Hey, everybody. I really hope this gets seen. This is my first time posting on this, or really any other forum aside from Reddit. I recently purchased this Omega 504 Constellation from a guy at a watch show. He seemed reasonable and he was open about some of his other watches that had replacement parts, so I felt safe buying from him. However, after some more research. I'm worried that he may have unknowingly sold me a frankenwatch.

Firstly, the crown. I'm pretty sure this is not a Constellation crown. It's not that iconic geometric shape.
Secondly, the hands. They seem kind of long, don't they? I'm no expert, but the hands on other 504s that I've seen online seem shorter.
Lastly, the dial. I haven't seen another 504 with this dial. The crosshair is straight and clean, but unusual. The tick marks are on the inside of the indices and not the outside like most I'm seeing. The script that says "Automatic" seems really close to the raised Omega logo. Almost touching it. Also it does not say "Calendar" at the bottom above the star.

What do I have here? Am I being paranoid? Are these inconsistencies common in vintage watches? I'm worried that I paid too much. I have his contact info, and originality is sort of important to me, so should I ask for a refund? Let me know if more pictures would be helpful.

 

Hey, you came to the right place and we hope you stay a while.

I would ask the guy for a refund. Dial has been poorly refinished. Fake star even.

Crown is not original as you mention (but is a genuine replacement). Movement looks like the Sahara Desert (not good). The hands may be correct but don't line up at all with the current dial. Date wheel also looks strange to me.

If you are worried you paid too much, you did. This is far far from a collector grade piece.

Welcome! Hope we can help you navigate the process for a legit Constellation. They are purrrty.

 

Wow! Thanks for that. I'll be sure to talk to the guy.

One question. What do you mean the movement looks like the Sahara Desert? I know it's not shiny like a lot of the others I've seen. Does that affect its performance? Does it just need to be cleaned or is the movement irreparable?

 

Hi and welcome to the forum.
Do you happen to know the model reference no.? Details will be on the inside of the case back.
It looks like a 14393 but I am not sure a 504 should be in there or will even fit. Others with more knowledge will know better.
If it’s a 14393 I would say the crown is correct.
The dial has been redone for sure.

 

Reference number is 2943 followed by a 2 and then either "SC" or "SG".

I have the serial # from the movement of that helps at all.

 

He means that the movement has been cleaned so harshly or so often that the cleaning has actually stripped the copper/beryllium plating from the brass components.

Add to this the chewed out screw heads, the stab marks around the stem release button and evidence of rotor pivot wear.

All in all, it's a good watch for $50 or a bit more, but you can do much better.

Keeping it or not is up to you.

 

I agree with all of the above. In particular the date wheel. The font is wrong and the numbers aren’t even the same size

 

Wow. That little?
Is the copper/beryllium playing functional or is it just aesthetic? I'm assuming it does something to prevent corrosion.

 

You are engaging with a community of collectors. That means that there is a minimum threshold to reach for a watch to even be considered "collectible." That being said, the watch in question would not be added to the collection of a majority of members here. Once it doesn't meet that threshold - it is value as parts, and there are really not many usable parts in this watch.

tl;dr: There is very little value to this watch from a collector's standpoint.
tl;dr #2: Return the watch if you can.

 

Thanks for the help, everybody. This has been very informative.

 

This is what OPs watch should look like.

 

The crown is the least of your worries. The dial is poorly refinished and the case is very soft.

+1 on return.