Hello OF Friends,

Can you help me with this one? I purchased this lovely watch and have a question about the golden colored sub-second hand. Should I replace it with a silver sub-second hand? My watch maker believes the sub second hand is original and the hour and minute hands to be replacements. If you look at the watch face the even numerals are a golden leaf color and the odd number markers are a silver.

I appreciate your expertise. Thank you

Steve

 

The hour and minute hands would likely have been silver originally, to match the "mirror" indexes. They would definitely not have been gold.

If the sub-second hand is truly gold colored, as opposed to the original plating having worn off, then it would not be original. An original may have been black, blue, or silver, but not gold with that dial.

Correction – you say that the indexes are gold colored (they look silver on your photos)? Then the hour and minute hands should also be that color, and would have been from the factory.

 

Hey Tony -

Thank you for the reply. The even number numerals are gold leaf colored, the odd indexes (hope I’m saying this right) look silver. They may have been touched up with silver..maybe not...I’m not an expert but an enthusiast. I assume you would replace the sub second hand with a silver one? Thank you

 

@BenBagbag what your opinion?

 

I'm really not sure. This isn't a reference I have seen many of. But it's the correct length so it doesn't stand out as totally wrong. But colorwise I have no clue. The theory about colors of different indices sounds fair to me.

 

Perhaps the lacquer has aged tinting the gilt numerals slightly yellow. The hour and minute hands looks correct for this dial. BTW it all looks silver on my color corrected iMac, except for the second hand.

 

Well, the indexes were either silver or gold when the dial left the factory. I am quite sure that they were never combined. So, I would suggest using a loupe, or magnifying glass, in natural light, and see if you can discern which were the original. From your photos, it seems more likely to me that they were silver.

Here is a chronometre that I own with silver mirror indexes:

 

I have owned this watch previously and believed the Gilt numerals to be silver in color FWIW.

 

Always appreciate your input/advice Howard.

 

An even better preserved version of this dial is shown in this thread:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/an-omega-2374-arrives-in-cornwall.15311/
Looks like silver would be the correct colour throughout. Also, to me the sub-second hand looks being a tad short since it doesn't reach the outer edge of the subdial markers.