I'm actually more interested in when the current 20 year old watch is 50 years old. I guess I'm tying to see if people think patina will be valued as much (or maybe more) then as it is now. Of course no one will know for sure until the time actually comes.
In my experience, either bought by non-WIS types, or WIS types who like things to be shiny and new looking. This ?want it looking new" desire seems to be much more prevalent with those who buy more modern watches.
This same discussion about dials and hands could be had about case refinishing. People are far more likely to want a modern watch case/bracelet refinished than a vintage. My feeling is the current models that are "untouched" in the future will be pretty rare!
But it's not about Patina or no Patina, it's about how much a watch is naturally aging without either accidental damage or restoration. If a watch is damaged it should be restored, if it is aged then it should be respected, like a good leather jacket.
As to the value of the modern pieces I think it probably depends on how mass-produced and popular those pieces are.
Great discussion and apropos for me since I need to approve service on two similar era JLCs (purchased new and as yet unserviced; and arguably less mass produced than many). I was going to polish, then thought about my recent vintage experience and thought I should preserve. But I may be tempted to sell the Reverso while it still has some warranty left so I wonder which would be more attractive to most buyers?
They only have the minor normal scratching 15 years brings, so I'm leaning toward not polishing. But it won't be a question for another 30, as Al mentions, so polishing now probably won't make any difference. I doubt a polishing at 15 will be noticeable at 45, or will it?
The case refinishing question is more difficult, because once it's done it can't be undone. My approach to refinishing is to be very conservative, so I don't try to remove every mark, because that is when people doing the refinishing job get into trouble. That is when you risk changing the shape of the case, or losing sharp lines. My focus is to take off as little material as possible, and simply bring back the contrast between the brushed and polished surfaces, and this makes the watch look 95% of the way to new in most cases, but does not come with all the other problems heavy refinishing can cause.
