Like many of you, I have accumulated an impressive collection of NOS and very clean, original watch dials. These had been stashed in a drawer in a very haphazard array of plastic containers. About 6 months ago, I first read about the use of membrane boxes for dial storage. These are clear plastic/lucite boxes with two thin plastic films or membranes on each half. You place your object in the box and it "floats" between the two membranes and is protected by the hard plastic exterior. Bergeon brands some of these membrane boxes for the specific purpose of storing dials, and generic (which is to say non-Bergeon) boxes can be obtained from electronic part suppliers where they are quite popular. I transferred all of my dials into membrane boxes and the collection was much upgraded, arranged in orderly little rows. Last week I went to remove one of my dials, and upon separating the two halves, I noticed this: The hour indices were painted black, and the black in the picture was lifted directly off my dial! The result was an uneven, ugly finish on the hour indices, and the loss of about 12 hours over the past week as I meticulously cleaned the splotchy remains of the black paint off of the indices under 15x magnification and reapplied a matte black paint to the indices to restore the finish. If I've been a little grumpy, it's because I haven't had my usual coffee. Under 15x, the tiniest tremor can be disastrous. Today I went to remove the rest of my dials from the membrane boxes, slowly, painstakingly separating each one. The ones that had been in the longest had the membrane firmly attached to the face of the dial. And one of my dials with beautiful little lume blobs/balls had seen the top-most part of lume destroyed into a fine yellow dust that settled on the dial. My dials are all out of those wretched boxes and have been pressed into pith wood rounds and stored inside the aluminum movement containers with the glass tops as a temporary measure. One of my dials was shipped to me in an ingenious little container, that I hadn't given too much thought to previously: The circular clear plastic part pushes the underside of the dial upwards, where it is immobilized with a small plastic spike on the top cover. The spike goes through the hole in the center of the dial. The result is an immobilized dial, where the face is not in contact with any surface. Lume would be safe. These holders are made by a Swiss company called Henri Schaller. I've just now contacted the company to see if they would sell me some, and would be happy to coordinate a group buy if they will not sell small quantities. If anyone has a source for these containers, I would be most grateful. Be warned! I will NEVER allow one of my dials to contact a membrane box again.
Dude, I'm in for a handful or so. When I get home I'm pulling the 3 or 4 dials I have in those membrane sandwich holders out. This should have occurred to me after having the experience with the plastic watch zip lock containers on painted medallions.
Byron - in the mean time, a piece of that watch & jewelry tissue paper on top of the dial before closing that membrane container should keep the plastic stuff from adhering to the dial.
I was serious when I said that my dials will never contact a membrane box again. My new philosophy is that nothing will touch the face of my dials.
While we work on supply chain issues, please PM me if you would like to be included on a group buy for these dial boxes. You can probably assume that these will run $5-10 USD each plus shipping to get them to me and then to you. I will update this thread once I have firm numbers/info. Please send me a PM titled "Dial Box" and include: 1) the number of boxes you would like to order 2) the country where you're located.
Tissue can also have it's own problems as you can see here... Better that nothing touches the dial for sure. Cheers, Al
I have some details about buying these boxes. They can be purchased, but will have to be ordered with a 2-3 week minimum lead time as they are shipped to North America from Switzerland. From there, they will be shipped to me and distributed to anyone who contacts me regarding this group buy. Please realize that it could be as long as a couple of months before you receive the boxes. (I'm being conservative here, but anything is possible when ordering from Switzerland). I am extremely grateful for Al Archer's help in supplying these dial boxes, and will merely pass on this tremendous favor. I have no profit motives in this effort, and actual charges will be assessed to any interested parties. These will accommodate dials up to approx. 44mm in diameter. Price: $6 per box, plus actual shipping charges (and there will be several legs to this journey). Please send me a PM titled "Dial Box" and include: 1) the number of boxes you would like to order 2) the country where you're located. The deadline to participate in this group buy is midnight (in New York) on Wednesday 4/16/2014.
The order for dial boxes has been submitted. I've pre-paid for the boxes themselves. Once the boxes arrive (it will be a while!) and I know what the shipping costs are, I will be in contact with the members who PM'd me for the group buy request. If you've participated, please direct your gratitude to Al, who is making this possible.
The dial boxes have arrived--thanks to Al! If you participated in this group buy, please check your PMs. I've sent you a breakdown of the final cost and instructions for payment.
Those circular boxes are attractive!! I just got one of the little square ones for an arm's worth on ebay.
Could someone please show me a photo of how they stored a dial in one of these? I acquired a Mitsukoshi dial and I have a few of these holders but have never used them, and I want to be 1,000% certain I don’t screw anything up.
Open the container, place the dial in the base with the dial feet down, and install the lid. Cheers, Al
And you should see the face of the dial facing you, coming through the clear plastic side? You are a life and a dial saver. Thank you. Edit: Mission accomplished, I think. This was how I thought it was supposed to go in but was too afraid to try until I received confirmation. Thanks, Al!