Picked up a gen-1 Polerouter cal 138SS bumper-wind with some pretty extensive degradation to the dial finish. Intact & all original, including the signed crystal, but showing its age & then some.




Also, good an’ hot under the Geiger Counter.




Maybe Radium burn from the hands contributed to the dial condition?




So the question for me then becomes, how much value is there in an original but heavily degraded dial? And, would I wear it more if it were refinished (& not quite so hot in Alpha & Gamma emissions…)?

Let’s find out. Off to Kirk Rich Dial, 4 weeks & $250 later this is what we get back.




Maybe not 100% perfect, but overall pretty pleased for the $ spent. 3 lines of text on the top half, 1 line on the bottom half, 'SWISS' at 6 o'clock, single lume plots at the hour markers, double lume plots at 12. All looks like a pretty good match for the original.

For some reason the vertical cross-hair line got printed overtop the UG logo dial furniture. That doesn’t look great, but comes of very easily via some light rubbing with peg-wood.




Under the loupe, the printing is not quite as sharp as the original factory finish, but overall quite good.

From 18” away it looks just fine.




So let's hear the community's verdict. Have I committed a sin by erasing an original piece of UG history? Or have I taken a worn out old watch & made it nice?

One more for anyone who likes movement pics

 

The original dial was certainly quite damaged. The refinished dial is an improvement (though not perfect, as you pointed out). It might have looked a bit better with circular brushing and more "reflective", instead of matte.

 

My advice would be to look for a loose dial in better shape. As a place holder well, if you are happy, I'm happy. No one here would confuse it for the real thing. What kind of a dial house does that with the applied logo? Sloppy job. I wonder what a better shop might have accomplished.

 

There are times when the original dial is just too far gone, a replacement is like trying to find flying pigs so the unthinkable, the dreaded refinish option in order to make the watch presentable is the only option. The best redials, are expensive and if done well, acceptable. Considering the condition of the original dial, the results are a definite improvement which is pleasing to the eye and gives the watch a new lease of life. It is a cracker. All in all a pretty good refinish !

 

My issue with redials is not just the fact that it destroys originality - I completely understand that really, with a mass produced product, what’s the issue with scraping the dial clean and making it look new, especially when it’s in poor condition.

However, It’s also the fact that 1) most redials are poor and 2) they’re often completely at odds with the rest of the watch and to align all the elements the ‘restoration’ has to go further, often by aggressively polishing a case, perhaps replacing hands with one’s that aren’t correct for the reference.

Quality is an interesting one. Obviously there are good and bad redials but I always think I can pick out even the good ones. That said, if they’re really good, perhaps many of us don’t know they’re not original.

Anyway, pre-coffee ramblings over. I would have kept the original dial. I know it was a state but it was original, matched the case (was the case polished also or is that simply an effect of the sun?) and had a strange attraction.
In all honesty I find the redial really poor. The print over the logo is extremely sloppy, although a reasonable effort the font appears a very low quality, but the main issue is the dial body - the colour, saturation etc is just completely wrong and very jarring imo.

 

The idea of keeping the original dials is only 10 or 12 years at the most. Does give more exclusivity to the watch.
30 years ago dial refinishing was the norm. That is why there are so many redials and service dials. Watches were functional tools.

I spend a lot of time looking into the processes back then. I even destroyed a few in my ignorance.

Ironically I have been finding the charm in the original dials. It really does come down to a personal preference.

Now where did I put that sharpie?

 

If the ambition was to improve the wrist appeal for the casual onlooker, I think it’s succeeded. But when digging in, details like the line work show up as questionable.

Personally, I’m also a bit hung up on the accent circonflexe applied on the first “e” in Genève, while missing the accent grave on the second “e”… small detail, but still.

 

Not being able to dissect the lume dot at 3 down the middle is such a basic error I'm surprised you accepted it - surely that's the easy bit? I would have held out for a loose dial. I realise this may be a white balance issue but the original looks silver and the redial looks gold?

 

TBH the redone dial is glaring to anyone who knows about vintage or UG but if you like it that's all that matters.
I would have tried to see if anyone could clean the original dial.

 

Sin, sin, sin.
If you can't stand damaged dials, don't go vintage!

 

I don't think I would be happy with the redial, but then again, I don't think I would have purchased the original dial in that condition either.

 

Big detail to me to have a spelling mistake in the dial, like having only one "l" in "officially" .
OP I think it's ok overall. Too nice of a watch to leave in the box collecting dust.
I was similarly looking at a redialled Seamaster that I own. What to do? I concluded that i must hold out for an original dial in reasonable condition because I have become much too fussy by playing "Spot the Redial" for so long.

 

I would rather wear the patinated original dial than the (IMO) bad redialed, but as long as you are happy. There is always a chance in finding a decent or even good donor dial if you have the patience

 

GÊNE......VE: made my day



How much did you pay?

 

Thanks to all for the variety of responses. I think what I'm hearing sort of renders down to, "Redial is OK in making an ugly dial presentable, but it has to be better than this...". And I appreciate the other viewpoints, as well.

I think you may be right, but when sending the order in my instructions were along the lines of, "Try & match the original printing, but go ahead & use your own best judgement for what the refinisher thinks will look good." Was not trying, especially, to match the original 1-to-1. Could have provided more specific instructions, just didn't on this job.

Yes, that's not great. But, also much less noticeable out from under magnification.

Lightly polished (by me), but the wristshot photo is also a little out of focus & very different lighting condition.

 

I think it more renders down to ‘good redials are very few and far between, so don’t buy a watch if you’re not happy with the dial’.

 

The Polerouter with 138SS bumper movement is not a rare watch. Getting more rare, but you can still find them with nice dials. So perhaps you could have left this one “in the pond” for someone else who appreciates original, highly degraded dials, and bought another one for yourself. These vintage watches are non-renewable resources, you know? The modern watches of today are probably not going to be cherished in the same way as these original pieces from the 1950s when they become 70 years old. It is true that these worn, original dials were not as appreciated 15 years ago as they are today, and today they are much more rare. Why is that? 1) Collectors have snapped up a lot of them, 2) People keep refinishing them.

I would put out a general plea for a lighter touch. If you want a new-looking watch, well, buy a new watch, or an old one in better condition. Just my 2 cents and nothing more. Anyway, most important of all is that I hope you enjoy wearing your watch! ;-)

 

I'm on the "if you are happy, I'm happy" side.
Plus, I share your concerns about radium.

That said, if I don't like the dial, I don't buy the watch. Redial, even not as mediocre as this one, is not an option.

 

I actually quite like the patinated dial

is there a year range to see which Polerouter are radium without pulling out the Geiger counter

 

Pffff radium....my Connie is 8x hotter than that one and makes the Geiger alarm beep. I don't put it under my pillow at night, but wearing twice a month doesn't add up to much.