Hello, I inherited a heavily used Omega Constellation from my father in law. I guess it must be from the fifties, I reckon it must be real and my father in law has been the only owner. I don't know the first thing about watches, but I am just curious. Would you be so kind to take a look and give your opinion?

 

Yep, mid 50's, polished case, desirable perfect dial.. Looks off the dial is in my h better condition than case, is it solid gold?
It is a 505 or 501 movement, nice watch!

 

Thank you for your comment! Based on my own 'research' (i.e. looking at pictures on the internet) I found that it was either a KO 2782 calibre 352/354 or a KO 2852 calibre 501/505. The difference between those cases was unclear to me. But maybe I am wrong altogether. Could you tell me what case it is and why you are so sure that it has a 501/505 movement?
The case is stainless steel btw, it only has a gold cap.

 

The calibre 3** movements are half rotor and the 5** movements are full rotor. When you move the watch gently from side to side and feel a soft thud to the left and a soft thud to the right then you have a calibre 3**.

These are known as bumper movements for the reason above. If you don't feel anything then the likelihood is a cal 5**

 

Based on those pictures I'd go 2852

 

Thank you, Cristos71, for your explanation! I thínk I feel the thud you describe, but I am not really sure...
When there ís a thud, it can't be a 2852 case, can it? Or can a bumper movement also be in a 2852 case? Any special details, that I can look for, to identify the case?

 

Service should be done about every 5 years, so likely it's needed. At the same time it's serviced and a watchmaker has the back open, get photos of the movement and inside caseback. If you're selling it, the photos will make it much more attractive to buyers, and if you're keeping it, they will be documentation for insurance.

If you decide to have it serviced, ask the watchmaker NOT to polish the case. Making it look new hurts the vintage look and makes it less valuable to buyers.

Attractive watch, nice dial and hands!

 

Thank you, kkt, for your kind advice. I already contacted a reliable watchmaker in the Netherlands (my home country), but I haven't heard from him yet. I will ask him to make pictures of the inside. I already read a littlebit about 'polishing the life out of cases', so I will be careful, but some servicing needs to be done. The crown is damaged and may have been replaced at some point (don't know if the decagonal crown is the original one), the crystal has a lot of scratches and should be replaced (or will a new crystal also take away from the authenticity?), the logo on the back is missing, and there is a serious dent in the bezel (at two minutes past twelve).
I might even decide to wear it myself and not sell it! Who says that all watch lovers have to be men!?

 

Well the dial looks like a 2852 dial to me, different spacing of the text, single crossed t's in Constellation.

edit: thinking about it more it could also be a 2782 dial, IIRC these can have the older or newer size text

 

If you mean the complete gold medallion is missing then I have seen that frequently on 2782's, way more than on any other ref.......I'm leaning that way now! Have you got pictures of the back?

 

Well, I found this link on this very forum:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/omega-constellation-2782-10-cal-354-honeycomb-dial.6308/
and that initially made me think it was a calibre 352/354 bumper movement and a 2782 case.
To my untrained eye they look almost the same! Also the constellation font!
Yes, the medallion is missing altogether, I will post a picture.

 

Here is a picture of the backside:

 

Yes you are correct. I was getting my dials mixed up. Here's my 2782 with the earlier dial layout. No applied logo and the text is spaced a little wider.

 

A beautiful watch! and not treated as badly as mine.

 

Love these textured dials.

 

Well I wouldn't be too sure of that:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/from-ugly-duckling-to-black-swan.32193/

 

Wow. Sometimes being on this forum makes me sad. I always wonder if I will ever luck out like this.

 

So two people need medallions now? Maybe a jeweler could make a mold for these? Are they just glued on?