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But it is pretending to be something it is not: old.
Beige lume (let's face it it's beige) isn't used on strikingly modern pieces for funky colour contest purposes, it's used exclusively so at first glance your shallow co worker thinks you dropped £20k on an antique 60s piece.
I really doubt anyone buying a modern Omega or JLC or Panerai or whatever with Old Radium lume is trying to trick anybody into thinking they have a 50 or 60 year old vintage piece. And they are especially not trying to impress their "shallow co worker" who would be more impressed by any number of cheaper watches.
People who wear vintage inspired watches are by and large not trying to impress anyone--they are just buying what they like.
Similarly, people who wear actual vintage collectibles are doing it for themselves.
Why did they stop with the lume? If they really wanted to reference the 50s pieces as they are now perhaps banged up bezels, flaking dials and scratched crystals should have been recreated too. If you think about it, the lume is the only faux aged part, everything else nods towards how the pieces looked in 1957 when brand new. That inconsistency jars with me and maybe many others hence the comments.
I really doubt anyone buying a modern Omega or JLC or Panerai or whatever with Old Radium lume is trying to trick anybody into thinking they have a 50 or 60 year old vintage piece. And they are especially not trying to impress their "shallow co worker" who would be more impressed by any number of cheaper watches.
People who wear vintage inspired watches are by and large not trying to impress anyone--they are just buying what they like.
Similarly, people who wear actual vintage collectibles are doing it for themselves.
. And all this talk of "earning" patina...very few of us "earned" the patina on our vintage watches
Instead of the Trilogy XXX/557 stamp, they should've given the set white lume to set it apart from the standard limited edition watches with faux lume
But it is pretending to be something it is not: old.
Beige lume (let's face it it's beige) isn't used on strikingly modern pieces for funky colour contest purposes, it's used exclusively so at first glance your shallow co worker thinks you dropped £20k on an antique 60s piece. Would you prefer the more accurate description 'faux aged lume' because that is what it is. It is homage, which from one POV is the first baby step on the slippery slope to fakery.
Excellent post all the way around. I would only point out that the "earned patina" may refer to the patina the watch earned during its life...not necessarily while in the possession of a particular owner.
Apollo the bringer of light and god of the sun? Or did you think it was a bad likeness of Gene Cernan?
I could see that being a very different experience if I were the sole owner of a watch purchased in the 60s or 70s that has picked up color over the years. If that were the case I would fondly look back on those times and it would bolster my sentimental attachment to the watch. That said, I think that's the exception rather than the norm for people who come to watch forums. At that point we're verging into the territory of those mythical "one watch guys" who have been wearing old GMT masters, subs, or speedies every day since 1960. Very cool, but not necessarily representative of the bulk of collectors.
Could you imagine what would happen if Rolex followed suite and re-released the matte dialed Red Submariner 1680 or the McQueen Explorer II 1655 or GMT 1675?? Man!
OB could only give me a rough £ price based on the CHF exchange rate. They don't know yet basically.
When my local AD confirmed my Speedmaster reservation on Monday they told me the price is £5300.00 with delivery at the end of May.
When my local AD confirmed my Speedmaster reservation on Monday they told me the price is £5300.00 with delivery at the end of May.