A member of another forum has a UG calibre 138ss with a dial that is progressively worsening in condition. Here's the watch as is:



A movement shot:


And an older photo that shows the dial in better days:


The watch has sentimental value and a facet of this is the owner doesn't like/want to wear the watch with the dial in its' current condition (not something that would occur to many of us, perhaps, and some owners of sentimental pieces would go in the opposite direction and want everything as it is). That's just how it is.

The original thread from TZ-UK is here and I recommend a read of it.

http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.php?406253-Watch-Service-amp-restoration

I'm confident that a loose dial will come up on Ebay and it will require some luck and patience. Obviously loose dials sometimes come attached to a movement giving you lots of confidence about the juxtaposition of dial feet etc and sometimes they just come on their own without any such re-assurance. Thinking about this I have these questions for the forum.

1. Will a UG calibre 138 and a 138SS suit the same dial feet - my assumption would be yes?
2. How many different auto calibres are likely to have been fitted to UGs in the 50s and 60s. I know there are non-Polerouters with micro-rotor movements but they seem to be very few and far between. If it was me and the price was right then I'd consider bidding on dials of the right style for the period as long as they have Automatic on them*; how wise is this? Obviously nothing is without risk.
3. Alternatively, would it be possible to "touch up" the marks on the dial without going near the precious text? Has anybody attempted this?

Grateful for people's thoughts and open to any advice.



*In the case of question 2 I've seen these dials after some Ebay searches; I don't think they're satisfactory candidates given condition but they give an idea what my thinking is.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal...043300?hash=item1eb97db964:g:n8wAAOSwPCVX9Q4TPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal...326986?hash=item27dcdf018a:g:iKIAAOxyVLNSx4tyPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

Thanks - and also a 139.

We have a case reference for "our" watch but of course we won't have one for a loose dial. Obviously we can measure the diameter of our existing dial; do you think there is any other potential variable that will affect fit?

 

Any other thought or opinions? I was really hoping for a bit more of a response - ideally before some muppet on TZ-UK starts directing the OP down the redial route (there have been a few though mercifully not with UGs).

 

Fit can be tricky - especially case variations. I purchased a case that had a non working movement and dial for a 23z Longines movement that was working. My movement and dial combo just didn't fit as well as I'd hoped for, either dual to dial size/stem length/crown width etc. I'm still hunting for a case that will fit while accumulating parts and movements to tinker with!

I also believe that with time the dial will come...perhaps reach out to Instagram people as well? I recently enquired with a collector who had a crown photo from a year ago and they still had some left after some searching.

 

A muppet?!

 

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Muppet

Probably the 3rd one down

 

Just a bump @Carlton-Browne - is your friends watch still in need of a dial? This popped up:





4 days left to bid, Ebay link: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.fr/ulk/itm/162929612691

 

Thanks. I'll pass it on.

 

I have tons of dials, I'll check if I have something elegant for you... just tell me the precise diameter and the feet position.