Railmaster Alteration ~ Opinions Sought:

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SC1

·Nov 30, 2022

I am thinking/considering having the lume on the hands and dial of my recently procured Railmaster '57 removed & relumed.

I didn't want to jump into this blind so I took two of my favorite photos of what I consider to be very good looking lume and then, through Upwork, hired a professional Photoshop Retoucher to take a provided photo of my Railmaster on my wrist, the photo taken as neutrally as I could take it, and give me back two versions - one with the lume from photo A and the other from photo B.

Would love some opinions on this ~ Pro/Con or anything in between. Nerdy or not, I kinda want this to be an OF influenced project to an outcome if I decide to go through with it.

Here's my photo as sent to the professional retoucher:

Photo A for lume source (taken from Fratello)

Photo B (borrowed from, if memory serves, @JwRosenthal ~ thank you sir!!)

I love both of these lume colors.

Here is my Railmaster with Photo A lume:

My Railmaster with Photo B lume:

Thoughts/Opinions?

 

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calalum

·Nov 30, 2022

And you are thinking of harming the value of the watch why?

 

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rendo

·Nov 30, 2022·faux legend

My vote is to leaving it as-is.

 

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Duracuir1

·Nov 30, 2022·Never Used A Kodak

Go for it @SC1

it will give OF members something to deliberate in 50 years. Is this dial original? Is the lume OK? What does RAIL mean?

Stamp your SC1 user name too! Great legacy!

 

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JwRosenthal

·Nov 30, 2022

I assume you don’t like the Fauxtina on the ‘57 reissue? I know many think they went too far (myself included) and wish there was a Fauxtina/non Fauxtina option like Nivada does currently.

But as mentioned above, you will devalue the watch by altering it- if that’s an issue for you. If you know that going in and want to do the lume color change for you alone and don’t care about value- then I vote for a pale yellow like you show above obviously.
If you like the look of the Railmaster style and want lighter color lume (and don’t care if it’s an omega or not), I say sell the Railmaster as is and buy one of these

https://nivadagrenchenofficial.com/products/super-antarctic-91412a

 

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SkunkPrince

·Nov 30, 2022

If you're in USA, contact Everest Watch Works.

I sold my Railmaster because of that damn lume. I should have had it relumed instead.

 

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wagudc

·Nov 30, 2022

If you don't plan on selling it, then have the watch lumed in the color you like. If you change your mind and want to sell it in the future, you can always contact @SkunkPrince.

Edited: Nov 30, 2022

 

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·Nov 30, 2022

calalum

And you are thinking of harming the value of the watch why?

If I am keeping it I don't see how reluming affects value.

 

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·Nov 30, 2022

JwRosenthal

I assume you don’t like the Fauxtina on the ‘57 reissue? I know many think they went too far (myself included) and wish there was a Fauxtina/non Fauxtina option like Nivada does currently.

But as mentioned above, you will devalue the watch by altering it- if that’s an issue for you. If you know that going in and want to do the lume color change for you alone and don’t care about value- then I vote for a pale yellow like you show above obviously.
If you like the look of the Railmaster style and want lighter color lume (and don’t care if it’s an omega or not), I say sell the Railmaster as is and buy one of these

https://nivadagrenchenofficial.com/products/super-antarctic-91412a

All good suggestions, and thank you for the wonderful Smiths photo as source - much appreciated as it really got me thinking about things.
Regarding selling it for a Nivada... no, I love the Railmaster so I'll either live with the lume or relume.

 

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·Nov 30, 2022

SkunkPrince

If you're in USA, contact Everest Watch Works.

I sold my Railmaster because of that damn lume. I should have had it relumed instead.

They can do the reluming?

 

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wagudc

·Nov 30, 2022

SC1

They can do the reluming?

Yes, see: http://www.everestwatchworks.com/index.html

 

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Aroxx

·Nov 30, 2022

My initial reaction was I like it as is best. I’m also an unashamed liker of fauxtina. The more I look at it though photo A does look nice. Photo B is too far in the white direction for me. It’s tough to tell on just a photo though and not seeing the watch in the flesh. I assume someone doing relume work could provide examples of previous work so you’d know pretty close to what you’re going to get. I’m not sure the juice is worth the squeeze but of course only you can make that call.

 

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JwRosenthal

·Nov 30, 2022

SC1

If I am keeping it I don't see how reluming affects value.

Any time you alter a watch from its original spec it will affect the resale value. Even a vintage watch with mediocre lume is usually preferable to collectors to the same watch with a bright shiny relume.
But in the end, you are the one wearing it and have to ultimately decide what makes you happy.

 

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OmegaOwner2019

·Nov 30, 2022

Why not try to locate an extra dial and go nuts with that?

That way you can always go back if you regret it.

 

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Vercingetorix

·Nov 30, 2022·Spam Risk

https://www.ebay.com/itm/383997254227?var=652290628642

 

This website may earn commission from Ebay sales.

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X350 XJR

·Nov 30, 2022·Vintage Omega Aficionado

Ultimately it's your watch and your wrist, do what will make you happy.

 

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mcemeren

·Dec 1, 2022

I would not do that because I like the watch as it is, so I am biased, but put that aside, that's your watch do as you like it, you live once. The watch will find its way after you. If the cost is irrelevant, getting spare dial and hands and applying the idea on them could be an option and you will end up with "two" different watches available with a swap option at anytime.

 

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Slevin kelevra

·Dec 1, 2022

Absolutey crackers lol.

 

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padders

·Dec 1, 2022·Oooo subtitles!

It's your watch of course, but I think you'd be mad to butcher it like that. I suspect you would be knocking thousands off the resale value. Personally if the lume annoyed me that much but I liked the dial design I'd sell it and buy the much cheaper 36 or 39mm AT Railmaster from circa 2005- 2010 (eg model 2503.52). They aren't quite the same case/bracelet design but but the lume is a more honest white to green depending on ambient conditions. I have the Trilogy RM and to be fair the faux-tina did annoy me at first but has now grown on me, it is such a nice watch that I can forgive it.

Edited: Dec 1, 2022

 

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gbesq

·Dec 1, 2022

The only reason that I would relume a watch dial or hands would be if the lume is flaking or crumbling and potentially damaging the dial or getting into the movement. If you're considering reluming simply because you don't like the existing lume color, it's your watch and do what you want, but reluming will almost certainly devalue the watch to some extent.