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Advise on patinated dials.

J
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Good Evening all.
I’m curious as to what more there is to a patinated dial as they can look very attractive in dome cases. Is it a fair assumption that there has been subsequent damage or environmental effects that have caused the reaction. Also if so what is the long term effect on the dial once the reaction has begun, will it naturally get worse with time regardless of the care you provide.
Thanks.
 
BC7DFE99-003A-459B-9876-92796B18DD5A.jpeg
Dan S
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Patinated means different things to different people. But a dial like the one you posted is definitely damaged, probably by water. I suspect that most people would not call that patinated, but it's all a matter of personal taste. In most cases the damage is old and stable.

In rare cases, the dial does continue to degrade. I think it's quite hard to predict when that will happen, but it's not common.
 
Wlcutter
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Agreed w @Dan S regarding that dial looking fairly damaged, and that dials continuing to degrade is uncommon (though who knows: given most watch dials with patina are decades old, it might be such slow change we're not noticing it).

As far as I know, I've never heard of any verifiable Truths regarding what can cause patina. In many cases it's sun or water; that said, I'm sure plenty of us have seen watches which have developed really beautiful patina without any obvious cause other than time passing.
 
J
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Dan S Dan S
Patinated means different things to different people. But a dial like the one you posted is definitely damaged, probably by water. I suspect that most people would not call that patinated, but it's all a matter of personal taste. In most cases the damage is old and stable.

In rare cases, the dial does continue to degrade. I think it's quite hard to predict when that will happen, but it's not common.
Thanks for the info. Good to know.
 
Dan S
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Wlcutter Wlcutter
As far as I know, I've never heard of any verifiable Truths regarding what can cause patina. In many cases it's sun or water; that said, I'm sure plenty of us have seen watches which have developed really beautiful patina without any obvious cause other than time passing.

Some of the richest and most uniform patina is reportedly due to decades of exposure to tobacco smoke.
 
J
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Dan S Dan S
Some of the richest and most uniform patina is reportedly due to decades of exposure to tobacco smoke.
I have heard that theory before. Suppose it makes sense.
 
Deafboy
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Dan S Dan S
Some of the richest and most uniform patina is reportedly due to decades of exposure to tobacco smoke.
I always wondered about that.
Aren't Omegas sealed?
And are the movements also affected by the tobacco smoke?
 
J
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Deafboy Deafboy
I always wondered about that.
Aren't Omegas sealed?
And are the movements also affected by the tobacco smoke?
I’m by no means an expert but that was exactly what I was wondering. Is it a safe assumption that a watch such as the one I attached with potential water damage would have been subject to work on the movement??
 
Dan S
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You always want to check the movement for corrosion if you see a water-damaged dial. Note that moisture often enters through a poorly sealing crown.
 
krogerfoot
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Dan S Dan S
Some of the richest and most uniform patina is reportedly due to decades of exposure to tobacco smoke.
I can't really fathom the mechanism by which smoke could affect a dial behind a sealed crystal. I've seen a lot of rooms where daily smoking discolors the wallpaper, but the color underneath a wall calendar is pristine. It's hard to see how smoke can discolor a watch face, even if you make a habit of exhaling smoke directly at your wrist, but it can't get around twelve sheets of paper hanging on a wall.

Maybe the proof has been offered somewhere on this forum, so I'm just going on intuition here, which is certainly fallible.
 
felsby
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krogerfoot krogerfoot
I can't really fathom the mechanism by which smoke could affect a dial behind a sealed crystal. I've seen a lot of rooms where daily smoking discolors the wallpaper, but the color underneath a wall calendar is pristine. It's hard to see how smoke can discolor a watch face, even if you make a habit of exhaling smoke directly at your wrist, but it can't get around twelve sheets of paper hanging on a wall.
Maybe the proof has been offered somewhere on this forum, so I'm just going on intuition here, which is certainly fallible.

You offer more than intuition here: A sound, well-argued proposition.
 
J
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krogerfoot krogerfoot
I can't really fathom the mechanism by which smoke could affect a dial behind a sealed crystal. I've seen a lot of rooms where daily smoking discolors the wallpaper, but the color underneath a wall calendar is pristine. It's hard to see how smoke can discolor a watch face, even if you make a habit of exhaling smoke directly at your wrist, but it can't get around twelve sheets of paper hanging on a wall.

Maybe the proof has been offered somewhere on this forum, so I'm just going on intuition here, which is certainly fallible.
I have heard many times that smoke can be the cause of discolouration, that said your example of the wall Callander is a very good argument which I have also seen before and really does make you wonder.
 
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