Another day, another Constellation. Gold case, and a 354 bumper movement, so what’s not to love? The dial has a bit of patina, but I always quite like that, as it adds to the charm of the watch.
It needs a service, so let’s go!
The Constellation case back with the Geneva observatory.
First look at the bumper movement.
Oopsy – that doesn’t look too good. The timegrapher can’t even pick up the beat rate and beat error.
The dial with the discolouration – quite nice. Almost looks like a design 😉
The bottom plate – you can see that the set lever spring is broken, and there is no dial washer.
There is a special Bergeon tool for removing the wheel that drives the second hand.
One of the pallet bridge screws has a broken head. My supplier doesn’t have one, and my client wants the original screw. We finally find one at Jules Borel, and including shipping, you could buy a watch for the money we have to pay …
Everything ready for the cleaning machine.
My next-to-last bumper mainspring – I have to get some more of these in, they aren’t easy to get.
The escape wheel, pallet and cap jewels are treated with epilame.
The new pallet bridge screw – far more expensive than gold!
Now the movement can come together.
And here it is, ticking happily.
That looks quite a bit better than before!
And the hands and dial back on.Cased and ticking again!
WOW that dial patina really looks like the night sky!
Just ordered another 12 330 mainsprings from Chris in Australia – cheers!
As always, a great job and write up Christian! Can’t wait to have it back again. I have to start looking for a nice strap.
Christian — nice photos. How did you press the wheel that drives the second hand back on?
I use the same device that I use for putting watch hands back on. It’s a simple stand with pushers that are interchangeable, and it works a treat for these wheels.
That’s a very busy case-back, but a lovely one.
The patina on the dial has oddly defined edges… looks like they only laquered a specific area, or applied a layer over the dial markings only, and that is what is reacting. You are right though – it doesn’t detract from the loveliness 😉
Hi,
I believe the dial originally had a two-tone color applied. It seems only the color in the center area has reacted in that way (slightly darker originally than the outer ring). I think it ads to the beauty of it, and is a sure sign of an original, unmolested timepiece.
The cal 354 movement looks fantastic as well!
I think the two-tone theory might be it. There is a light difference in shade between the inner circle and outer ring. I have another connie with similar dial layout in two-tone, but it is a waffle and the dial is unblemished 😀
When I saw this one on ebay, I had a hunch that this one might be worth taking the risk on. It came with the box as well and the price was more than reasonable.
One question to those who might have experience with Cap Code. Can I use it on a solid gold case to give it a light polish? Have you had good results with it?
Cheers