This watch is one of my favorites. Capturing browns is hard on every level - finding them, affording them, photographing them. Many browns, especially those touted for sale, are all photographed in sunshine. This can give a terribly misleading impression, especially if you are going to buy it. These shots are all in studio lights and have not been adjusted for colour - just cropped and brightness. This particular example shows uneven colouration. This fading is uneven, and in this case has produced a dial I find especially attractive. Under greater magnification we can see that the dial is in fact degraded, and that this decay, if continued, might result in a poor looking dial. I do not think these dials continue to decay, what I am trying to say is that the same process produces lovely brown dials that produces the really shitty ones that we do not like at all. The dial shows a fade that looks to me like it is caused by oxidation. There is also the scrape from a previous poorly fitted hand. This is understandable but inexcusable work. It happens when the post on the hand wears or becomes stretched. In normal circumstances a watch sent for service would almost routinely have the hands replaced so that the watch could be returned as close to new as possible. However we as collectors value the old hands. In this case the watchmaker will make a small adjustment to the tube. Luckily that scrape is not to noticeable. The case sides are original, but slightly polished from wear - I think its wear as it still has the outlines. It certainly does not look re plolished from service, and certainly it looks like a preserved watch, not a serviced watch. It has a really special dial, and that out weighs the worn case sides, the slight damage on the bezel, and the damage to hands and indeed dial. The decision many of us enjoy, is asking is that balance worth the price? Do I like that dial, in spite of the hand scrape? Well for me, easily. For me the dial is so pleasing that I will accept all those other things, because the pleasure in owning this watch is wearing it and watching it change in appearance with the changing light through the day.
So hars to photograph. My new camera finally allowed me to really dial in the white balance for an accurate representation.
cracking dial I wonder if i left mine outside in the sunshine in the summer it might start to look like this dial
Interesting. Mine too displays more brown in the lower half of the dial than the top. Took this in office light. Appears more brown in sunlight.
I love the different shades of brown on @Spacefruit 's watch. I also love the leathery brown look on @gemini4 's which seems to be common on the early 2998s. Totally different looks. Here is a somewhat similar 2998-2, and the more dessert chocolate of my 105.012.
To highlight the problem photographing tropical dials here’s 3 photos of my 105-012. First one inside on my desk with halogen lighting and daylight through a window Second one in daylight Third one inside with LED lighting
