Servicing a beautiful original 1957 Omega Constellation powered by the Omega 504 automatic movement

Here we have an orginal 1957 Omega Constellation in its untouched form for many years. First I would like to thank Braddan for allowing me the chance to work on his watch.

I have long been admiring the design  and quality of the Omega Constellation series and this is one of the best examples I have ever seen and worked on.

Below is the result after the service.

All returned to how it should be with the appropriate crown and new crystal.

The watch comes to me in a good state but needs a good clean and a new crystal and a new crown as the original crown has been replaced at some point with the wrong one and the gold plating is quite worn.

Before the service

After opening the case (snap on back) Everything looks in place and I know immediately that with a good clean and full service, I will be able to bring this beauty back to life.

Inside of the movemnt looks tired and a bit dirty - clearly it hasn't been serviced for a long time

Appropriate genuine Omega parts (crystal and crown) are ordered, thanks to the fantastic Omega databse.

Original acrylic crystal and hexagonal crown

Auto rotor off and the movement out of the case

Can see the grime underneath the auto rotor

The old crystal off the case and can see there is a lot of dirt and grime after years of neglect. The crystal is cracked near the internal reflector/tension ring, it must be replaced anyway.

Old crystal out of the movement

After cleaning the case, the case and the back were under a very mind polishing to remove some deep scratches, however, some deeper scratches are left as I do not want to round off any of the defining edges that are the essence of the design.

The case and the back after cleaning, beautifully done.

Movement mounted on the  holder and ready for the hands and dial to be removed from the movement, care must be taken to remove the hands from the movement, dial protector must be used to avoid damaging the dial.

Dial and hands are in a good condition

Dial off . The cleaning of the dial must be done with the most attention as I do not want to de-face a beautiful dial in anyway.

Original dial in beautiful condition - only very minor spotting

The rotor is brushed with a brush number 1 and bring it up to a good shine and removed all the stains.

Rotor after cleaning

After cleaning, all the parts are laid out and ready to be re-assembled, all the jewelled holes are cleaned with peg wood to make sure no dry oil or metal particles stuck in the pivot holes. The mainspring is cleaned, oiled and wound back into the barrel.

All the parts of the watch laid out after cleaning

Most of the watch already re-assembled, there are no visible movement bridges wear and only some minor tarnished and not affecting the quality of the service.

Most of the parts already assembled at this stage

Balance and hairspring are inspected and balance pivots are cleaned carefully. Also the Incabloc cap jewels are cleans and oiled.

Complete balance wheel and balance cock

After the pallet fork is cleaned and oiled the balance is ready to be re-assembled. The watch starts immediately as soon as the roller is inside the fork.

Running beautifully - good balance amplitute - note the swan neck regulator

The automatic module after cleaning and ready to be re-assembeld.

All the wheels are checked and the automatic arbor checked for wear - in the process of re-assembly

After re-assembled the automatic module , the movement is now back into the case. Also the new crown installed with the stem - stem checked for corrosion and straightness - it is serviceable.

Auto module in and movement back into the case

Mission accomplished! What a difference does it make with a clean and a service.

Bezel shining after a good clean

Note the hexangonal crown

A new buffalo grain dark brown strap finishes the watch beautifully

Another angle of the result

Beautiful gold observatory emblem at the case back

Original Omega bucket - a bit of plating lost but still good