A question for watchmakers about replacing hands

[DirtyDozen12]

Archer

If the watchmaker knows what they are doing, hands can be removed without any issues. There’s always a small chance something can happen, but unless this dial is extremely fragile, there won’t be any problems using the normal tools. The tools used never touch the dial directly, as there will (or should be) protection applied to the dial. This is very basic stuff.

There are specific tools used when a dial is very fragile or brittle, so for example on the Speedy Tuesday with the lume around the subdials, special hand removers are used. Same for Buzz’s butt on the 50th, and other watches where putting direct pressure on the dial could cause damage (either from the finish or with a fragile dial material, like mother of pearl, aventurine, etc.).

Thank you very much for this additional information.

For those who do not know, Longines has begun to sell vintage watches through their website. These watches have been "Serviced and revised by Longines Heritage workshop". Below are two photos of a ref. 3648 that is currently for sale. As you can see, the dial is quite worn in certain parts. Maybe this watch is a poor comparison, but I am inclined to believe that Longines' Heritage workshop is more than capable of servicing a watch with a worn/fragile dial.

https://www.longines.com/en-us/longines-rectangular-shaped-art-deco-watch-1936



Here is a photo of the watch in question. Some of you may recognize this watch from another thread.