[Watcher149]

Hello everyone. I'd like to share a recent find and get some feedback from you. I've been interested in watches for several years, but I've only recently decided to actively pursue the hobby. I consider myself a lightly seasoned newbie :biggrin:!

My wife found this watch last weekend at an estate sale. I know nothing about it's history or service life.

When she brought it home, I knew nothing about it, so I turned to these forums and the net and began hours of research (especially here and at Omega Constellation Collectors :thumbup1. Here is what I believe I know so far... (feel free to break out your red pens and correct me! :blushing: )

It appears to be a mid to late 1960s Constellation Pie Plate.
It has double T markings that indicate it was once luminous on the hands and hour markers.
The hands, calendar bezel, and star are faceted.
Several of the batons are discolored or patinaed.
The face is gold toned and has some patina and dust. It looks better in person.
The lettering on the face is slightly raised under a 10x loop.
There are a lot of surface scratches on the crystal and case.
The case rear is very worn, maybe from over polishing. It is also pitted. Under a loop, I can read WATERPROOF and below that 168.025 TOOL 105.
The crown is not original.
The crystal appears to have some stress cracks. It also has the Omega symbol in the center, however I lack ability to photograph it.
It is wearing a Speidel Twist-O-Flex band. It is not in their current catalog.

Since photos speak louder than words, I've attached a few. Again, it looks better in person than in the photos.

It has been running since she brought it home and appears to be keeping time well. I've been wearing it the past few days and I have not noticed any major loss or gain. I was able to advance the date properly.

Here is where I need some guidance. I know I need to have the case opened so I can get you all the serial number and movement number. I plan to get to that within the next few days. After reading a lot of the posts here and elsewhere, I'm of the mind to have it cleaned and serviced. I am looking for the best options to have that done. What would be a reasonable price I can expect to pay? If I decide to go that route, I may consider hunting down a new band or strap for it as well.

Having said all of that, please give me some of your opinions so I can have some options to consider.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Wetworks]

Hello everyone. I'd like to share a recent find and get some feedback from you. I've been interested in watches for several years, but I've only recently decided to actively pursue the hobby. I consider myself a lightly seasoned newbie :biggrin:!

My wife found this watch last weekend at an estate sale. I know nothing about it's history or service life.

When she brought it home, I knew nothing about it, so I turned to these forums and the net and began hours of research (especially here and at Omega Constellation Collectors :thumbup1. Here is what I believe I know so far... (feel free to break out your red pens and correct me! :blushing: )

It appears to be a mid to late 1960s Constellation Pie Plate.
It has double T markings that indicate it was once luminous on the hands and hour markers.
The hands, calendar bezel, and star are faceted.
Several of the batons are discolored or patinaed.
The face is gold toned and has some patina and dust. It looks better in person.
The lettering on the face is slightly raised under a 10x loop.
There are a lot of surface scratches on the crystal and case.
The case rear is very worn, maybe from over polishing. It is also pitted. Under a loop, I can read WATERPROOF and below that 168.025 TOOL 105.
The crown is not original.
The crystal appears to have some stress cracks. It also has the Omega symbol in the center, however I lack ability to photograph it.
It is wearing a Speidel Twist-O-Flex band. It is not in their current catalog.

Since photos speak louder than words, I've attached a few. Again, it looks better in person than in the photos.

It has been running since she brought it home and appears to be keeping time well. I've been wearing it the past few days and I have not noticed any major loss or gain. I was able to advance the date properly.

Here is where I need some guidance. I know I need to have the case opened so I can get you all the serial number and movement number. I plan to get to that within the next few days. After reading a lot of the posts here and elsewhere, I'm of the mind to have it cleaned and serviced. I am looking for the best options to have that done. What would be a reasonable price I can expect to pay? If I decide to go that route, I may consider hunting down a new band or strap for it as well.

Having said all of that, please give me some of your opinions so I can have some options to consider.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, and welcome! I'm pretty far from being an authority on Connies, so hopefully someone a lot more knowledgeable will chime in here.

From what I can tell, the dial appears to have been redone. The minute markers look off in places, the "Constellation" font looks wrong and the lack of hyphens on either side of the 'Ts' is a pretty good indicator. I can't tell if the end of the batons have degraded lume spots or that is a reflection of the batons on the case inside.

Some of the other stuff you said seems correct, but better someone else comment.:cool1:

 

[ulackfocus]

First, welcome to Watch Talk Forums! Your wife did well. :thumbup1:

Second, that is a case reference 168.025, the last of the Constellations with the better movements. It has a caliber 564 inside - one of Omega's best if not the best of it's era. Don't run the watch too much since it's certainly bone dry and needs a cleaning & oiling so the parts don't get damaged.

Third, the bezel and crystal lift off to get the movement out so don't attempt it at home. That model was only made for 5 or 6 years in the late 60's and early 70's but with the serial number we can give you an exact year.

Last, the crystal can be replaced for a small sum... maybe $30 or $40 for the part and a little extra for labor, but have it done while the watch is getting serviced.

You'll have a very nice special occasion dress watch when finished! :thumbup:

PS - it's pie pan, not pie plate. No harm done though.

 

[Watcher149]

Wetworks,

Thank you for your insight. The hyphen comment is very interesting. I re-checked it with a loop and I cannot see any evidence that they were ever there. All of the rest of the lettering is sharp and clear in person under a loop. Remember, the pictures represent my lack of photography skill more than anything else! :tongue_smilie: The crystal is so scratched is casts shadows onto the face. In person, the face has a pretty even gold tone, if that matters. Also, the minute batons are all centered on their respective marks. Several of them are missing the black coloring (paint?) in places, allowing the gold to show through. I'm not sure where the lume would have been originally.

ulackfocus,

Thank you as well for the welcome. I'll tell her she did good! That is good news about the case and movement. I'm hoping the movement is original and correct. I plan to take it to a local Omega dealer and see if they'll open and let me look it over. I plan to get a quote from them as well for a cleaning and service. I'll heed your advice and let it run down since I may not get to take it there as soon as I'd like to.

I was thinking of getting a correct crown as well as a replacement crystal, but like with all things, I'll have to price it all out and go from there. For what it's worth, I've been wearing it since Saturday and I've gotten two or three compliments on it even in the relatively poor shape it's in. I'm looking forward to giving it the treatment it deserves.

Lastly, I knew that. Pie plate, pie tin...:blushing:

 

[Wetworks]

Wetworks,

Thank you for your insight. The hyphen comment is very interesting. I re-checked it with a loop and I cannot see any evidence that they were ever there. All of the rest of the lettering is sharp and clear in person under a loop. Remember, the pictures represent my lack of photography skill more than anything else! :tongue_smilie: The crystal is so scratched is casts shadows onto the face. In person, the face has a pretty even gold tone, if that matters. Also, the minute batons are all centered on their respective marks. Several of them are missing the black coloring (paint?) in places, allowing the gold to show through. I'm not sure where the lume would have been originally.

ulackfocus,

Thank you as well for the welcome. I'll tell her she did good! That is good news about the case and movement. I'm hoping the movement is original and correct. I plan to take it to a local Omega dealer and see if they'll open and let me look it over. I plan to get a quote from them as well for a cleaning and service. I'll heed your advice and let it run down since I may not get to take it there as soon as I'd like to.

I was thinking of getting a correct crown as well as a replacement crystal, but like with all things, I'll have to price it all out and go from there. For what it's worth, I've been wearing it since Saturday and I've gotten two or three compliments on it even in the relatively poor shape it's in. I'm looking forward to giving it the treatment it deserves.

Lastly, I knew that. Pie plate, pie tin...:blushing:

Pie-in-the-sky, piehole- pie on a stick...ooops, sorry! :biggrin:

Seriously though, you may be correct about the photo quality plus crystal damage making of an obscured impression of the dial and markings, but some of the minute marks appear skewed. That could also be an optical illusion due to the pie-pan shape of the dial as well. Like I said, I'm woefully bad with all things Constellation. :blushing:

As to the lume, it would have been found at the outer edges of the hour markers.

This is like the beginning of a fun episode of a favorite crime drama.:thumbup:

 

[Watcher149]

This is the city. I was working bunco on nightwatch...

Then I woke up and realized my photo skillz needs workin on...

I looked at the hour markers along their outer edges. There appears to be a dark residue near some of them. I wasn't sure if it was lume or patina (or my eyes).

The minute markers appear to be consistant and regular under a loop (when I look between all of the crystal's scratches) but I'm keeping my mind open to all posibilities.

PS 3.1415926535

 

[ulackfocus]

I looked at the hour markers along their outer edges. There appears to be a dark residue near some of them. I wasn't sure if it was lume or patina (or my eyes).

You'd be very surprised what will come off a dial if you know what substance to apply.

..... or I should say if your watchmaker knows what substance to apply.

The minute markers appear to be consistant and regular under a loop (when I look between all of the crystal's scratches) but I'm keeping my mind open to all posibilities.

What was seen in the first group of photos looked like distortion from the crystal scuffs and scratches to me, magnified by the camera's fisheye effect in macro. The shape of Constellation pie pan dials makes for a tough read on condition under a bad crystal. If you stick with the vintage game long enough making educated guesses on dials is a necessary skill if you want to sift gems from the mud.

PS 3.1415926535

Oh no, another one with bad puns. :001_rolleyes::laugh:

 

[gatorcpa]

When you get it cleaned up, it should look something like this:

Note that mine is a full steel watch with a textured dial. I think your watch has a similar dial under all those scratches on the crystal. You should be able to get the proper crown from Ofrei.com or Jules Borel. Be careful, as I think these watches had special crowns that only fit this case reference and the 168.015 (same watch w/o the pie-pan).

Looks like a winner to me, :thumbup1:
gatorcpa

 

[kyle L]

Nice Pie-Pan, I think it looks good! There looks like a little wear to the lug (bottom right lug) from that bracelet though!

 

[Watcher149]

Gator,

Thank you for the very helpful information. Your watch is great! My goal is to get this one to that level.

Kyle,

You are right about the wear on the lugs. The gold is worn along some of the sharp edges on the lugs.

Finally, the watch is home resting. I'm on an unexpected road trip to the UP in Michigan. 3G coverage is spotty where we are. I expect to return by mid-week. I will continue the quest when we return. Have a safe holiday.

 

[Watcher149]

Everyone,

After carefully weighing all of the available witness statements and physical evidence available, the case has been transferred to the forensics lab for additional analysis. The preliminary lab report is very encouraging. The watch has been deemed authentic and worth servicing by one of the top men in the business. Once the funds are transfered from bean counters to the lab, the real work begins.

Case updates to follow...

 

[Wetworks]

Everyone,

After carefully weighing all of the available witness statements and physical evidence available, the case has been transferred to the forensics lab for additional analysis. The preliminary lab report is very encouraging. The watch has been deemed authentic and worth servicing by one of the top men in the business. Once the funds are transfered from bean counters to the lab, the real work begins.

Case updates to follow...

That's a 10-4, K. Please keep this unit apprised of any changes in status.:cool1:



















:biggrin:

 

[Watcher149]

Sir,

Funds transfered. Surveillance started on mail box...

Will advise with any updates...

:001_tongue:

 

[Wetworks]

Sir,

Funds transfered. Surveillance started on mail box...

Will advise with any updates...

:001_tongue:

LMAO! :lol:

 

[Watcher149]

Everyone,

The "crime lab" finally finished "processing the evidence". The "entire case" took a little longer to "investigate" than I anticipated, but I think it is solid. :laugh:

For the jury...

And finally my pie plate :blushing:

I was a little confused at first, but I'm much better now. :wink: