Thoughts or notes on this Constellation?

[PremiuMsam]

Hi all - was looking at this '61 Constellation but not an Omega or watch expert for that matter. Is that some water damage / bubbling around where the numerals would be? Looks a bit off to my novice eyes (redial?). Is there anything noticeable that I should be aware of? Thank you in advance.

 

[Peemacgee]

@PremiuMsam it might be worth mentioning that this watch is for sale in the OF private sales forum.

The dial degradation is quite common for this era of Constellations.
It may have had moisture ingress at some point.

What makes you think the dial is off?

The case looks good and the BOR is a bonus.

 

[Gav1967]

The dial looks original to me and any moisture damage on it is consistent with the condition of the hands so no red flags as far as I am concerned.

It's fine to discuss watches that are for sale in the Private sales on OF but probably good practice would be to mention that in your post and also PM the seller to let them know what you are doing (you may have done this already but just in case)

 

[gatorcpa]

The pattern of schmutz (a technical term, you can look it up), tells me that the dial was once in much worse condition. Someone tried to clean it without removing the indices and was only partially successful. However, they removed the original lacquer from the dial, which is why the color looks so strange.

All that being said, the price is fairly low, considering that the bracelet has some value to it by itself and the case doesn’t look to have been polished much, if at all.

Not sure if I could recommend it as a first vintage watch given the issues, but if someone has a cal 551 dial and movement looking for a case, it could be a good buy.
gatorcpa