You are already looking at dials that are damaged, so I suppose the remaining condition issues are important, e.g. lack of polishing of the case, original finish, condition of lume, condition of the movement, etc. Also, you want to look for originality of the parts.
Since when have damaged dials been accepted as “tropical?” I was always under the impression that “tropical” meant it had more or less uniformly faded from black to a nice, chocolate brown.
I’m sorry, but those are not “tropical” dials. I could accept “patina”, but not “tropical”.
I’m a complete novice so might be a stupid question, why would you want a lack of polishing of the case? Is that because it’s part of the watch’s history/story?
The second one you’ve shown is my old watch that I believe the dealer above bought from me. I really like these both with good and patina’d dials.
I agree with Dan that you want to avoid over polished cases and as patina can be a result of moisture/humidity, make sure the movement is ok and there isn’t corrosion around the caseback seals.
Also with this ref the correct crown is important to me as it’s key to the overall look of the watch
