Omega Constellation 168.010 Black Dial

Horology24 · May 24, 2022

Dear OF,

Can you tell me something about this nice Omega Constellation ? I want to buy, but I can’t confirm 100% it’s correct or not. For me the dial looking good and also the hands - but can’t find another one looking like this.

thanks for your answers 😀

kaplan · May 24, 2022

I'm not an expert; Looked good to me, very special, and many other one of a kind Omega's out there, it's a good thing

cristos71 · May 24, 2022

Looks good to me 😀...be quick if the price is right it won't last long!

Horology24 · May 24, 2022

many thanks for the answer. are there any other opinions? 😀

ConElPueblo · May 24, 2022

It looks fine to me, but remember that you are paying for the black dial, the rest of the watch is in mediocre condition. The "Meister" does not usually care much of a premium and the movement looks like it is more than in line for a service. What is the asking price?

Peemacgee · May 24, 2022

Good looking watch.
The case has a few dings but is otherwise good and strong with all the facets in place.
Heavily serifed font on the dial but looks correct.
Minty full-lumed indices are less common but look correct.

If anything, the added ‘MEISTER’ detracts from the watch for me but wouldn’t stop me buying it ( at the right price)

The movt looks like it needs regulating at best but the marked (replacement) rotor has me a little confused as there are no obvious corresponding marks on the case back.

Probably the original crown which is a bonus.

Does it come with the bracelet?
if so, another bonus to have a BOR with 19mm end links.

All in all definitely a watch worth having.

MtV · May 24, 2022

/edit: Obviously, I'm typing too slowly. Basically, what @Peemacgee is saying. 😀

---

Agreed that the Meister doesnt carry much of a premium, but I find "mediocre" to be possibly a bit harsh, no?

Dial: Seems to be in pretty nice shape, definitely original. Not sure if the small dots are residue on the dial or dust on the plexi - the pictures by @Shabbaz when he sold the watch here looked really nice.

Case: Some dings and scratches all around, but bevels/edges are well intact, medallion sharp. It's the kind of watch that I'd very happily wear and wouldnt be too worried about. It's not great, but very wearable and to my eyes also not mediocre. Original crown too.

Minute lume loss in the hour hand and some degradation on all hands, certainly highlighted by the close-up pictures. Bracelet is a nice bonus. The rotor sure shows wear, not sure if that's a prevailing issue or not, the seller will know. Regulator is a certain sign it hasn't been serviced (well) in a while. That can be taken care of, of course.

The dial is the party piece of the watch, of course. Wouldn't be easy to find another one.

Horology24 · May 24, 2022

Thanks to each of you for the very helpful response 👍👍

The bracelet is an option - but I think I have one in my collection too.

If it’s mine - i will post here a photo of course 😀

Shabbaz · May 24, 2022

Yes. This was a fantastic connie. Dial was amazing. Try to find another. So enjoy!

tnt9 · May 24, 2022

amazing watch!

ConElPueblo · May 24, 2022

MtV
/edit: Obviously, I'm typing too slowly. Basically, what @Peemacgee is saying. 😀

---

Agreed that the Meister doesnt carry much of a premium, but I find "mediocre" to be possibly a bit harsh, no?

Dial: Seems to be in pretty nice shape, definitely original. Not sure if the small dots are residue on the dial or dust on the plexi - the pictures by @Shabbaz when he sold the watch here looked really nice.

Case: Some dings and scratches all around, but bevels/edges are well intact, medallion sharp. It's the kind of watch that I'd very happily wear and wouldnt be too worried about. It's not great, but very wearable and to my eyes also not mediocre. Original crown too.

Minute lume loss in the hour hand and some degradation on all hands, certainly highlighted by the close-up pictures. Bracelet is a nice bonus. The rotor sure shows wear, not sure if that's a prevailing issue or not, the seller will know. Regulator is a certain sign it hasn't been serviced (well) in a while. That can be taken care of, of course.

The dial is the party piece of the watch, of course. Wouldn't be easy to find another one.

Well, to my mind it takes little wear to detract from the presentation of a dress watch. The dings and scratches on this one makes me take it down a notch or two from the top tier. It is by no means worn out - "mediocre" is fairly accurate, IMO 😀

MtV · May 24, 2022

ConElPueblo
Well, to my mind it takes little wear to detract from the presentation of a dress watch. The dings and scratches on this one makes me take it down a notch or two from the top tier. It is by no means worn out - "mediocre" is fairly accurate, IMO 😀

Understood. Personally, I don’t differentiate massively between tool and dress watches when it comes to my acceptance of wear. There is a category that is fully outside of (mostly) objective measures of condition, though, and that’s attractiveness. A watch might be pretty beaten up and still speak to me. This one does - I guess that (and the reason I’m not generally harsher in judgement on dress watches than on tool watches) led me to feel “mediocre” was a bit harsh.

Which is just to say: no criticism on your statement, even though I’d arrive at a slightly different verdict. 😀

johnireland · May 24, 2022

An honest black dial in this condition is a great find. Any mechanical needs can be delt with but the dial is a must have. I like this combination on a leather strap more than a bracelet, but to each his own. Congrats.

iamvr · May 25, 2022

As the current owner of this watch I’ve been following the discussion with interest.

I’m just an average guy, so “mediocre” is my middlename 😁.

As a non-native English speaker I’m in a bad position to argue about semantics in the language of Shakespeare. I can follow the logic that anything between top tier and poor is by definition “mediocre”. As biased as I am I’d go for the euphemism “fair” which would still be fairly accurate imo 😉.

johnireland · May 25, 2022

iamvr
As the current owner of this watch I’ve been following the discussion with interest.

I’m just an average guy, so “mediocre” is my middlename 😁.

As a non-native English speaker I’m in a bad position to argue about semantics in the language of Shakespeare. I can follow the logic that anything between top tier and poor is by definition “mediocre”. As biased as I am I’d go for the euphemism “fair” which would still be fairly accurate imo 😉.

Thank you for your modest evaluation of your watch. Everyone has put in their opinions...and yours is maybe the most important since you have the watch in your possession and can best judge it. Some have call it "mediocre" which isn't exactly precise. If you were explaining the term "fair"...what would be the word above that and below that. Based on the photos, I like it. Is it keeping good time? If not, how much off per day would you say? Does it wind and set with a nice crispness? Thanks again for stepping forward.

Shabbaz · May 25, 2022

We all have our opinions and that's totally fine. For me, I dont care about some dings in the case which I cant see with the naked eye. But I have bad eyes. Anyway, I would say this watch was fantastic (not mediocre nor fair) with it's glossy black dial. But I'm a dial man and maybe biased as well (as a former owner).

iamvr · May 25, 2022

johnireland
Thank you for your modest evaluation of your watch. Everyone has put in their opinions...and yours is maybe the most important since you have the watch in your possession and can best judge it. Some have call it "mediocre" which isn't exactly precise. If you were explaining the term "fair"...what would be the word above that and below that. Based on the photos, I like it. Is it keeping good time? If not, how much off per day would you say? Does it wind and set with a nice crispness? Thanks again for stepping forward.

To be honest, I was just trying to do a humoristic play with words. In all seriousness, I’m in the same camp as the previous owner @Shabbaz. It’s definitely not mint or top notch whatever you want to call it. The case is however solid with the original facets clearly visible. I took pictures with a macro lens that reveal more than the human eye can see and the visible dings don’t bother me either. And the dial is just gorgeous. Why I am selling it? I’ve been pondering for some time as it’s my first Omega vintage watch, but I’ve developed a strong aversion towards watches with date function as I rotate my watches on a daily basis and I’m too lazy to set the date correctly (and this one even has a quick set function). So it’s gotten less and less wrist time which is a shame, so I’m ready to let go.

Peemacgee · May 26, 2022

Well, from my point of view @Shabbaz , @iamvr, no matter how it is rated, I cant’t believe either of you would let this watch go.

@Horology24, I don’t know the asking price ( and you have to decide the value to you) but it is a very nice watch and certainly worth having.

kaplan · May 26, 2022

I think the valuation ideas are based on a "must-sell" market so I don't agree with them, I think the MEISTER could even 2X the value (a black dial is already 2-3X - so like 6X of a regular one), assuming a collector based high demand market forms one day - I paid these imaginary values a couple of times and I only regret not paying them, watches like these really add color to a collection, otherwise it's all gray

It's also important to note that pretty much all Meister stamps are non-perfect, they are all slightly worn out one way or another but I don't think it takes away from the charm

Hard to find a non-tropical gilt dial too, I wonder if these models are more resistant to wear, all the C-Case ones I saw were either fully tropical or in the very non-appealing in between state of shedding the coating

Peemacgee · May 26, 2022

kaplan
I think the valuation ideas are based on a "must-sell" market so I don't agree with them, I think the MEISTER could even 2X the value (a black dial is already 2-3X - so like 6X of a regular one), assuming a collector based high demand market forms one day - I paid these imaginary values a couple of times and I only regret not paying them, watches like these really add color to a collection, otherwise it's all gray

Hard to find a non-tropical gilt dial too, I wonder if these models are more resistant to wear, all the C-Case ones I saw were either fully tropical or in the very non-appealing in between state of shedding the coating

I'm afraid that I will have to disagree with your disagreement.

'Double-signed' dials i.e. with a retailers stamp, are only valued by a certain small cohort of the collectors' fraternity but are peddled by sellers as a premium addition because some watches (e.g. Speedmasters) with retailers stamps are less common and some folks value that rarity.

Constellations with retailers stamps fortunately don't suffer from this kind of hyperbole and so there is little or no premium to a Connie with a retailers mark (except perhaps Tiffany of course, if such a thing exists) unless you buy into the hype.

Black dials do sell at a premium but (again thankfully) certainly not 2-3X the price of a normal Connie.
I just checked and @Shabbaz listed this Connie at €1650 which is not unreasonable but perhaps only around a 30% mark-up to an alternative SS 168.010 in good condition.

On another bug-bear of mine, Constellation dials are not 'tropical', they are either patinated or damaged - please let's leave the flowery 'dealers-language' where it belongs. 👍

Omega Constellation 168.010 Black Dial

Horology24

kaplan

cristos71

Horology24

ConElPueblo

Peemacgee

MtV

Horology24

Shabbaz

tnt9

ConElPueblo

MtV

johnireland

iamvr

johnireland

Shabbaz

iamvr

Peemacgee

kaplan

Peemacgee

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