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Normal holes in mainplate of 551 movement? (167.005 Constellation)

D
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Hi all. I'm considering buying a 167.005 Constellation. The seller has shared these photos of the 551 movement and I've noticed there are a couple of holes in the mainplate (circled in red). Most of the photos of 551 movements I see online do not have these holes. Were these holes added in later movement years (this watch is from 1967), are there meant to be missing screws in these holes, or is something else going on here? I've heard about people mixing and matching parts from different Omega models, etc.

IMG-20241007-WA0003.webp IMG-20241007-WA0004.webp IMG-20241007-WA0009.webp


Any other thoughts or things to be aware of are very welcome! The rotor has presumably been replaced. There are some minor surface swirl/tooling marks and one big gouge on the side, which presumably means someone who didn't know 100% what they were doing worked on the watch at some point. Is that enough to pass on this one? The watch has apparently been serviced recently and is running well.

Thanks very much for your help!
 
Archer
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Those holes are for the dial feet - there should be dial feet in them...
 
JimInOz
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Archer Archer
Those holes are for the dial feet - there should be dial feet in them...

Apparently, you don't need dial feet.

😉
(from a recent purchase I was asked to inspect/verify)


Dial Problems.webp
 
DON
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Fine regulation missing the screw on the balance bridge.

Make sure it hasn’t snapped off
 
Vercingetorix
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Those are what the general public refers to as “Hell Holes”. Stay away from the Hell Holes.
 
Peemacgee
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Bearing in mind that members often get a roasting for not doing their homework before asking questions - I’d like to compliment the OP for not only recognising a problem by evidently doing the legwork of comparing and contrasting similar movements but also for their politeness in posing the question.

👍

(But I would stay away from this particular watch )
 
qazwsx1
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What does the dial look like?
I guess it may feature arrowhead hour markers.
 
D
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DON DON
Fine regulation missing the screw on the balance bridge.

Make sure it hasn’t snapped off
Nice spot! You're right, compared to other 551 movements there is a screw missing. I am guessing this is what it should look like:

Screenshot 2024-10-11 at 12.21.48.webp
 
D
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Archer Archer
Those holes are for the dial feet - there should be dial feet in them...
Thanks! That makes sense, although in the meantime I started looking up as many 1967 551 movements as I can find and it seems to be very common to have these empty dial feet holes. For example all of these 1967 or later watches have the holes:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/1967-omega-constellation-ref-167-005-cal-551-1-330.167453/ Cover Image
Thread '1967 Omega Constellation Ref. 167.005 Cal 551 - $1,330' ·
Hi everyone,
I am selling this beautiful Dog leg No-date Connie.
Here are the details:
Brand: Omega
Model: Constellation
Reference: 167.005
Caliber number: 551
Serial number: 25'xxx'xxx, dating...
SOLD
nanjingcigaretes ·
https://www.mannabouttime.com/products/omega-constellation-ref-167-005-1967
https://www.visionvintagewatches.com/product-page/1960s-omega-constellation-pie-pan-167-005
https://www.watchpatrol.net/listing/1665039/
1968: https://omegaforums.net/threads/now-950-1968-omega-constellation-pie-pan-ref-167-005-cal-551.166550/

But whenever I look at movements prior to 1967 the holes are not there. Interestingly, I found this 1967 model which doesn't have the holes. The serial number for this one starts with 24, whereas all the other 1967s I found start with 25... Could it be that at this time they changed the mainplate to add extra holes, maybe to accommodate other dial types with different feet layouts?
 
D
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Peemacgee Peemacgee
Bearing in mind that members often get a roasting for not doing their homework before asking questions - I’d like to compliment the OP for not only recognising a problem by evidently doing the legwork of comparing and contrasting similar movements but also for their politeness in posing the question.

👍

(But I would stay away from this particular watch )
Thanks! This forum is an amazing resource - really appreciate the help and yes, will be staying away from this particular one!

qazwsx1 qazwsx1
What does the dial look like?
I guess it may feature arrowhead hour markers.
No, this one has onyx markers - why did you think it might have arrowhead markers? Do those have different dial feet?
 
Archer
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D Db99
Thanks! That makes sense, although in the meantime I started looking up as many 1967 551 movements as I can find and it seems to be very common to have these empty dial feet holes. For example all of these 1967 or later watches have the holes:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/1967-omega-constellation-ref-167-005-cal-551-1-330.167453/ Cover Image
Thread '1967 Omega Constellation Ref. 167.005 Cal 551 - $1,330' ·
Hi everyone,
I am selling this beautiful Dog leg No-date Connie.
Here are the details:
Brand: Omega
Model: Constellation
Reference: 167.005
Caliber number: 551
Serial number: 25'xxx'xxx, dating...
SOLD
nanjingcigaretes ·
https://www.mannabouttime.com/products/omega-constellation-ref-167-005-1967
https://www.visionvintagewatches.com/product-page/1960s-omega-constellation-pie-pan-167-005
https://www.watchpatrol.net/listing/1665039/
1968: https://omegaforums.net/threads/now-950-1968-omega-constellation-pie-pan-ref-167-005-cal-551.166550/

But whenever I look at movements prior to 1967 the holes are not there. Interestingly, I found this 1967 model which doesn't have the holes. The serial number for this one starts with 24, whereas all the other 1967s I found start with 25... Could it be that at this time they changed the mainplate to add extra holes, maybe to accommodate other dial types with different feet layouts?
I've never seen an example without holes for dial feet. I think you are mistaken...
 
D
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Archer Archer
I've never seen an example without holes for dial feet. I think you are mistaken...
Sorry, I didn't mean they didn't have any holes for dial feet at all. I meant the holes in the specific locations I identified in my original post don't seem to be in movements prior to 1967. For example this movement from 1963:

1963-Omega-Constellation-Pie-Pan-167.005-Watches-Of-Lancashire-1-1536x1536.webp


Doesn't have the hole seen here in my OP:

1728689459752.webp


And this movement from 1962 doesn't have the hole above the crown:

Screenshot 2024-10-11 at 16.34.15.webp


which you can see here from my OP:

1728689599462.webp
 
SerP
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Maybe it's because of the through and blind holes for the dial feet?
 
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