Overpriced Constellation?

bulldog77 · Feb 16, 2020

Spotted this at a local jewellers. Apologies for the poor photo, I was on my way somewhere so I couldn't hang around too long. The crux of my post is that their asking price is just under £1900 (2475 usd). Is that anywhere near the ballpark for this particular piece or is it too premium to even bother thinking about? I'm guessing it probably is.

The bracelet appeared to be in good condition with good size, the crown was signed, the caseback displayed the gold 'medallion'. The star on the dial is obscured by the reflection of the overhead light (which has somewhat coloured the dial). They had it labelled as being 1959. Not sure whether the ref was listed, obviously I'd need to go back to clarify some of this. A google search has turned up a couple of very similar looking models with ref 14381.

I appreciate there's likely little to comment on from just the one photo but any general thoughts greatly appreciated.

OMEGuy · Feb 16, 2020

My general thought on your first post is, that I want to say hello and welcome to you.

X350 XJR · Feb 16, 2020

Looks to be in nice condition from the single photo you have provided, priced high by $1000+.

bulldog77 · Feb 17, 2020

OMEGuy
My general thought on your first post is, that I want to say hello and welcome to you.

Hi, thanks for the welcome.

X350 XJR
Looks to be in nice condition from the single photo you have provided, priced high by $1000+.

Yeah it did appear to be very nice but I suspected that may be the case on the price.

Edward53 · Feb 17, 2020

I like it lots. The case is crisp and unpolished, the crown is correct, the dial is original, it is either yellow-lit or evenly patinated which is fine, it is a cross-hair dial, the markers are onyx-inlaid, the hands look ok to me and it comes with a 5-row BOR which is another £200. If the back matches the front and there isn't an inscription on it, and if the movement is in good shape, that is a very attractive watch and almost certainly a 14381 with the 551 movement. Yes the price is high from a collector viewpoint but it's about what you'd expect from a jeweller and often for something in lesser condition. If you can get him down by £200-300 it wouldn't be a bad first buy. Just my opinion but it's better to spend high on something good than wait for the good deal that may never show, especially if you don't know your way around. And in a few years the price will have caught up anyway. Don't take my word though, see what others think and if they've spotted anything I missed.

bulldog77 · Feb 18, 2020

Yes that is a good point Edward. I think it might be hard to get it down to even that price point but it did strike me as a nice example. There was a fairly strong yellow light above which is colouring the dial in the photo. Thanks for your reply.

TexOmega · Feb 18, 2020

Edward53
I like it lots. The case is crisp and unpolished, the crown is correct, the dial is original, it is either yellow-lit or evenly patinated which is fine, it is a cross-hair dial, the markers are onyx-inlaid, the hands look ok to me and it comes with a 5-row BOR which is another £200. If the back matches the front and there isn't an inscription on it, and if the movement is in good shape, that is a very attractive watch and almost certainly a 14381 with the 551 movement. Yes the price is high from a collector viewpoint but it's about what you'd expect from a jeweller and often for something in lesser condition. If you can get him down by £200-300 it wouldn't be a bad first buy. Just my opinion but it's better to spend high on something good than wait for the good deal that may never show, especially if you don't know your way around. And in a few years the price will have caught up anyway. Don't take my word though, see what others think and if they've spotted anything I missed.

yes, this is great advice, you are just paying a bit more for all the leg work and stress that you can avoid.

Bonus: you get to wear it now👍

Edward53 · Feb 18, 2020

TexOmega
...you are just paying a bit more for all the leg work and stress that you can avoid.

Those are the words I was trying to come up with!

TexOmega · Feb 18, 2020

Edward53
Those are the words I was trying to come up with!

I'll bill ya!😁

Waltesefalcon · Feb 18, 2020

Welcome aboard. I agree with X350XJR, it's about a grand too high. The BOR is a nice addition but worth that much of a premium. If you look you should be able to find a similar watch for $1400US or less. Here is a gratuitous photo of my 14381 that I'm wearing today.

Overpriced Constellation?

bulldog77

OMEGuy

X350 XJR

bulldog77

Edward53

bulldog77

TexOmega

Edward53

TexOmega

Waltesefalcon

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