Omega constellation vs seamaster first buy

Hi there guys! This is one of my first posts here. I must say, awesome work here on the forum! I’ve been engaged on a few watch forums for years now and this one certainly cannot be missed out on.

I’ve been reading up on the several fellow newbies wondering whether their pick is indeed the jewel they’re looking for.

Personally I’m looking for a dressy 50s/60s constellation or seamaster. No pie pan, but the ones with a clean dial & date indicator.

Now I came across these two watches. A constellation and a seamaster. Both sell from Etsy sellers for around €1400.

Can anyone tell me if this is good value for money? Or overpriced hyped?

In general my goal is to understand and make a good judgement on the price and quality of the watches that I’m trying to buy. Any other suggestions and tips are much appreciated!

Welcome to the forums!

My own take on this is to look for a 50s/60s Seamaster for around ~€500-700. Huge range, guaranteed to find something that resonates for you, less downside risk. Wear it for a while, learn more about what you like, keep doing the homework... then upgrade or add later.

Etsy: I've had both good and bad experiences. Caveat emptor! Keep an eye out for the sales here on Omegaforums, it's hard to go wrong with the community looking out for you.

Welcome, and good luck!

The Seamaster appears to be available from "Fine Watch Club" of Norwich, England. Not everyone is a fan of theirs. I am not, because just about everything they write makes me want to heave. Others might say their primary objective is to "prep" old watches to make them look great, and there is a market for that, nothing wrong with it. That approach doesn't make for collectibility however, or good value pricing. This is my "buy the seller" opinion. Others may have views on the watch itself.
Btw, the earliest recorded instance I could find quickly of that exact Seamaster+champagne photo on the web was February 2019. Whatever that tells you...

Er, no, it is your first post here - don't be shy!

Which ones? I'm just a bit worried now. Please take your time to get comfortable round here before you plunge your hard-earned money into anything you might regret quite soon after. This is a great place to learn, but patience is the key. Good luck!

Wow guys! I’m amazed by your quick and informative responses. All very helpful. This really is a vibrant place of omega lovers indeed.

combining your responses it learns me to look around a little bit more and be aware of high value watches with too much of a ‘boutique’ feel.

I’m based in NL and for what I know we do have similar regulations with the tax and import duties.

100% agree with you @Walrus. Such a shame that a lot of people nowadays are more focused on standing out with the goal of making quick money instead of standing out for the satisfaction of making other people happy.

Welcome @VisionOmega
I have to compliment you on your good taste - most newcomers are seduced but those 'flash-harry' pie-pan dials.
The 'clean' dial you refer to are more commonly known as dome-dials and to me are the height of elegant simplicity.

I'll comment on the 14393 Constellation in a minute but I just want to address a couple of things that @Walrus mentioned in order to mitigate any confusion.


The 'missing text' dial, which ran from about '59-'62 is most commonly seen on the 14381/14393 but also on the early doglegs (like walrus') and uncommonly on 168.004 hidden crown connies.
The 14381/ 14393 references are frequently seen with crosshairs
Date magnifiers were a special order option (and in my personal opinion should be left on Rolexes and don't look right on a Constellation)
Bracelets were an additional extra purchased at the point of sale, so there never was an original bracelet included -however, having one with a watch is considered a nice bonus.

The 14393 Connie you have posted is a nice looking watch
the case has been polished and has lost the sharp facets on the bezel and lugs but it's certainly not disastrous
the dial looks very nice - the cross hair is a nice bonus
the indices have onyx inserts
the hands have some oxidisation, which is very common on the reference
the cal 561 movt is correct for this reference but I'd like to see the serial to roughly date it
I'd also like to see the case back to make sure it matches and the condition of the gold medallion on the rear

€1400 is quite steep for a polished dome dial but if it has been serviced then its not that bad if buying from a dealer
I believe NI is subject to import tax from Europe now, (but who knows with Boris dicking around with the agreement with Europe) which would add approx 25% and that would be much too much for this watch
-but if you know someone in the Republic then you can avoid those costs of course......

If you like dome dials with dates, then there are several splendid Constellation references to look at.
google 'constellation dome dial' and add:
14902
168.005 (these two are essentially the same dogleg style watch but the latter with the new reference system)
168.004
168.010 (these two are known as 'hidden crown' constellations with shorter straight lugs and wear very slightly larger than their earlier cousins)

then by all means post any you find here for a once over by the members


hope that helps

@Spruce, you wrote:

"Both watches are very nice looking. They have polished cases and the photos are very carefully taken. I’m not suggesting that the photos have been enhanced, improperly or otherwise, but the impression of the whole package is that it has a boutique feel."

I would add just a personal experience with professional taken (let's put it this way) photos. I'll just post a couple of photos, so you can see the difference: the color of the dial, in reality, is not so "white".

from ebay, i rarely get a good deal from sellers with professional quality photos
got better price from the listings with poorly taken photos (lighting, composition, white balance)
ymmv extremely though

🤦
read his response on my phone and saw NI
thank you for the correction!

@Peemacgee once again, what an informative post! I’ve already learned way more in the past two days here than googling my way through this jungle myself.
I’m keeping an eye on the models you referred to. Personally I have no experience with sourcing on eBay but I already saw a pinned thread in this part of the forum that I’ll be looking into. Mainly keeping an eye on Chrono24 and the sale section of this forum.

Do you - or someone else here - have some reference numbers for the seamaster that I can be looking into as well?

I have been going through Chrono24 the last days and noticed that a lot of cheaper (<1000) Seamasters are being offered from out Japan. @Spruce is that something to be sceptical about?