Time to go to bed now, before driving over to a nearby town to check out what could very well be my own Speedmaster Mark II as early as tomorrow morning. I have scoured the internet for a few weeks now after I became enamored with that timepiece - not the most sought after speedy, but I find it spot on, so I decided I'd have one.

After a lot of PM discussions with some helpful members I decided that touched-up dials were actually my thing for "colorful" watches such as those sporting the Racing Dial. I have seen a few unrestored ones over the past month or so, both in the flesh and on the internet. Conclusion: the faded orange hands and track doesn't do it for me... I find that the appeal of the Racing Dial versions is when the colors "pop" - this might not be everyone's thinking, but this is mine, and I decided I wouldn't follow the pack of full-originality followers, but go the restored way instead. This one went for a full spa in Bienne 4 years ago and has been sparingly worn since. Service hands are likely, the dial has the Tritium specs but has been relumed for sure. All good with me

Net - This baby could very well be mine at 10am saturday morning, the price is decent when you think there is no shipping/import fees on top (needed where I live). The seller, usually living 300km away, is coincidentally visiting the area to pick up a used Rolex himself. And thanks everyone (you know who you are) for the valuable advice over the past few weeks!

Good night, sleep tight



Paul

 

Looks very nice to me Paul, I like the pop of the colors as well. Since you are buying it to wear it, as long as you love it that's all that really matters. Good luck with your purchase tomorrow.

 

I like the look of the crips case. Not easy to find these days I'd assume.
Good luck!

 

These tend to self polish on shirt cuffs as well if they have been worn, and the bezel often falls. Beautiful watches though, I love mine....the colours...

 

Thanks all! It´s here! And it lols even more stunning in the flesh

Performance watch in performance car!
(1162 coming this afternoon...)

 

Nice! Congrats on the markii. Mine would say hi but it's sitting in the vault right now

 

Thanks all for the encouragements! That MarkII is gorgeous. I really dig the bulky looks (next purchase is a MarkIII ), the quadricolored face and dial, the chunky case, the 861's layout. As I was wearing it yesterday, my 9y.o. daughter noticed it and said "Daddy, that's a new watch" "- Yes, how do you like it" "- Well, it's interesting, it looks like a watch for a rocket, or a racecar watch" So the racing dial folks (and later on, the Tintin moonwatch ones!) obviously have delivered bang on target.

Anyways, on Saturday night, it was time to give it back its alloy strap. Pardon the poor lighting conditions!

Starting as:


And a few minutes after, having having cleaned the sticker residue on the seahorse with alcohol and a MF (the previous owner wanted to protect it from the NATO's rubbing, which I'm grateful for!), it looks in very good shape:


Looks like the 1162 was restored too. Very little stretch, polished, and not too small, just about right actually!



Then, (quite) a few cusswords after, but thank god, no scratches:


and an 11pm, flash-pic of it on the wrist! The colors "pop" so "loud" it's awesome


Can't wait for that rain that has been pouring down over switzerland for 3ds to stop so I can actually enjoy it with natural light and snap a few proper photographs

Cheers,
Paul

 

Thats really nice, congrats. I've also been drooling for a racing dial. Love the colours so much on this watch.

Is it ok if I ask how much you paid for it? You can PM me if you like or if you don't its ok as well

 

Absolutely great catch. Well done

 

Thanks all for the kind words. I put it on for a few minutes today to be blinded by the dial, I had to wear my nato-mounted Mako most of the day as I risked dinging it (doing stuff at home). I still took the opportunity to snap a few pics outside in the garden.

The way the fluorescent orange "screams" outside is just shocking. The contrast is jaw-dropping!



Now - if the pic is taken in full light, the pic shows it a less flattering "pale" orange - another variation factor for all the orange hues we see in the ads. That was a big question of mine all along.



still, more intense an orange than an unrestored one. Again, I respect some members' quest for authenticity, but for me a restored dial and hands does it better

Cheers,
Paul

 

I don't know what you mean by this comment, your dial is Tritium marked so I'd say it is original, and unrestored.
Have I missed something?

 

this is the original Trit' dial - but I'm 99% sure it was restored 4 or 5 years ago during the watch's visit to Bienne. Very likely relume'd, and service hand'ed. There is no way it would look so crazily nice with such intense colors after 40 years, unless the watch had spent that time in a safe, which I don't think was the case... and even then....

I've seen some very nice, unrestored ones in person over the past few months, and the dial and hands carry a lot of patina.

I could be wrong, but I'd be surprised. I'd love to be wrong, but I don't think this is the case

Paul

 

Not impossible - but the best way to figure this out is, does it glow? Though yes, if it had a vacation in Bienne there's a good chance it's been refinished - or even replaced.

 

I did the test already and it isn't 100% compelling, really. It does glow after being heavily LED'ed, but only faintly and not for long, really. My unrestored dial 145.029 from the same era (give or take a couple of years) almost doesn't glow at all in the same conditions. I believe lume has been re-applied to the racing dial, but very mildly. So at least it doesn't scream "2012"

 

Very nice. It's been my "next watch" for a while now (I've only bought 4 others since I've been looking) and it's hard to find a clean original dial/hands with a case that doesn't look like a piece of sucked on jolly rancher and isn't ridiculously priced. Nice find. Very Jealous.

 

Looks great.

I'm swaying towards original dial though. That mint green looking lume is fairly common from that period and surely Bienne would just replace the dial rather than refinishing it.

 

+1

 

All, thanks for the comments.

Here's my thinking - let me know if you think I'm using the wrong logic here:
1- the dial says T Swiss Made T
but
2.a - It glows (somewhat) - after 40yrs, tritium shouldn't glow any more...
2.b - there is no visual degradation of the luminescent (of unknown specs) markers, as opposed to every unrestored dial I've seen so far.
3.c - although not documented, there is a 99% certainty the watch went back to Biel 4 or 5 y.a.

The conclusion I can't get away from is that it's either a service dial with Trit from the early 90's (i.e. young Tritium, that hence still glows, not for long though!) OR it's the watch's original's dial, but touched-up with new luminova instead of the original tritium.

Am I just completely missing something obvious, or what?

Thanks!
Paul

 

A dial can easily glow after 40+ years, but only, as you say, for a very brief period of time. It's not the tritum that glows, the tritium only activates it (or so I have been explained) and the harsh LED light activates the, eh, active component. My 1972 Tissot Seastar still glows very briefly after exposure, as does the hands on my 1962 Constellation.

If the dial is really crisp, it could well be a replacement, but you'll need someone well versed in these dials to tell the difference.

 

Thanks. So there will be some uncertainty in the assessment. Makes the watch even more appealing to me as I'm now thinking it could have its original, unrestored dial, and still look that good

Cheers all!

Paul