Hi all,

I have recently acquired a UG Polerouter Sub, 869116-02. As per the picture, the seconds hand seems to be bronze in color and peeling, while the hour/minute hands are golden and peeling as well. I have tried searching here and on instagram and couldn't find other Subs that aged the same way. Was wondering if this is normal. I could replace the hands or alternatively renickel. Any insight would be helpful. Thanks!

 

Have never seen one where the hands patina’d like this. Interesting. There are several sets of NOS hands on eBay. Most are the Orange/White combo sets. Perhaps the seller (reputable guy) has a steel set. I’d check with him, as it would be better with original steel and lume.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-...981432?hash=item3421a85d38:g:dHYAAOSwj-5eAQyNPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

Thanks, this is a great option actually. Kind of hesitating, however, because i would be replacing the watch's original parts and this could affect its value. The alternative i am considering is to simply renickel the hands.

 

I have never seen a Sub with gold hands. I presume they were gold plated at some point or are maybe from another watch as it is pretty rare for plating on hands to just flake off. Your best bet is to purchase an original set of hands. The y do not come up often and for such a rare watch, they are definitely worth the asking price!

 

I agree. The gold plated hands look correct. Another option is that could send them off to be replated in silver/chrome finish

 

Here it is (after changing hour + minute hands). Still need to change that seconds hand!

 

Can't see a pic

 

strange, the file was attached but not showing. compressed the image quality, it should work now

 

Now its working! Looks far better, nice!

I am not sure how good your watchmaker skills are, but there is something called "Magic Rhodium". You could try this and "cold-plate" your second hand without destroying the lume (looks like the plating is still good where the lume is).

 

Yeah i asked about this, he said he can't do it without affecting the lume, so I took a pass.