I purchased this watch (and, a few others) some time ago from a jewelry store close-out. Long story, boring: a small piece of lume from one of the watch hands had fallen off so when the jeweler opened the watch to remove the lume, he said "F it" (i'm not really certain he said "F it" but that's the way I remember it) and blew the rest of the lume out of and off the hands. My question: would you have the hands re-lumed OR try and find replacement hands with lume OR... just leave it alone?
that would drive me crazy. lume can be colour matched so I'd ask your watch guy if he has someone who can do the job sympathetically.
You need to re-lume or at least fill the hands with model paint. You can do an "aged" re-lume, I'll try and find the article. That dial needs the hands to contrast, but not scream out at you. On the other hand (get it) mine doesn't have that problem.
OK, so, re-lume has to be the correct answer. (3) persons whose taste I admire and general knowledge I respect, gave me the same answer. Re-lume, it is I've a soft spot for black dials and since I don't come across many truly "NOS" watches, I (((had))) to buy this watch. That, plus it was dirt cheap. Frankly, I thought you guys would recommend to just leave it alone. I'm glad I asked! I just gave her the once over with a 5x loupe. Even though it's not a sought after or much desired brand, it's still really cool to look at a 50/60? year old watch in it's original (w/o the lume, of course lol) shape and form. I think Delbana was like a department store / fashion brand. Not really sure. The quality of the dial print and the die work on the case and dial isn't half bad. Thanks!
There are a number of re-lume kits around that allow you to tint to your desired colour. Just Google away and I'm sure you can find something and your watchmaker should be able to do it. Good luck with your project
I've had it done a time or two, and would absolutely do it on your example. The larger the area, the trickier to get right. But, in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, it is hard to tell from original.