I posted this on another thread but I just wanted to confirm it was a redial with the experts here. I always assumed it was because of the lack of SWISS MADE at the bottom, but apparently that's not absolutely definitive.

It's a GF 14389 with a 268 inside - I like it anyway and didn't pay much, but it would be good to know for sure.



Thanks.

 

I vote redial based on the fonts. The omega is massively over inked, while the Seamaster is under inked

 

Interestingly, the example in the Omega database does not actually have Seamaster on the dial . . . but this signifies nothing, as we know. My own feeling is that the initial 'S' in Seamaster does not quite fit any of the variations which I have seen. And the 'Omega' script looks over-inked, as already noted, and really rather crude.

PS Now I see that I have cross-posted with Mike, who has already given it thumbs down

 

Based on ... ?
Anyone have an original to compare?

 

Mike is spot-on, of course. Even with my limited experience, one thing that always strikes me is that a genuine dial has incredibly neat and precise (and tiny) lettering and markings. This is what most re-dials struggle to replicate, even when their typeface is correct. The other thing, as Mike says, is the background finish, which in most cases (except guilloche dials) is a metallic gold or silver or champagne. It never should be white or painted in appearance. And most genuine dials will by now have a lovely honeyed aging, if not an actual patina.

The exception to all this, of course, is genuine black finish dials, which seem to have their own set of rules . . .

 

Thanks, I'm not disappointed because I didn't buy it as a collector and the case and movement justify what I paid.

I am surprised though, that in this modern age we really can't do better redials. I would have thought that with CAD you could accurately replicate the font colour and layout of any dial, although I guess you'd have to research to find the correct types of ink. Even 'good' redials, if you compare before and after, just aren't correct on some of the basic elements.
And lets face it, there are people still making original dials for Omega and the like, so it's not as if the craft has been lost somehow.

 

The one thing that really separates original from refinished dials is the raised ink. Sometimes you need a loupe to see it, but occasionally a picture from a slight angle shows the depth of the lettering. There's a reflection from the rounded shape of the raised ink that sometimes is visible which won't be present with the flat ink of a redial. The best way to describe it is like when you fill a glass over the rim but surface tension keeps the water from overflowing. That same "hump" is what the lettering looks like on most originals. Redials have two dimensional letters.

Black dials don't adhere to this rule, particularly gilt ones. The lettering is actually from the underneath colored layer and the black is painted overtop. The font is where the black paint isn't and the bottom layer shows through.

 

I didn't know that about black dials...if the printing is clearly on top of the black then a redial ...good to know

 

This raised ink is really obvious on my '53 Constellation, but it does not really show up in a photograph. You have to see it in person. Quite how it was done I don't know, but it is far more like the effect that you get from a silk-screen print than printing from a block. Considering that all this was done in the days before computers, CAD and lasers the precision is extraordinary.

 

As with everything omega, there are exceptions to that rule

 

Long informative thread on the meaning of "gilt" over at VRF a couple weeks back:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/207593/message/1376592781/What is Gilt-

my understanding: gilt = black dial colour is applied on top, text is "holes" showing dial plate, (looking through a loupe it is pretty obvious if text is painted on top or "showing through"

 

Experienced redialers can do the "raised ink" by printing it twice. You must look at the top to see if it has flat or round top.

 

There are better re-dials than this example, in my opinion. There are companies out there who actually work really hard at doing good work. Many of the factory re-dials aren't done in house, but done at specialist outfits with vast experience, equipment and printing dies, contracted to watch companies. But many dial refinishing companies are as fussy as they ought to be... but true to say there are a lot of lousy dials out there as a glance at the "Worst re-dials' thread on this forum shows.

 

But good redials cost good money and this watch isn't expensive enough to justify someone spending much time and money.

 

Okay some thoughts on redialing from someone who has had it done before....

I can tell you from personal experience that even a company known for doing "good" redials can be very spotty - good on one job and bad on the next - been there, done that. If you go onto any watchmaking sub-forum on the bigger sites like WUS or TZ and search for "best redialer" you will get people saying that one place does the best work possible, and someone else will come along and relate a story of a very poor redial from the same place.

I've had dials refinished before at several places (at the insistence of the watch owner, as I typically do not recommend having a watch dial redone unless it's really far gone) and some have turned out great, and others not so much. And I'm not talking about "collector" accuracy, but just something that looks close and isn't sloppy. Usually if you can get that much from a typical redialer, you are doing pretty well....

For the most part the redials being done are the "close enough" kind. In other words, no one is taking the existing dial and making new plates from it to accurately reproduce the text and graphics on the dial. What they do is take the plates they already have in stock that most closely resemble the dial, and use those - much cheaper as having a plate done is a minimum of $100 usually, and for some watches you need more than one plate. So if you have multiple text, colours, and graphics, getting a job done perfectly will indeed be very expensive.

Cheers, Al