Hey Folks, just picked up this nice deco three hander. Love the numbers! Dial not too bad. The bezel looks like it's been through hell and back. I'm assuming this is chrome, with the brass showing through? Seems like the mid case looks like chrome on the face of the lugs, but looks more brushed on the sides of the midcase. Is that normal for UG chrome midcase? High polish on the lug face and brushed on the sides? Anyone have any experience or recommendations for getting the bezel re-chromed? thx
You can nickel plate the watch case which in a lot of ways is better than re chroming and far simpler. The key to great results is (as always) preperation. Not sure what the cost would be ...
Really, so you would rather just leave it as is? A little hard to tell from the photos but the rest of the case is in good shape. I just automatically jumped to repair mode.
Thx! Do you think the nickel would match the chrome on the mid case or would I need to do the whole thing? Dre gave me a lead for a case refinishing place, I'm going to check out options. Will report back....
I think the cost of case refinish will exceed the cost of the watch but Its a cool piece and if you plan to hold it then well worth it.
the place that was recommended to me does nickel, not chrome (I think this might be pretty standard these days, not sure why). Anyhow they said if I did nickel plating on the bezel it would not match the color of the case, so I would need to do both, estimate costs for the whole thing $45-$65. Will have to think about it.
you know on further thought something is fishy here, because I was just checking the reference # and it's not even a chrome reference. Looks like the case is SS, so that suggests this is not an original bezel. Which makes sense, because I feel like the fit is not 100% correct. Hmmm. Back to the drawing boards.
it's amazing the shady stuff people get up to with these old watches. Takes some detective work sometimes!
Thx Dre. I think I might just get the bezel nickel plated. It won't be an exact match, but I think will look better than now, and the part is already not original, so nothing really to lose. They said they can do a "scratched" finish so it doesn't look brand new.