Any experience with IWC factory restoration? [possible Ingenieur content]

I personally view a service dial or factory repaint as far superior to a roached out dial or something repainted by lord only knows. Why not let them run with it now that you have a back up? It’s not like you are gonna sell it.

Thanks for your perspective, Larry. I really did think long and hard about this option and considered all sides and potential outcomes.

Ultimately I made this decision because I have a different personal view on the dial situation. Within reason, I prefer a damaged-but-legit period-correct dial than a poorly painted service dial. I was hoping that the service dial would look good. But the more I looked at that service dial, the less I liked it. The blobby matte surface finish, the printing ... it just doesn't look good to me, and even though it's an authentic service dial, it will always look like a repainted dial to me, and that's exactly the problem I'm trying to fix. I've been living with a similar quality re-dial for 25 years, and I don't enjoy it. I will get more pleasure from having the legit and correct "roached out" dial installed, so there's really no point in proceeding with the restoration, exactly because I will never sell it, so I'm the only person that I'm trying to please.

I also don't need whatever else they might do during the restoration. The watch was already serviced and runs well, and I'm ok with the current case condition, it's how my father wore it. So I will save the $4k and put it towards a service, dial swap, and have money left over for a bracelet.

This is an interesting idea. Perhaps someday there will be a renaissance of good dial refinishing using modern technologies, instead of by revisiting the original printing technology.

Personally, I have never seen very good re-dials, but some people claim that years ago, there were companies that performed perfect reprinting using the original cliches. I kind of doubt that this is true. I have seen reprints using original cliches (e.g. on Hamilton watches), and they are still easily identifiable as redials because of the quality of the dial surface and printing quality/errors. But I guess there could be other dials that are perfect, because if they were perfect, then I couldn't tell.

There is/was a Canadian seller on Ebay who was offering NOS vintage Omega clasps, a few OF members (myself included) bought one, there was doubt if it actually was OEM but at least it was what many were looking for at a price they were comfortable with.

Back when I was taking Jewelry classes in the 1990s I visited IWC. Had I been more successful they were interested in my efforts. They had a huge bone pile out back with the rejects. Most of this was ceramic dials. It is really difficult to get the basis even and uniform. I did have a PAL VHS tape of the process.

From my experience this is something AI would be quite terrible at. AI trends to more one size fits all generic abstract problems. Still have not bothered to try a chatbot. I have more targeted stuff with the player piano rolls. Most of what seems to be trending is smoke and mirrors. A lot of it is the dragon eating it's tail.

In the 1990s the time I was working with scanners and printers. So had access to some fairly high end tools and equipment. Silk screen equipment and toner transfer decaling paper. The same stuff used for putting foil logos on coffee mugs.

The short of it is dials are made with the same gravure process currency is printed with. It really comes down to the engraving on the plates. Which is an analog process. Modern equipment is a digital process where the tool paths are made from dots or short line controlled by servos.

Modern printers and scanners also contain anti counterfeiting measures. Some are more public than others. Pattern recognition has been around for a while. Another reason AI might fail as the 'security measures.' might train it to reject corporate IP.

A few weeks back I was thinking I could etch glass with the fiber laser, but in research the frequency is wrong although the laser does have the 360 degree servo axis. The CO2 laser might be better, although the owner does not recommend it and ask we not do it.

I have seen the plates and the steel is polished to a mirror finish. I have yet to do that as it gets boring really fast.

Spindles need to turn at high RPM. I broke the tips of most of my 60 degree engravers. I think I only have one left. I started to make a new spindle and never finished it.

Most refinishers are looking for a quick buck. There were still a few around in the 1990s and the quality was terrible. The ones who are decent are more like counterfeiters which is essentially what they are performing. There really is no value in spending time on dial painting due to the modern ideas of branding and IP.

Eventually I may get re-inspired to do more on this. At the moment I am trying to see IF I can simply cut some hands. I did burn through a bunch of brass making blanks. To be useful these need to be domed by spinning or pressing.

The YT vids of using the fiber to make plates said that some were taken down due to trademark infringement. So they re did them with a house branding and a 15 minute tirade at the start. They also show a pile of rejected blanks.

More evidence that the cost of replication in hours and materials will be more that finding an existent NOS dial of accepable quality.