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  1. Syrte MWR Tech Support Dept Feb 3, 2016

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  2. Tony C. Ωf Jury member Feb 3, 2016

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    Very likely original. Relying on "SWISS" or "SWISS MADE" is not a reliable way to discern originality.
     
    DirtyDozen12 likes this.
  3. Syrte MWR Tech Support Dept Feb 3, 2016

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    Thanks Tony, I was confused as it did look original to me indeed -- except for the missing "SWISS" mention.
    I'm still not clear then how essential that SWISS mention is.
    It seemed to me that many people here usually comment on the presence of a "SWISS" mention as a significant factor.
    So I guess then it's not decisive in and of itself, and only meaningful when combined with other tell-tale signs?

    Grateful for your guidance,
    Best regards,
    S
     
    Edited Feb 3, 2016
  4. Modest_Proposal Trying too hard to be one of the cool kids Feb 3, 2016

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    Something that jumped out at me immediately was the difference in brightness of the left subdial and the right subdial. How can this be explained, except if it were a redial?

    It also looks like the font is different on the respective subdials.
     
  5. Tony C. Ωf Jury member Feb 4, 2016

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    Yes, your conclusion is correct. There were more than a few watches sold in the early/mid 20th Century that did not have SWISS or SWISS MADE on their dials. Standardization was not nearly as prevalent as one might think, and watches were also exported from Switzerland to many different markets, hence, different dial designations.

    Odd as it may seem, I'd say that the suspect part of the dial is the left sub-dial. It's as if someone began to restore the dial, then abruptly stopped. So, I agree that the dial may not be fully original.
     
  6. DirtyDozen12 Thanks, mystery donor! Feb 4, 2016

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    I think that the dial is original. Patina is not always uniform throughout a dial and the subdial printing looks too good for a redial. Below is an example for comparison.
    dial.JPG dial2.JPG
     
  7. Syrte MWR Tech Support Dept Feb 4, 2016

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    Thanks gents, very interesting.
    I must admit I would not have thought that black one was a redial, but then again I've come to realize distinguishing redials may just be the trickiest part of the learning curve...
     
  8. Tony C. Ωf Jury member Feb 4, 2016

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    @DirtyDozen12

    Very interesting comparison – thanks! It wasn't the inconsistent patina that was of great concern to me, but rather, not being very familiar with UG chronographs, the difference in the numeral fonts pointed out by MP. Really interesting that they did use different sub-dial fonts on original dials.
     
  9. Syrte MWR Tech Support Dept Feb 4, 2016

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    It's true the 3 especially are starkly different on the subdials... The 5 to a lesser extent.
     
  10. DirtyDozen12 Thanks, mystery donor! Feb 4, 2016

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    I have to admit that the combination of flat and round 3's initially looked odd to me as well. But after examining numerous UG's from the collections of highly knowledgeable (far more so than I) collectors, I believe that the combination is not only okay but quite common.

    dial3.JPG ug285.JPG ug285.JPG compur - Copy.JPG
     
  11. Modest_Proposal Trying too hard to be one of the cool kids Feb 4, 2016

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    It's still hard for me to understand the huge difference in color of the two subdials. How could areas of ink age so differently?

    Maybe UG touched up the dial, themselves?
     
  12. DirtyDozen12 Thanks, mystery donor! Feb 4, 2016

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    The left subdial not only appears less faded but also has slightly thicker lines (refer to the outer tracks of the subdials). However, the fonts are very consistent with other examples and there is little evidence of a retouch anywhere else on the dial. I agree that the aging is striking but the right side of the dial does appear more weathered than the left (refer to the tachymeter).