Omega Constellation, stainless steel, "pie-pan" dial, "4-3 beads of rice" bracelet. Made in 1968.
Purchased at a military PX in Vietnam in 1969 for $99!
Sent from California to Omega in Switzerland for service on Oct 9, 2003. Express Mail shipping $26, insurance (declared value $500) $4. Per instructions from Omega, I wrote on customs certificate, "Watch for repair/customs clearing by receiver in Bienne, Switzerland." Received acknowledgement of receipt from Omega via e-mail, Oct 29. Express Mail allows on-line tracking of shipment, and shipment takes far longer than flight time alone. Several days spent in Swiss customs. Received postal mail package from Omega on Nov 3, containing details of watch and repair estimate. Maintenance service 350.00, new bezel 33.00, shipping 30.00. Total 413.00 Swiss francs. Second page of estimate said 413.00 CHF converted to $310.99. Estimate signed and dropped in mail for Switzerland on same day (Nov 3, 2003). Credit card billing for repair, dated Nov 28, was $321.09. Repaired watch sent from Switzerland on Jan 13, 2004. Received pick-up notice from USPS on Feb 6, 2004. Watch was in my hands on Feb 7, 2004. Total time for mailing and repair procedure, 121 days. All replaced parts were included with returned watch, including crystal, bezel, crown, hands, myriad tiny screws and other parts. Watch looks like new, runs at least as accurately as it did when new. New crown is "signed," but is a different style than the original crown. New crystal is also slightly different (larger date window). Except for the watch not being 100% "original," I'm totally satisfied with the appearance of the watch and with the quality of the work.
