of Omega, however. Good thing you dodged the posted Constellation, it really aren't worth investing in.

It's a lovely model though, here's one similar I recently sold:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/omega-constellation-14902-62.38758/