Hi guys, I recently picked up a C-shape Connie (after trawling through the thread I became enamoured) it's in decent condition and just off for a service. It still has some of the brushed finish on the case. Simon Freese mentioned he could touch up the 'starburst satin' effect on the case and the brick bracelet I have with it. I'm always sceptical about having anything refinished, but I felt like the brushing was different from say polishing where you lose case edges and then basically what the original watch looked like. What are people's thoughts?
Lovely watch and nice photos there at the beginning. I don't think the brushing would harm the watch as long as it was done correctly. Polishing on the other hand I would say no. I think the watch as it is, looks in great condition but if the brushed sections are going to annoy you each time you look t it, then get Simon to do it. With the correct starbust brushed effect, it will also highlight the polished sections more and will look stunning.
That's a radial finish, rather than a starburst finish. The radial finish is concentric circles around the center of the case, where the starburst is straight lines radiating out from the center - completely different finish and techniques to apply it. Any kind of refinishing can cause damage and loss of sharp edges if not done properly. Applying a brushed finish is no safer than polishing. Probably the most invasive refinishing technique in terms of potential material removed is the lapping of a starburst finish - I've seen a lot of cases where very large amounts of material have been removed in this process - far more than with conventional polishing or brushed finish techniques. This radial finish can be done easily by chucking the case up in a lathe and using the proper abrasives to touch it up while it's rotating, but to me it looks fine as is. Cheers, Al