I got my second hand Milgauss in 2015. Its the black dial/clear crystal version.

Over the 5 years I have owned it the dial has moved from black-adjacent, to a distinctly dark slate grey. In other words, as it gets older its turning grey. It is hard to photograph.

I have seen more extreme examples reported in other forums. These are not mine or my photos but it shows where mine is headed:





It brings up a few questions for me
1. I want to keep it all original but it is moving away from the watch I bought and liked very much. I am not crazy about the orange grey combo but replacing the dial seems like a step too far as the second hand is also fading at its own rate and a new dial would look jarring...which then leads to replacing the second hand...soon it will be an horological Ship of Theseus. What are your thoughts on conservation vs restoration in this case where the core of the colour values of the watch design are no longer in place?

2. Is this patina?

3.If this is patina, would it still be patina for another brand?

Thanks for your thoughts. And a gratuitous shot of mine at Wellington, FL a few years ago where the dial is no longer black

 

So yeah I like the grey better than the black hah.

 

I like the gray but that’s an incredible amount of fade over 5 years unless you’re leaving the watch on your car’s dashboard in the Florida sun every day. If I wanted a black face, I would NOT be happy with that.

 

I have not seen this sort of discoloration/patina on any modern Rolex. It normally takes over 30 years for the dial to fade like that

 

I personally like it and would be interested in seeing how it develops over the years. I would say it's patina as it's a natural, gradual, homogeneous fading of the dial. It's the sort of thing that could make a watch more valuable in years to come

 

Feels lie this is going to make these watches more valuable. I assume Rolex fixes the issue so there will be only a small set of watches where this happens. We have all seen what happens to Rolex's with minor differences.

 

Thats seriously cool. But probably a dial defect.

 

I dig the gray, too. I have a Milgauss GV and have not noted any graying effect, though I don't think I would mind if I did.

 

Do you have any photos of your grey Milgauss to compare to the one you posted above?

 

I like it in the grey on the Milgauss, reminds of the Speedy Mark II Racing:

 

That’s just terrible damage. Tsk, tsk.





So, sell it to me. I like it a lot.

 

Thanks for all your thoughts. I took some photos with my iPotato which are low in quality but show my watch in three different angles (all taken within a few mins of each other) giving you an idea of what I am talking about.

The darkest of the three (top) is the most like I see it every day. A bit darker than a Flightmaster or Mark II Speedmaster. I do like that the dark reflections on the hands don't make them disappear against the grey dial, as they can do on a black dialed watch. The contrast between the dark minute hand reflection and the dial shows how far from black the paint has moved.

The middle photo shows how I experience it in bright sunlight. The greyness is pronounced.

But at the right angle the lightest photo makes it look as faded as any of those above. I was thinking of getting a grey dialed 1600 Datejust, but maybe I will just stick with this and we can grow grey together.

 

How much you want for it?

 

Guess this looks grey

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Someone went overboard with the polishing. Eww.

 

If you ever send it back to Rolex for service, they will most likely replace it so keep that in mind. If it’s not supposed to look like that from the factory- then it’s damage/defect in their mind. Think spider dials (I hate them but there is a cult following).
My 16750 has it’s original MKI matte dial. Most, if sent back to Rolex for service after 1985 got the new dial with gold surround indices regardless of if you wanted it or not. You don’t have a choice when you send it back to them.

 

Thanks for the sentiment. It was a gift from my wife, and nothing could convince me to part with it.

Thanks for the heads-up JwR. I do wish Rolex were more interactive with the client when a watch is sent in, but it is not their policy, and that is all you need is to know. I will find the right person when its the right time for a service.

 

That's a incredible patina! I wish my black dial watches could have the same characteristic as it ages. I love the idea of growing old & grey together with my watch in this journey of life.

 

Considering the speed of the change and the price of the watch, it can only be called a manufacturing defect, whatever the brand is. But it really looks beautiful as dark grey.
Who knows, maybe not all of them will grey in the same way, maybe certain types of environmental conditions have an impact.
And as others say considering this is Rolex it might make it more valuable in the long run.
I would definitely keep as is and not oversweat it.

 

....and now that you have posted the famous grey Milgauss on the web, I’m sure there will be a flurry of PM inquiries, Dinky will publish an article on it, and you will receive a court order to send your watch back to Rolex as it is not technically your property but theirs- you just paid for the pleasure of wearing it for as long as they felt like letting you.