On Browns (Speedmaster Content)

I'll add my 2998-2 'brown' - it's not the cleanest and the watch didn't come to me in great condition, but it did clean up well!

Would be interesting to hear Team Brown's thoughts.

In your opinion, what strap colour highlights the brown dial best? A strap matching the bezel (black), the lume (yellow/sand-ish) or the specific shade of brown on the dial?

Finally, where does this brown color come from?
I thought only UV exposure was responsible for color deterioration, like those rays burn my couch.
Are there other factors that could be involved? certain series of dials depending on the paint used, the decomposition of the lume, the heat, the humidity...? it looks like a nice cocktail showing the stages of the watch's life.
I read that some brown dials had been obtained by putting them in the oven but that the result was far from the natural browns. the brown is then very uniform and cannot mimic the history of the watch.

I had a discussion about the Wabi Sabi with a friend who loves new watches and sees no beauty in wear and the marks of time.
he told me that it would suffice to expose a watch under a uv lamp, moving it regularly until the desired color was obtained, or to leave it on my sofa since it changes color.
he ended up hanging in a cage at the entrance to the city.

personally I'm mostly drawn to yellow-brown hour markers rather than the fashion for brown dials.
because it is a fashion, the tastes of a moment.
at this time the least amateur will try to look at this color. was this the case before? what was he looking at before? what did he find beautiful?
maybe in some time the fashion will be to have the oldest possible watch without any trace. wait and see.

another friend was looking to speculate on the next release that would be courted.
I think you have to buy what you like without ulterior motives.
The good speculator is the one who manages to make the trend.

Here is my recently acquired 145.022-69 ST. Mine is a slightly faded black but the dial is very clean.



My 145.022-69 (29'117'xxx)
to sunlight

Ouch !

So here's a question - have any post '69s ever gone brown naturally? I don't recall seeing any non-step dial speedys with the brown color. Heck with my -76 it looks newer than many of the mid 80s/90s models because the tritium has stubbornly stayed green rather than going a creamy yellow.

Just the right amount of brown…. “But look closer”

On my 145.022-69 that I bought 30 years ago the dial had already turned brown.

Cheers

Excellent pieces in this thread. 😀
Here's mine. 142.022-69 sold in 1970 in USA

World's ( and in & out of space ) ... The best documented " chocoloate " patina dial ?
Movado Datachron HS360 automatic chronograph worn by Commander Carr during 84 days onboard the Skylab space station in 1972-73 !
February 1974 recovery photo onboard USS New Orleans clearly shows an original blue dial Movado Datachron...
Which became true " chocolate " brown after 4 decades ... as it still sits with the family !
👍
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...
The whole story:
https://www.hodinkee.com/magazine/snuck-into-space

145.012-67:

105.003-65