Hi all,

Pretty new to the speedy game and the "nice" watch world in general. I've seen a few comments of "obvious relume" or "looks like an 80's relume."

What's the tell-tale signs of a relume? I've seen dials that looks like the had more of a "glob" look but not sure if that was factory or not.

Any tips greatly appreciated.

 

One dead giveaway is (if you can see the dial loose) a v shaped nick at the edge, I think the redials use this to align the dial in a jig.
Otherwise it is down to checking it with known correct dials from the same watch or era, checking alignment of script, checking for swiss or swiss made etc at the bottom and comparing the fonts from known "correct" to the "unknown" one.
If you are not sure post a scan.
Only problem with that is, particularly on here is that some of the posters really don't know what they are talking about yet post as "experts"
I am NOT an expert but know a few who certainly are and are generous with their advice.

God luck, C.

 

Welcome.
Important question: what's the story with your screen name and avatar?

 

Sorry to say but this is nonsense...

OP asked how to spot re-lume and not re-print...

The sharp "nick" at the edge you mention as an indicator for re-print may be a hint for a reprinted dial but is not necessarily so.

I have seen plenty of NOS or at least mint dials which had such a sharp nick but were 100% original and many others without "nick" which were clearly re-done!

Furthermore such a "nick" is absolutely not necessary for a re-lume job whereas it might be helpful when a dial is re-printed.

 

For spotting relume, some of the tells are that the lume will not be the right colour, won't match the hands, or the aging of the dial and generally doesn't fit the watch. Lume usually degrades naturally, so seeing lume stripes that are white when the hands aged brownish for example is a hint. Reluming may also appear sloppy compared to original lume. The plots might be mishapen, not stay within the paint markers under the lume for example.

If a relume was done to restore luminescence, then, on a vintage watch, it will glow too bright and too long as well.

There's no real science to it, it's mostly experience, but once you see a few, it should get easier.

I should note too that lume degrades in different ways too, so what applies to an omega may not apply to a Rolex, or even different models from the same manufacturer.

Use the search feature here and search for 'relume reluming', you'll find lots of threads..

Bottom line, when in doubt, ask before you buy!

 

That's not a problem. OF generously allows everyone to have an opinion here. It can be correct or incorrect, but nothing is wrong with expressing opinion. The incorrect ones will be corrected in no time anyways.

 

Sorry I misread "re-lume" as re-dial and replied accordingly.

Jack at IWW does resumes that are just about impossible to spot.

As others have said, it is mostly down to experience, checking against known correct examples.

 

Relume [emoji6]