Following the recent passing of my father, I now have his 18k Constellation Cal 561. There are two case #s 168009 and 168017. He originally purchased it while on a ski trip to Switzerland in 1970. He wore it on a fairly regular basis ever since, so it has usual wear and tear, but he always took reasonable care of his watch as he did all of his things. To the best of my knowledge, it came with leather strap which was discarded. For whatever the reason, dad preferred the elastic speidel bands, so the leather was replaced with such a band. I am now in the process of "cleaning it up" (and replacing the watch band ) so I was hoping to ask for some advice... First, I have taken it to a trusted jeweler (someone on my softball team) and he says that the crystal might be crazed,and that if so, that it should be replaced. If someone has advice on that, on replacing the crystal in general, or not replacing the crystal at all (I believe that crystal is original), I would definitely appreciate hearing it. And next, I happened across the following blog post about 100,000 consecutive tested chronometers: http://ialreadyhaveawatch.com/2009/01/the-famous-100000-consecutive-omega-561-chronometers/ and by gosh, my dads watch falls within the serial number range. Does that significantly affect the watch value? With all of this, and with the attached photos, some of which were taken by the jeweler through the loop, I was wondering what, if any, comments you all might have on my "new" watch. Thank you very much!

 

Okay I take a stab at this.

You are asking 2 questions:
1) replacing crystal
2) 561 test adding value

He may be a trustworthy guy, he may be a good softball player, but if he doesn't know vintage watches I wouldn't let him touch your watch. So find out more about his skillet and if he is used to working on and potentially sourcing vintage parts.
Most here will tell you that original crystals are important there are ways to treat scratched up crystals before replacing them. But I don't know about crazed crystals. If you need to get a new one is worth it to buy an omega branded crystal.

In terms of the value which I'll broaden to the value of the whole piece. These c-shaped Connie's have not picked up value in quite the same way their other constellation relatives have. You can get a 168.009/17 (not 18kt) for around $400. IMO they just don't seem to have such a high demand for them. I have been tempted to purchase one myself because of the low entry point. In terms of your piece, you can see how much these have sold for on ebay sold listings. At the moment I wouldn't expect the price to be significantly more because of the "famous 100000." In fact I really don't see much hype here for these. Sounds more like a "oh cool" when you have one but that's about it.

The watch looks nice. Love the funky C-shape.

Looks like it needs a service.

Good luck!

 

a replacement omega crystal for the watch will make no difference to the value of the watch as it currently is. There is no inherent value in having the original crystal on the watch as they are service replacement parts.

piss that stretch band off as quickly as you can. they do terrible damage to the lugs of precious metal cases.

a nice thin gator or croc strap will be a good match.

the value of the watch is in its history to you. as a reminder of your father it should be irreplaceable and beyond value otherwise do a quick EBAY search on completed sales of this model of watch.

 

What @SeanO said

If you are in the US, I'll recommend Keleran USA for good quality straps that doesn't blow the budget: http://stores.ebay.com/KELARAN-USA

 

Very nice "C" case Connie.

About the crystal. Hold it in good daylight and move it around while looking at it from different angles. If there appear to be cracks or fissures going down into the crystal it needs to be changed as the structure of the plastic has been compromised and could fail if bumped or hit.
If it only looks like surface scratches then a polish will restore it to like new.

The movement looks to need a service as it's pretty dirty and shows evidence of a worn rotor bushing or axle.

As noted, get rid of the "old man" Speidel, my Dad swore by them but while convenient, they can chew the lugs of soft gold cases.

It should come up nicely and would be a good occasional wearer

 

Re. flexible bands, I have had a couple of steel cases that had been chewed up by these. However, it is far, far more prominent in the cases where the end link is smaller than the lug gap - this doesn't appear to be the case here. Still looks awful, though

 

This one, and most like it, made for "16mm to 20mm" have spring loaded outer tubes that push into the lug. Smaller the lug gap the greater the chewing effect. Once loved by our fathers/grandfather/uncles for their simplicity and ease of use, they have now become the unwanted basterd children of watch collectors.

Anybody want to buy a box full of them?

(cleaned in the dishwasher of course!).

 

Surprisingly, these are actually not worthless. I have seen a number of them sold (for small amounts, but hey...) online. The mind boggles.

 

Thanks very much for the advice! And definitely agreed that it is a must to get someone that knows what he is doing to service the watch. My friend does not do the servicing. I just asked him to open the back so we could get the specifics on the watch. At his store, He brings in many pre-owned Rolex, Tag, some Omega, etc and has the same guy do the all the servicing on them prior to reselling. He has done it this way for years. And it seems just my luck that dad liked a somewhat obscure/less collectible case. So it goes, and thanks very much again!

 

Thanks very much for the info on the crystal, and the effects of the stretch band. I didn't realize that such damage could occur -- I just knew that I would never use a speidel! And as you have aptly stated, the real value is to me in that it is a daily reminder of my dad. Thanks again!

 

Thanks very much, I will check it out!

 

Thank you for the additional info on the crystal! I will definitely do that before changing, and I will also get it serviced as I would like to use this watch now as he did, on a fairly regular basis.

 

And a side note, my mothers name just happened to be "Connie" so it is actually a nice reminder of them both

 

It sounds like you are keeping it, great. This is for your reading pleasure:
http://omega-constellation-collecto...onstellation-c-shape-omegas-child-of.html?m=1
This watch really is an iconic shape. Super 70's. Enjoy it!

 

Thanks very much for posting this, great article!

 

Definitely a nice watch !
The C shaped connies are not valued high compared to a pie pan and there is no hype on it currently. But this is the kind of trend that change with time ^^

 

I hope you are right!