I used to work in a test lab doing life cycle durability testing for automotive parts. I am currently in a role where I travel globally and often tour various labs doing other durability tests. It would be quite easy to build a simple apparatus to simulate a worn out bezel ‘by shirt cuff’... (and many other faded / worn out looks). With the value these special versions have climbed to, the payback must be very tempting for the many fly-by-night make-shift hobbiest-err-dealers... If you like the look, super, buy it. If it was sold to you by someone owning it less than a year... ask yourself how much of a premium you really want to pay for a look that cannot absolutely be proven as natural.
Found this in a pawn shop. No idea if fade is natural or not, but I love the look. It's a -71 and my beater speedy.
this looks amazing ! looks like a bleached bezel on an already vintage watch ? I'm thinking about doing this to my 17' speedy ... Am I nuts ? A nice grey bezel would make this watch look even better rather than black on black