This looks redone, does it not?
https://www.hqmilton.com/timepieces/939zv20n/zenith-18k-rose-gold-chronograph-8857

 

I thought this was a game of how many different fonts can you spot on one dial.

 

Yes the dial looks refinished but not badly. There are worse refins out there. Price may be a little optimistic for a refin.

 

There are two styles of 1 and two styles of 3 and 6 that I can see.

As a general rule, I take it the original dial would have uniform fonts for all numbers? Probably a stupid question but if you are going to put the effort into making a decent redial then surely uniformity must be high on the checklist for you?

 

Yikes... scary that such a highly regarded vintage dealer does not disclose this...

 

Understood, but dealers are regarded as experts by the general public (rightly or wrongly), and are profiting from what they sell. These factors oblige them, in my opinion, to have a deep understanding of their merchandise.

 

I really like what @Spacefruit said on this subject:

Essentially, do your own research and never ever trust a vintage watch dealer to do it for you. I've visited HQ Milton and they are great people who would never intentionally mislead their customers, but they just don't have the time to research every watch that comes through the door.

 

Agree completely.

Sorry, but that ain't good enough. If a dealer is going to sell expensive watches, and characterize them as "Authenticity Guaranteed", they should make the time to research. It's essentially dishonest for dealers not to identify redials as such, as neophytes are virtually certain to be fooled.

 

To be fair, this works both ways. Since they do have an "Authenticity Guarantee", one can always return the watch if they get it in hand and decide that it's not original.

 

Actually, that depends very much on how they define "Authenticity". The subject watch could be considered by the shop to be an "authentic" Zenith with a redial.

 

That's true, but I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt in this case. Plus they state that you may return the watch for any reason within the inspection period if not completely satisfied. So it's not as if they would argue with you about their definition of authenticity if you tried to return a watch.

Either way I think we agree that it's ultimately up to the customer to decide for themselves if a watch is original or not.