Good day all!
My very first post in this forum. I found my dad’s 69 speedy while renovating my house . He thought he lost it long time ago. Anyway watch only, with bracelets luckily. Wanting to find out more about the watch history and stuff I joined my local Facebook group and posted a picture of the speedy and someone commented that my dial and markers has been exposed to moisture thus it turned brown. I mean the watch has been sitting in my house for at least a decade and a half. How did it get exposed to so much moisture? Couldn’t find much info about moisture turning dial brown online. I am from Singapore so sure it’s humid, but wondering is that the actual cause. Hoping someone can answer my query. Attached is a picture of the watch.

Ps. If someone has a nice looking DNN bezel which is period correct can pm me too. Thanks for reading!

 

What an incredible find! Dial aging may be caused by a number of factors, the black paint from this era (or the lacquer covering it) isn't very inert and changes can be attributed to oxidation, heat, time, and exposure to UV radiation (among other things, possibly). They call these dials 'tropical' for a reason; heat, moisture, and sunlight all in once place in abundance has that effect. I suspect that UV radiation may be the biggest factor, because on average the best black dials in my experience are typically found on dress watches that spent their life in a draw or under a cuff. Perhaps it doesn't explain this one though, since it's been in a house for a quarter of its life, unless it looked like that when it was first misplaced.

 

Heat and moisture. Sun can do it but this is sometimes deliberate. Head over to Speedmaster 101 site for more info. Please get this watch serviced.

 

Thanks for replying Larry, I got this watch serviced already and it’s running well. Shall read up more at Speedmaster101 soon!

 

Well it does get humid here in Singapore! Keep in somewhere dry (eg. with silica gel) from here on.

 

It’s a great watch IMO ... looks like it lives the life of a proper tool watch.