About four weeks a go I got a good deal on an Omega Constellation Pie Pan, 168.025, unishell case (front-opening).

It is all original, except for the strap and buckle. I managed to find a genuine gold plated buckle and purchased a Hirsch lizard leather strap.

The watch went to my local watchmaker for some cleaning, oiling and regulation. It also got a new crown and stem (for the rubber inside the original crown was almost gone).

It came back today, so I immediately attached the new strap to it. I'm unsure if I'm really happy with the new crown. It is a genuine Omega crown but it is 'higher' than the original one. In my opinion, it is a bit too high for the watch, but I'll probably get used to it. I have kept the original crown in order to keep the watch complete.

The result is shown below:



Thanks for watching!

 

I found that the seconds hand slows down a little at 2 o' clock?
This troubles me, as I got it back from service this morning..

Is this normal?

 

Beautiful! I'm not sure that I notice a lag in the seconds hand...
Could I ask how much did the service cost?

 

Sure.
The watch itself was Eur 410.
Service Eur 85.
Replacement wheel, crown and stem Eur 40.
Buckle Eur 50
Hirsch strap Eur 35.

This adds up to 620 Eur in total, serviced and all. I think it's a bargain. What do you reckon?

One more question.. what do you guys think I should insure it for? Quite revently a burglar stole 6 watches that were inherited from my great grandfather. The insurance paid jack. So I want to have my current collection to be insured up to their replacement value.

 

It looks really nice, apart from the new crown which doesn´t look like the correct one.

I would also take it back to your watchmaker for adjustment regarding the seconds hand, and put the old crown back on if possible, or source a better replacement.

I had something a little odd and also a little similar just recently with a watch that was back from service, the seconds hand would just stop for 30 seconds or so and then start again. The seconds hand also started to go backwards for 5 seconds or so which was quite shocking for a WIS to see!

It turned out to be something quite simple that needed adjusting/tightening/screwing, he did explain it to me at length but I´m not very technical in Dutch and lost track half way!

 

I dislike the new crown as well. So I replaced it by the original one.
Looks way better. Is it a big problem that the rubber gasket inside this crown is dried out? I know it is there for water resistance, but I am not planning on getting the watch near water.

 

I have seen the erratic behaviour of the second hand on a few 5xx/7xx movements and I didn't know why this was until Archer posted about it. The second hand is driven off of its own pinion that sits freely, on top of the movement and is held in place by a thin, copper friction spring. If the watchmaker presses the second hand on against this spring, the flat spring gets "domed" by the end of the pinion and doesn't hold the pinion properly. The spring itself is about €20, but if you place an off-cut from an old mainspring between the pinion and the spring, you don't damage it.

Because I'm paranoid, I use a piece of mainspring and an old friction spring when I press on the second hand.

 

Thanks for that elaborate explanation! I love the users on this forum! The problem seems to have solved itself during the time that I switched the crown and forwarded the date and time several times. Will keep watching it closely It seems not to affect accuracy. It runs at +1 sec after 5 hours.

Do you have any suggestion concerning me wanting to keep using the old crown?

 

This is great information.

Thank you, Stewart. And, Al as well. ^5

 

Quite a bargain! 85EUR is 117USD. I don't where in america I could find someone who could do a good service job for $117, so that's pretty great.

 

I believe it is. My watchmaker ordered it for me but I dislike it and have replaced it with the original crown. Looks way better. I am only afraid that I am compromising its waterproof and dustproof ability by using the old crown. I think ill leave it this way. The watch deserves it!

I am also surprised by the accuracy thus far. +1 sec over the last 15 hours. I cant believe that this watch is almost 50 years of age.

 

I just noticed that several lume pips have been damaged during the service. It is not noticable by the naked eye, but I saw it when I inspected the pictures. Bit of a bummer, but I'll live.