OK, so the deal is - I've spent sooooo much of my limited disposable cash on omegas over the last six months, I really am skint. And not just in terms of my watch fund. But I really want a black dialled constellation - some of you have some fantastic watches. I know that 'not a lot of money' usually doesn't help fix that situation and I certainly can't afford the £1600 for a redialled black dial that I've seen some watches going for recently. Having said that, I've been looking. And I found one. Shocking pictures, marks all over the face, no movement or case back shots, but it was cheap, and likely to stay relatively so. So I've gambled. I had a quick word with Kyle, and he suggested I ask Desmond, but I was too embarrassed to point him at this potential car crash; but I think the case looks worse than it is thanks to the lighting, I think the marks are on the crystal and the dial might be ok, and I think the dial might actually be original. Now I just need to wait to see if I'm right. It might be with me tomorrow, so I'll take some shots if it does. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221172293506?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network Anyone want to tell me what they think? At the end of the day, providing it's not made of plasticine I'll probably make what I paid for it back, but just how good (or bad) could it be?
Looks hopeful. It is a cushion dial, not pie pan and that probably helped keep the price down. The photos were dark and that also lowers the price. I am optimistic you have lucked out, but like you say, won't know until you get it.
The text looks silver. It should be gold to match the hands & dial furniture. I'll wait for better pics to make any kind of opinion though. I like it. Especially when each toy has a memory of some fun hunting it or acquiring it.
Yes, in that shot I agree. In others it looks silver. That's the problem with some photos. Not many people know how to set their white balance. And the people who do sometimes don't bother.
OK, so its here. I was very happy when I opened the box, after a little more digging, I'm not so sure. I think this is still a very good buy, but I have some work to do. Here we go: The dial looks in really good condition, I think most of the marks are on the crystal, as suspected, and I'm having to use a lot of lights (it's getting dark) which makes it look a lot worse than it actually does. I'll try again tomorrow with more natural light. Under a loupe, the dial looks completely clean. Even the lugs look pretty scratch free to the eye, and they have sharp edges. The case really doesn't look polished. I've not had a vintage bracelet before, but a light squeeze with a pair of long nose pliers while wrapped in a tea towel neatly sorted out the beads of rice end link that was spinning over. I tried to take photos of the bracelet, but the light was proving difficult, so I'll have another stab tomorrow. The bracelet clasp has No. 12 written on it and the code 1503/1. No idea if it's genuine, and it's too short for me, so unless I find some extra links I'm not going to be able to wear it anyway. Before I even got the case back off I had a concern. If I lay the watch flat in my hand and moved it swiftly up or down a couple of inches, I could feel something internally almost bounce - none of my other constellations do that. Case back off, and I can immediately see what initially looks like a pretty good looking 561. There's an unmolested looking yellow gasket which looks like it's starting to perish. But in the photo below I think you'll be able to see clearly something which is also much less obvious to the naked eye - it looks like the rotor is rubbing on the caseback: I'm guessing the play which is allowing this to happen is what is giving the watch the bounce. Looking at the caseback, it's got nice perlaging. I couldn't get a sharp image of the caseback without a flash, so fired that off and that makes the circular scratches casued by the rotor look a million times worse than it is and obscures the fact that the caseback actually looks pretty nice. But we can see it's a 168.005, which I think all adds up - although happy to be proven wrong in the interests of furthering my education So I have some questions. The minor one - am I going to be able to get spare links for the BOR and do people think it's genuine? The major ones - can I save the movement with a replacement rotor, or is it now shot? Is this something someone like STS could do, or do I need to supply a watchmaker like Al Archer with a movement? Or do I break it for parts? It's all quite exciting. Quite a cool 100th post as well....
Dial looks original to me, case looks sharp and movement is nice with original gasket from the factory. Very nice buy.
Looks like you've done well. But will it cost £££'s in the end?! Dial is in really good nick..Well done! Now, gentlemen..start your engines!
I have some links for a BoR if they match? I've got the 9row, not the 7row. That being said, if you've got the 7 row I might be interested in it.....
+1, good buy! The rotor seems like a common problem, but a service will fix that. Let me know if you ever want to sell or trade...