Is My Omega Constellation Circa 1970 Genuine?

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Greetings,

My name is Daniel, I’m in college and I have recently started getting interested in the watch scene. This was after I got passed on a vintage Omega Constellation from my amazing godfather, whereby I believe the timepiece dates back to circa 1970. The watch is an absolute masterpiece, feels awesome on the wrist and most importantly was owned previously owned by a person I will always hold dearly to my heart. Regardless if the watch is genuine or not, it is something I will always appreciate for the amazing story behind it. That being said, I would greatly appreciate if anyone could leave their opinion regarding the legitimacy of this timepiece, and if possible provide a reference number.

Thank you once again and god bless.
 
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The watch looks authentic for me, redial in my opinion but i am not an expert (looking forward for expert opinions) . To see the reference number you will have to open it and check inside the case back.
 
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Your watch is a reference 168.044 (168.0044) and is genuine.
At some stage the dial has been re-painted using the wrong fonts.
It's not a big issue if you just enjoy the watch and don't see it a rare/valuable/NOS/curated/collector grade watch.
 
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Perfectly genuine with a repainted dial. That is to say at some point the dial
Was damaged so a watchmaker had the dial stripped back to are metal the the base colour and text reprinted. This impacts the collector value but obviously has no impact on sentimental value. Some people try and source a new dial when they find their watch has a redial but another pov is that this is now part of the watches history (it was likey redialed decades ago) and so should remain, especially with a family piece.
 
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The watch looks authentic for me, redial in my opinion but i am not an expert (looking forward for expert opinions) . To see the reference number you will have to open it and check inside the case back.
Thank you for your input, I was also concerned about the font on the dial but then again everything else especially the build quality is very robust for it to be a 50+ year old replica watch, but then again I don’t know anything about the technology used during that period in time of replica-watch manufacturing.
 
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You love it and indeed it’s a great watch! So wear it and enjoy, perhaps see to get it serviced if you plan on wearing it every day!
 
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Perfectly genuine with a repainted dial. That is to say at some point the dial
Was damaged so a watchmaker had the dial stripped back to are metal the the base colour and text reprinted. This impacts the collector value but obviously has no impact on sentimental value. Some people try and source a new dial when they find their watch has a redial but another pov is that this is now part of the watches history (it was likey redialed decades ago) and so should remain, especially with a family piece.
Hey, I’m glad to hear that the watch is genuine. I also had my concerns regarding the font on the dial but the overall build quality is too good for it to be a replication of the real thing. I plan to keep the dial as is, but I’ll definitely take it for it to be serviced and polished as I plan to use it quite often.
Thank you
 
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You love it and indeed it’s a great watch! So wear it and enjoy, perhaps see to get it serviced if you plan on wearing it every day!
Thank you, I sure will get it serviced and polished in the near future as I plan to wear it frequently!
 
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I would think carefully about getting the watch polished. All those marks on the case were presumably made by your godfather so by polishing then out you'll be losing a bit of the watch's history - every scratch and ding will have a tale to tell. Personally I would get it sympathetically serviced and cleaned and then wear it just at it is, with all the memories it will trigger.

Your choice obviously! Just think carefully about polishing as you can't undo it.
 
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x2 on thinking twice about polishing.

Polishing can’t be undone, if you polish those scratches and history out, they can be put back. Also, a poor polish can have a ‘bar of soap’ effect in that all the nice edges and facets are blunted and rounded off. Even a good polish almost certainly wont replicate the original lines. I’d keep is as is, just getting a full movement service and case clean.
 
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It’s a pretty funky model - I’d probably think about getting a funkier strap (but keep the Omega buckle-if it still has it).
 
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If you don't like the look of your Godfather, have him polished. If he does not want that, leave his Omega alone as well....
 
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Well, if he’d left you a ring, you’d get it resized, if he’d left you a suit you’d get it refitted - so you could wear them and enjoy wearing them and, similarly, if you’re going to get more pleasure from wearing the watch polished and with a service and a new strap, go for it ….
 
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Congrats and enjoy this meaningful watch. You can always hunt for other original vintage watches if you like, but were I you I would get it serviced by independent watchmaker with Omega parts account, NOT worry about the dial at all, and just lightly clean the case with a jewelers cloth and wear it regularly.
 
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I would think carefully about getting the watch polished. All those marks on the case were presumably made by your godfather so by polishing then out you'll be losing a bit of the watch's history - every scratch and ding will have a tale to tell. Personally I would get it sympathetically serviced and cleaned and then wear it just at it is, with all the memories it will trigger.

Your choice obviously! Just think carefully about polishing as you can't undo it.
You have a good point, I did not think about that initially. I’ll keep the watch as it is and simply get it cleaned and serviced.
 
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It’s a pretty funky model - I’d probably think about getting a funkier strap (but keep the Omega buckle-if it still has it).
I still have the omega buckle, but I’m my opinion the current strap looks very classy with it! If you can recommend a different buckle that you think will better suit the watch let me know 😀
 
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Well, if he’d left you a ring, you’d get it resized, if he’d left you a suit you’d get it refitted - so you could wear them and enjoy wearing them and, similarly, if you’re going to get more pleasure from wearing the watch polished and with a service and a new strap, go for it ….
Someone made a good point about getting it polished and how that will lose some of the watch’s history. I will get it serviced and cleaned though, and perhaps as you mentioned get a new strap for it
 
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I still have the omega buckle, but I’m my opinion the current strap looks very classy with it! If you can recommend a different buckle that you think will better suit the watch let me know 😀
Show the buckle please closeup top and bottom.
 
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Buckle is original looks very good. I like the strap I would probably keep it.