No pictures? No opinion.

The pictures aren't showing for me because you are using a social networking site to host them. I have a firewall that is blocking them. I'll use my cellphone and respond later.

gatorcpa

 

"No pictures, No opinion" is a commonly used expression in the watch world.

He means, in good conscious he really can't give any accurate assessment and make recommendations without complete pictures of the watch, including pictures of the movement, the inside of the back and the side would help too. People who sell watches are commonly up to more monkey business that you can imagine. Swopped movements, movements with wrong parts, entirely wrong movements, counterfeit movement, damaged movements, wrong cases, wrong case back, counterfeit cases, etc., etc. We have a responsibility to give you only good advice or none at all.

 

Pie-pan is more a nickname these dials have attracted from collectors after the fact than something they were described as originally which is why the vintage DB may not mention it. Its like the 1960s Mercedes SL class cars, they're called Pagodas now, but originally it was just the current SL.

 

Regarding the movement, even though it was serviced in 2009 says the seller, generally we discount that as crap and factor in the cost of a service, which isn't all that much on one of these, probably 200-300 euro tops for a quality job at an independent watchmaker. The Cal 561 is an extremely strong and accurate movement, not just by vintage Omega standards, but even compared to the majority of modern movements, so you can expect a lot from it.

 

Looks like a pretty nice example - lightly polished and refinished case with a clean dial. I would try to bargain the price down some (maybe 10% or so) and ask for a 3 day right of return so you can confirm that the movement is in good shape.

 

I viewed the pictures on my iPhone.

The dial looks good to me. I think the case back has been polished up, but whoever did it was careful not to damage the medallion on the back. That's good. The buckle doesn't look right, is it supposed to be solid gold? We cannot see the hallmark on the back of the case to tell if this is 14K or 18K gold. There's a larger one on the the inside, which of course, we also cannot see.

At almost US$2,600 the seller is asking full retail price for the watch, but doesn't want to let you view the inside? That's a warning sign right there. Would he accompany you to a watchmaker before you buy? There's a lot of funny business that goes on with these Constellations and you have to make sure it's right before paying top dollar. Even on my pie-pan, the rotor bridge was a replacement (that I later fixed). But I paid less than 1/3 the asking price of this watch for a 14K version, so I expected less.

There's another old saying in the vintage watch business..."Buy the seller, not the watch". In my opinion, you need to do a little more authentication work before buying this watch.

I'm not getting the warm and fuzzies from this seller,
gatorcpa

 

I think it is better to negotiate a 3 day right of return - then you can take it to someone yourself and physically inspect it. This is relatively low risk because given the condition of the watch dial and case it is unlikely the movement is in poor shape. It's easy enough for the seller to swap out parts/movement after the pictures are taken, send the watch to you sealed up and if you don't check yourself you won't know. I also sometimes try to personally speak with the seller because sometimes this helps clarify things and makes it more comfortable for both parties to make the deal.

 

My response was based on you doing a face-to-face deal at a watchmaker's office of your choosing. If you are doing a mail order deal, then MSN's got it right. Get a unconditional right to return the watch for a week or so to allow you to get the inspection you need. If this seller is reputable, he should have no problem with this request.

The issue I see with the seller taking the watch to a "dealer", is that most Omega AD's have little knowledge of vintage watches and likely would have no clue what parts may or may not have been replaced. Many vintage watch dealers are equally clueless, so how would you know if this dealer knows what he is talking about?

At $2,000, it has to be 100% right, or you should walk away.
gatorcpa