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__ryan__
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This is a recent arrival for me. It's an unmarked Seamaster with a two-tone gilt dial from ~1954.
The inner dial is glossy black, with some flaking that reveals the gold/bronze color below. The outer dial has a matte black finish. Depending on the viewing angle, the dial contrast can be subtle or rather apparent. It makes me think of the night sky, as viewed through an aperture.
It's interesting to read about how these gilt dials were made. As I understand, the features were printed on a base metal (e.g., bronze) using clear lacquer, and then electroplated with black paint. I'd be curious to know how they made the small seconds cross-hair, which crosses the glossy/matte boundary. Perhaps there were multiple masking stages, or it was printed on top. I'll have to look more closely.
It runs a 30 mm movement (cal. 266) and has a 36 mm case.
I was hoping to solicit some advice. The hands show some grime or damage. It may be some remnants of epoxy (or some such material) that was used to stabilize the hand lume. Would you ask for a gentle cleaning of the hands during service? I'm fine with the lume as is, but wondering if it's worth trying to clean-up the hands a bit.
Finally, cheers to those who manage to do a good job with black dial photography. My wife wants to know why I had to take so many photos of the same watch.
