And I asked Watchguy uk for a re-varnish of the dial which was unevenly patinated.

They post the service prosess and take pictures along the way, this is how it came in





And this is how it looks now:



Bit of a shock actually. Was used to the old look and now I m a bit in doubt whether it was wise or not to add varnish removal to the work sheet. Whats your thoughts on this gents ?

 

Interesting. I have a couple of 1949/50 hummers in similar, maybe slightly better condition and have pondered this course of action. IMO it does look better after, but he has washed off the remaining radium lume. Inevitable really I suppose as it will be very unstable and virtually falling out but I would rather keep mine with lume so will likely leave them be.

 

Well they're only original once and this one isn't anymore...

 

Well to be fair it is, it is just minus the degraded varnish. I don't see this as invasive as a redial/repaint but I do see the POV.

 

The patina wasn't original either. It's no longer untouched, but maybe closer to what it once were?

 

Now it just looks like a dial which has been cleaned, its lost most of its original lume and character in the process.

It was no beauty before and still isn't.

 

Is this process not considered a redial?
If not- is there a term for it in regards to it's collectabilty or what one would disclose to a potential buyer?

Im still trying to figure out all the differences between redial, refresh, etc.

 

If you'd bought it the way it is now and never knew any different, you'd have been perfectly happy. Personally I think they did an extremely good job.

It's not a redial. Redialling means painting / printing / whatever a new set of markings onto a dial which has had the old ones removed. All that's been done here is removal of the original varnish, which had become discoloured. Whether people like the result or not is a matter of personal taste which, as you can see from the messages above, varies.

 

Ok thanks for the info. What is a refresh & refinish? I've seen these terms used in re. To dial conditions as well.

 

A refresh and a refinish mean the same thing as a redial or sometimes an overpolished case. They are just weasel words used by sellers trying to make a rather doggy watch sound better than it really is.

 

I agree the job is very well executed and I did expect different opinions on the look; whether it was better with or without patina, but that someone actually would say this wasn't original anymore hadn't even crossed my mind.

 

To my way of thinking, and I'd stress this is purely my aesthetic, the original dial is fugly, and the redone dial (or refurbished/redialled/refreshed - whatever you want to call it) is an improvement, but still does not make it attractive.

As it stands it's neither fish nor fowl. I would have bitten the bullet and had it completely restored. I know that would be anathema to the collector purists, but I'm entitled to my opinion

Sure, it would no longer be original, and that might put it beyond the pale to some, but as it stands, it's kind of in limbo.

 

Cleaning a dial is always risky. In this case the job was correctly done - maybe with the cleaning solution was a little bit strong, but you did not lose markers or letters of the script.
I agree the dial looks "cleaned" and does not look very good, but you could not expect much better.

 

It's quite a change between the 2 and I'm not sure which I prefer. Can you provide before and after pictures of the watch so we can see what impact it has overall?

 

Here you are @Stu-Silver
Mobile phone picture upon return



How it was:

 

NICE. i think you made the right decision. For me the "after" is fantastic!

 

I think it looks much better now! Maybe not in "original untouched" condition, but much better imho....

 

J'accuse - a more blatant example of "human speciesism" (human supremacism), as in the exclusion of all nonhuman animals from the rights, freedoms, and protections afforded to humans you would be hard pressed to find.

You'll be hearing from my lawyers. Might just be a few high-pitched squeaks, but that's the way they roll......