Hi everyone,

I added this MKII to the collection recently and noticed some black mark (maybe oil?) around the far edges of the dial.


(Between 12 and 1, and by the 10 hand)

Additional photos:


Does anyone know what that is? I generally like how faded this dial has become so I wouldn't want to change it otherwise.

Thank you

 

Hi @bunthit

The rubber gasket for the crystal can disintegrate and turn to a sticky goo.

To me it looks like it has run down and come into contact with the dial.

I'm not sure whether it can be cleaned off without damaging the dial.

Also, you may already know this, but the hands appear to have been changed and are not correct for this watch.

 

This looks to be too much of a project watch. What is asking price?

 

@omegaswisst thank you for the quick reply! I thought of that as an option too. So most likely that. And roger on the hands I do think that style fits slightly better with the redness on this one’s dial but if it goes to service I’ll probably make sure they source the original style.

@Taddyangle already added to the stable ;-):

I actually like how beat up it has become and his dial does have a nice ghost like quality to it. The case is ok too at this point.

 

There is something about a Mark II.

I love the racing dial too

 

Indeed - much under rated, but having recently joined the club i was bound to say that

 

I think the dial has been touched up. The rust color on the hands is suspicious. The watch may have had moisture issues, or the movement was moving in the case, causing wear on the dial surface. There are issues at the sub-dials that are clues. In my opinion it is not a melting gasket issue. The "rubber gasket for the crystal" is not rubber or a material that turns to goo.

 

Why do you say this? The seal for the crystal (and the one that is directly below the crystal) are made of the same Buna-N (nitrile) that most definitely turns to black goop...

Here's the last 145.014 I serviced, and you can see that the back side of the crystal is covered in black goop:



The groove in the case also:



I use 99% alcohol to remove it - it is the best solvent I've found for this, but of course will remove the painting on the underside of the crystal also, and I don't think it would be kind to the OP's dial:

 

My assessment was based on what I believed the gasket material is made of. A flexible plastic material possibly nylon?.

If there is a secondary sealing gasket under this ring I was unaware of that.

 

Al, what would cause the dis-colorization around the sub-dial center points?.
In your melted gasket example, did the gasket cause dial damage?

 

Perhaps you didn't note the case reference of the OP's watch? You appear to be looking at the parts for a 145.034, rather than a 145.014 that the OP's watch is...

I see this discolouration often, but I am unsure what it's from. Sometimes there is an obvious residue on the dial, and sometimes it's just more of a stain. People will assume it's excess oil, but then there's no oil on the back of the dials, so if it is it must have been from some past service. Could also be water damage.

On the melted nitrile gasket I showed above, the goop had not yet reached the dial, so no damage done. It had actually not gone fully fluid tar yet...unlike this Speedy Pro that arrived this week:





Cheers, Al