Restored dial...how can you tell?

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Dug

·Aug 3, 2021

A newbie here, searching for a Constellation with a pie pan dial.
Just wondering if any of you kind folks could advise me on what would indicate that this one has its dial restored?
It's listed on an auction site at what appears to be a reasonable price and the seller, who has provided lots of detail and appears to be very up-front, lists it as having had a 'premium restoration'.
The problem I have is that, apart from how clean it is, if the seller hadn't declared then I wouldn't have known. I applied the knowledge I've gained so far, mainly on here and from Desmond's blog, but still flummoxed.
On the learning curve.....any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

 

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DaveK

·Aug 3, 2021

Honestly, if you look at 1,000 watches, you’ll start to develop an eye for it.

 

M

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myatt

·Aug 3, 2021

Compare spacing of minute markers from the edge with that of an factory original dial and you will see what @DaveK means...despite this being a poor pic to judge the dial. That's the best tell. I would have asked for head-on high resolution pics which I am sure will immediately reveal the refinishing on the fonts (read no serifs, type/thickness etc.) Like it has been said, you just develop an eye.

 

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khangct

·Aug 3, 2021

From experience after looking at a lot of original dial, you’ll just eventually know. But when the redial is too good, I usually ask for close-up and look at the serif on letter and minute marker

 

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gbesq

·Aug 3, 2021

Another tell is to look at the dial text and crosshair (if any) on the dial. If the text and crosshair lines are too dark, too thick or uneven: redial.

 

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SkunkPrince

·Aug 3, 2021

On that one the text is wavy and the minute register is misaligned, gapping at the bottom.

 

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Dan S

·Aug 3, 2021

Sometimes there are specific details that one can point to, but often it is just a matter of the overall quality, which becomes apparent with experience. In this case, the photo isn't really good enough to pick out many of the fine details. It's easy to get fooled by low-res photos.

 

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wagudc

·Aug 3, 2021

For me the boundary of the dodecagon was a give away. It looks like someone played connect the dots with a straight edge but didn't quite perfectly hit the dots bang on every time.

 

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Ravineman

·Aug 3, 2021

You dont need a high resolution photo to suspect the case has had a LOT of polishing

 

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ConElPueblo

·Aug 4, 2021

The text just looks poorly done.

Also, the lume on both dial and hands is bright white meaning that at the very least, that has been redone.

Then you look more closely at the hands and discover another thing...

 

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cristos71

·Aug 4, 2021

Well first you need to know what an original looks like and work backwards from there.

Experience is everything with dial analysis and not something that can be taught in a forum post or two

 

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Edward53

·Aug 4, 2021

As Biggles would have said, a real ace gets in CLOSE!

 

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Dug

·Aug 4, 2021

Thank you all for some great advice; much appreciated.
I guess my next step is to find a high res image of a 'definitive' original and keep looking and comparing.
Virus permitting, it will be great to get out to some fairs and eyeball some constellations on a one-to-one!
Thanks again folks.

 

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PiePanPark

·Aug 4, 2021

http://omega-constellation-collectors.blogspot.com/2007/08/dial-update.html

I found this blog site to have a wealth of info on vintage Connies. Read part 1 and 2 linked within the blog post.

Briefly,:
1) the first peak of M of "Automatic" should bisect the O of "Chronometer" and be just the the right of the Y of "Officially"
2) the curvise n on "Constellation" are different.
3) the upstroke of the s,t, and e on "Constellation" should be parallel.

I'm just summarizing what I remember from the post. Read on and learn. The guy who writes it loves and knows Connies way more than I do.

Also look for "SWISS MADE" for no lume markers and hands and "SWISS MADE T" for lumed markers and hands. Sometimes the hour marker lume have fallen off but there's a v shaped notch for it that distinguishes between the two.