Omega Constellation 2853: Refinished or Cleaned Dial?

Whilst there are (known) variations, the fonts on Constellation dials are generally so specific that even touch-ups stand out like a sore thumb.

We occasionally see historical redials that are good enough to give pause for thought - but these are one in a thousand and they still have ‘tells’ that give them away.

Some of the redials that are coming out of places like Vietnam are becoming quite difficult to spot as they learn the giveaways by reading sources like OF.
But even they make mistakes (thankfully)

I was able to find the original listing for this watch, which has now been sold.

https://www.boldervintage.com/shop/p/omega-constellation-circa-1956-1

I’d like to save one of the pictures here as it really shows what happened to the watch:

It looks to me like the original lacquer was degraded and someone attempted to remove it without taking the time to remove the other hardware first. The overall appearance of the watch is not attractive.

There is a right way and a wrong way to do this kind of work. Here is an article that discusses the right way:

https://download1476.mediafire.com/...l2Xs0Q/95vk6v80cli5h8z/Seamaster_Conserve.pdf

Not too long ago I bought a watch with an original dial missing one letter:

Probably a similar situation, but I paid a small fraction of the price of that Omega.

I think the OP dodged a hefty newbie tax.
gatorcpa

How long before the new owner pops up on here, proud of punch with his new prized acquisition then gets mighty butt hurt when we don't share their enthusiasm. And then we look like miserable bastards for pissing on his chips...

ps I love the weasel words in the sales description about how the L 'has naturally fallen off over time, a detail consistent with age'. Nothing natural about it. Like printed text just falls off lol. It's good when iffy dealers self-identify themselves as such. One to avoid in future.