Please help! Looking to buy first vintage constellation

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New2vintage

·Mar 13, 2023

Hello everyone,
I hope you are doing well, I am new to this forumn and would appreciate all the help.
I'm about to buy a constellation pan pie from a watch repair store. I'm a little skeptical if it is real or fake.
I notice that on the dial there is 24hr numbers and from all the research I have done and countless youtube videos, none have these same markings.
Please help me make a decision.

 

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Davidt

·Mar 13, 2023

Did you take that picture from the other side of the street?!

Even from that terrible photo it can be seen to be a redial.

 

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alexsofluffy

·Mar 13, 2023

Looks fake. Regardless, you should never buy a watch based on one low quality photo.

 

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Kapka

·Mar 13, 2023

Davidt

Did you take that picture from the other side of the street?!

Even from that terrible photo it can be seen to be a redial.

That was funny 😀

 

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JohnSteed

·Mar 13, 2023

I’ve never seen one of these with those numbers on the dial. At this point I would walk away, close the web page, look elsewhere. Number on the dial more than likely are not original.

 

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New2vintage

·Mar 13, 2023

Thank you so much for all the quick replies,
The picture was sent via text message to me, looks like it was taken through a display case.
Thank you so much again!!!
I hope you guys have a wonderful day

 

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Spruce

·Mar 13, 2023·Sunburst dial fan

N New2vintage

Thank you so much for all the quick replies,
The picture was sent via text message to me, looks like it was taken through a display case.
Thank you so much again!!!
I hope you guys have a wonderful day

You did the main thing perfectly.
You found OF, you opened a membership, and you posted a query BEFORE you bought the watch 😀

 

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New2vintage

·Mar 13, 2023

Thank you!

 

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X350 XJR

·Mar 13, 2023·Vintage Omega Aficionado

At the very least the dial has been horribly refinished and the case heavily polished.

Glad you asked first, run away from this one.

Take your time and learn from the great people here on this forum.

 

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RevZMan123

·Mar 13, 2023

Spruce

You did the main thing perfectly.
You found OF, you opened a membership, and you posted a query BEFORE you bought the watch 😀

I'm surprised daily at how many people do this in reverse.

 

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MtV

·Mar 13, 2023

This isn't a redial, it's worse than that. Reminds me of this one:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/a-good-dogleg-constellation-167-005-an-evaluation-exercise.155205/

The picture is, uhm, let's say not the very best, but there seems to be the same dial structure. And the fantasy dial, odd looking lugs etc. My guess is it also says 167.005 inside, despite the date window.

 

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New2vintage

·Mar 13, 2023

Yes I was thinking the same thing, watch must have been rebuilt in some way.
I'm currently on the market for a constellation pan pie, I love how this watch looks even though it's over 50 years old!
What are the main things I should be looking for?
I'm sorry for asking this ridiculous question, it's just I'm very new to this vintage watch world and loving all the help I am getting on this forumn.

 

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MtV

·Mar 13, 2023

N New2vintage

and loving all the help I am getting on this forumn.

Then use it 😀 There are many threads showing literally hundreds of examples. Be patient, train your eye, and then when you feel like you're getting the hang of it come here for questions before you buy.

In the meantime, check the classifieds of the forum. While we do have sharks here, too, it's definitely safer overall than ebay.

You might also want to check Desmond's blog for just about all the info you could hope for, and then some:
http://omega-constellation-collectors.blogspot.com/

And lastly, make up your mind what you're looking for. The pie pan-style dials are beauties indeed, but you can find them in a few handful of references. A 2852, a 167.005 and a 168.004, to name but three, are very, very distinct watches, even though they might share the 12-sided form of their dials.

 

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New2vintage

·Mar 13, 2023

Thank you MtV for this much needed information.
I appreciate everyone's help here, I'm new to this forumn and will be searching a lot more here and doing my homework. It truly is a great forumn! Keep up the good work. There world needs more people like you guys!

 

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wagudc

·Mar 13, 2023

Welcome to the forums @New2vintage! I suggest tat you check out these threads:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/rec...-watches-only-on-ebay-not-for-inquiries.1790/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/learn-how-to-fish.52603/

Also keep an eye on the sales forums. Some real gems come up there sometimes. You can't post messages there until you have 200 legitimate posts, but you can always DM a seller. Good luck on the hunt, it takes patience. Don't be afraid to ask for help again.

 

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New2vintage

·Mar 13, 2023

Wow! Thank you for the links Wagudc, very good information on this forumn, I didn't know there would be so many variants for this constellation pan pie.
Would anyone suggest building a constellation pan pie with original good parts? I have been really been putting serious thought about getting into this hobby and would love to make one to the specs I would like or is this a huge no! No!.
Please excuse me I'm very new to watches and looking to buy the perfect one but according to the links provided by wonderful people on this forumn it seems that this watch will be way out of my budget.

 

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JimInOz

·Mar 14, 2023·Melbourne Australia

N New2vintage

..................Would anyone suggest building a constellation pan pie with original good parts? I have been really been putting serious thought about getting into this hobby and would love to make one to the specs I would like or is this a huge no! No!.......

Nobody with any sense would do it.
It would be a money pit and all you'd end up with would a franken, even if you could find all of the individual components.

Take your time, your Constellation will come along one day.

 

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Peemacgee

·Mar 14, 2023

[QUOTE="New2vintage, post: 2146625, member: 96058"
Would anyone suggest building a constellation pan pie with original good parts? I have been really been putting serious thought about getting into this hobby and would love to make one to the specs I would like or is this a huge no! No!.[/QUOTE]

Each to their own and nobody can tell you what is wrong for you but vintage watch collectors tend to value the authenticity of their watches.
So building a Constellation to your own specs would be a big no for most on the forum.
On top of that, depending on how you intended to ‘customise’ a watch you would be setting yourself up for a world of pain.
Dials from different Constellation references are different sizes and can’t be interchanged and even case parts from different manufacturers for the same reference don’t necessarily fit together.

Best to read and learn and save while you are doing so.

here’s another link for just pie pan references
https://omegaforums.net/threads/ppp-pie-pan-porn.48012/

 

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New2vintage

·Mar 14, 2023

Thank you guys for the advice and knocking some sense back into me!😀

 

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New2vintage

·Mar 14, 2023

I am in love with the first watch from the link Peemacgee posted! It is gorgeous, I will be dreaming of it all day now.
Have a wonderful day guys!