Just realized my insert darkened significantly just over a period of 3 months. Any way to prevent it from spreading further? Thanks
There is no crack. Its been in the safe most of the time. I also suspect is humidity. At this rate, the bezel will be all black in a year time. only thing i can do now is dehumidify the sàfe and see how it goes.
It is probably caused by moisture that found its way inside the insert. I noticed a similar effect on the tritium dial of one of my watches before.
It's your particular skin oils. You should wear long rubber gloves when wearing this precious object.
Maybe the mold idea is true? I have seen all sorts of bezel fading and discoloration but never encroaching black. I would check the movement for any corrosion since the whole watch lives in the same environment but it is a more water resistant case than many. If you have any other watches in the same safe, especially snap back ones and ones without some sort of sealing crown, I would check those movements and dials as well for corrosion or discoloration. I live in an extremely humid part of the world (air conditioned all the time) and I learned the hard way about exposed movements and parts years ago when I was learning what few watchmaking skills I have. Having a dessicant in a safe or safety deposit box is a good thing.
Interesting. Having collected many Bakelite items over the years, I have not seen this happen to black. Colors like Red Green can darken, fade or change color completely. Black usually gets a hazy appearance. Is it truly Bakelite? Or some other thermo Plastic? I believe it’s the Phenol Formaldehyde that is the culprit and Urea Formaldehyde in Catalin.
The discoloration does not happen on the bakelite. Inside the bezel is tritium lume that shows discoloration when getting in contact with moisture. My guess is that either a damaged or the shrinking effect of bakelite caused micro scratches that allowed moisture to enter the bezel and darken the lume