Dears OF members, in my limited knowledge of vintage constellation, I stumble across this cal 505 pie pan. However when look at the caseback, seems i cannot find the suitable reference code for this one. Please let me know if its all legit. its being said as pink gold however from the better light on back picture seems maybe not. Many thanks for your valuable input. Sherwin
Yes, it is a French cased variant. Old style logo on the inside case back, no reference number on the inside case back. On the outside case back is the eagle's head hallmark for 18kt.
Ah i see. What do you think on overall condition? Does it looks to much polished on the lug? Is there any similar swiss case reference for this?
If you search for "French cased Constellation" here you will probably find a few examples to compare. With the dial style, applied logo and 505 I'd compare this one to a Swiss cased ref 2852. This French one doesn't look very much like that, the lugs are a different shape, more rounded to start with, and on your example they look to have been further rounded with some polishing. The case front of this French one looks to me more like the French equivalent to the ref 2648, which housed the bumper 352 and 354 movements. I have seen this before, it's like the French case manufacturer's caught up late with their case designs. They seem to have had a period where they were casing the later 501/505 movements in the earlier style case. I don't know if this earlier case style had to be reconfigured to accommodate the later full rotor 501/505 movements or if they fit in straight off the shelf, but either way I don't like the look. IMHO, design wise, it is very confused. (edit: I've just done some Googling and the French 2648 equivalent has a rounded case back with no bevel, so the French case back has been changed to accommodate the full rotor movements, yet the case front still displays the more rounded lugs of the French cased 2648 equivalent ) For me due to this confused case/movement configuration coupled with the poor condition of the dial it would be a pass.