Be damned to Rolex hell

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I absolutely love the way that the Submariner/Sea Dweller bezel inserts fade to a lovely grey or blue. Not prepared to spend thousands on an original faded (maybe Chemically?) Insert I have done the unconscionable and fitted an aftermarket insert. I still have the original and will not try to pass off as genuine, so therefore I consider no harm no foul😀
Before:


I couldn't decide on colour so purchased two.


And went for this.
 
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As someone who has an aftermarket crystal on my 14060 (because Rolex didn’t make an acrylic for it), I support this effort. It’s your watch, you do what you want!
 
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This is one of the original faded inserts on my 1980 1680, probably my favourite part of the watch.

 
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Love my blue/grey fade….absolution is granted.
 
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Here's a genuine "grey", the original owner was a farmer in Western Australia and the sun did this even fade to grey.
 
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just some casual double red photos by OFers, nbd.

Agree-- like the grey
Edited:
 
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Looks great, I'm with you, the gray insert suits the subs perfectly.
 
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I love faded inserts. I have no clue if these are organically or artificial faded.

Edited:
 
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I love faded inserts. I have no clue if these are organically or artificial faded.

Mine has faded naturally- before my very eyes!!


When I bought this, it was less than 20 years old, the lume was a pale off-white and the bezel was vibrant red and bright blue. The blue hasn’t changed much but that red has really faded down and I don’t know how! I never exposed it to chlorine or sunlight for extended periods of time (I’m fair skinned so try to minimize sun exposure) but did use Off with Deet for several years- enough that it would haze the crystal (requiring a polish) if applied liberally enough. Don’t want to think about what that shit did to my skin 😲
 
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This is one of the original faded inserts on my 1980 1680, probably my favourite part of the watch.


I like your submariner date.
 
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I absolutely love the way that the Submariner/Sea Dweller bezel inserts fade to a lovely grey or blue. Not prepared to spend thousands on an original faded (maybe Chemically?) Insert I have done the unconscionable and fitted an aftermarket insert. I still have the original and will not try to pass off as genuine, so therefore I consider no harm no foul😀
Before:


I couldn't decide on colour so purchased two.


And went for this.
Did you fade it or was it done by the seller ?
 
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Did you fade it or was it done by the seller ?
It is new aftermarket. They do a number of levels of fade and shades and even black if you want.
 
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I have faded after market ones not very successfully, you can do it with very diluted bleach.
I just messed them up. The first pic is before my fade the second is my rubbish work, faded to soft purple !
It is new aftermarket. They do a number of levels of fade and shades and even black if you want.
 
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🙁 Sad, my sub only goes back to 1991. Coulda bought a deep sea instead back then, and it was $400. Less.
(The sub was 1900.)