Opinions about this beautiful Constellation 2852 pie pan

SOG53

Dial looks original with nice arrowhead indices, some blister/spotting common with these, HM hands appear rose gold? Which suggest replacements. Crown replacement with later Omega logo. Movement correct. Some polishing not too bad imo. Price quite high

MSNWatch

True this. When the watch like this is two tone the importance of having a nice, clean original dial is IMO more important than if the watch was in stainless steel or solid gold. These versions are already less desirable to begin with and are harder to find with the case in nice shape.

SOG53

Good for you to ask first. It is very difficult to decide who is a “trusted seller” on the internet. As you point out both the honesty and the knowledge of the seller are unknown. Positive ratings are helpful but can be artificially inflated. The point is you need to have confidence in your own knowledge and assessment, and even then you are still at risk with unknown sellers.
For a new collector it is safer to buy from sellers in the Private Sales thread here on OF who are fellow collectors known on OF who care about their reputation.

taworn

Oh, I see. So, the dial condition comes before the original parts. Like, it’s better to have good condition dial with wrong hands or crown than poor dial condition with original hands and crown.

taworn

Oh, I see. So, the dial condition comes before the original parts. Like, it’s better to have good condition dial with wrong hands or crown than poor dial condition with original hands and crown.

theluckyluke

Yes, generally that’s correct for these type of references.

Originality doesn’t always mean that all parts were sold with the watch 70 years ago. Crowns, crystals etc. were/are often parts that get changed. And that’s not an issue. Original parts can still be found, at some expense, and fitted so that it looks similar to when it left the factory. The same applies to hands, which can also be sourced. So you can somehow fix minor originality issues in a way that is totally legit.

But dial and case are more complex and because they widely play into the appeal of a watch, it’s important to get them right.

A damaged dial cannot be restored to look clean, a polished case cannot get its chamfers back. These are the most important parts to get original AND in the highest condition possible.

Otherwise you start going down the route of trying to find the same reference to find a donor dial or case and you end up buying the watch 2-3 times.

Having said that, this is a forum where people are collecting watches, so there is also a balance to find. Not every watch has to be perfect, but if it’s not, you want it to at least be fairly priced.

theluckyluke

This is not the same watch, it also has condition issues but the price is more than half. And it’s sold by an established member.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/omega-constellation-pie-pan-cross-hair-dial-2852.178218/

Thread 'Omega Constellation Pie Pan Cross Hair Dial 2852' ·

For your consideration is a nice a cross hair omega constellation with a pie pan dial for sale.

Ref: 2852
Case: Gold capped case worn, but in good condition, thick and sharp lugs. I...

FS

$ 950 USD

mahomes · Nov 12, 2024

MSNWatch

Like many here a gold cap connie is my least favorite case to get. I do have a few that I make exceptions for and as an example this is one I got because the dial was both uncommon and in nice original shape.

taworn

That's a surprise to me. I've thought the SS is the least favorite. Why do people prefer gold cap the least?

Deafboy

Also, I find gold capped cases to have softer edges than solid gold or SS.