So I recently got to take a look at this 96 with a beautiful grey-silver dial. Under most light, the appears an opaque, smoke gray. Under brighter light, the brushed surface glows with a certain warmth. In the metal, the effect is mesmerizing.

The catch: It might not be original.

The watch is stated as being redialed, but I'm not so sure. Vintage Patek Philippe script has always looked a little 'handwritten' to me, although I'm far from an expert on the subject. The seconds subdial also seems quite well done, in line with the style from other 1950s 96s.

From what research I've done, the dial 'printing' is not actually printing. Instead of the standard use of tampography on a flat surface, vintage Patek Philippe dials used a process called 'champlevé,' where the script was first engraved, then filled in with vitreous enamel. This is why the script lacks serifs, and why it appears slightly raised.

Head-on of the script:


Seconds Subdial:


The semi-raised enamel print, and the glow of the dial in bright light:


The details seem to line up, so I do suspect that the seller looked at a modern dial and assumed that was the style of printing this watch ought to have. The watch has a fair amount of wrist cheese between the lugs as well, so if the watch was tampered with, I doubt it was done recently.

Any Patek Philippe collectors out there who can lend an opinion? Or anyone know a good source of information I can refer to for further research?

 

For me that is not a redone dial. If so it was redone with raised enamel and firing in the oven as per the original stern made dials.

My 570 has a very similar raised profile.

edit - when I’ve seen these dials redone they’re usually washed so that the starburst metallic finish is what you see. The dial you’re showing still has intact pearlescent enamel.

 

Also here is a similar finish of same era 2452. This one is similar in elevation change to your 96 in question.

 

The dial looks fine. Champlevé was not employed on all PPs, but when it was, as in this case, it surely isn't a redial!

 

PP and a handful of the top Maisons are renowned for their restoration work. “Redial” really is the wrong term if this was redone at the factory with original tooling.

 

Those are some stunning examples! Thank you for the reference points – they were quite helpful with making a decision.

I have read about the impeccable restorations that have been carried out, but I am less inclined to think that this is one due to the wrist cheese and simple dial. Perhaps if it were a more rare reference, I could see a past owner justifying the restoration cost. That said, I'll keep your point in mind for future pickups.