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Thoughts on this polerouter spider

  1. Masterofkarate Mar 24, 2019

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    What is going on with this polerouter?
    Is it damaged?
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/173826665405Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network
     
    s-l1600 (2).jpg s-l1600 (1).jpg s-l1600.jpg
  2. Mazoue Mar 24, 2019

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    I've seen a few like this.

    It looks like crazing/cracking of the dial, perhaps of a lacquer applied to the surface that would originally have given the dial surface a shine.
     
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  3. noelekal Home For Wayward Watches Mar 24, 2019

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    It led a hard life.

    I sure like the configuration of that watch though. No date and those lugs ... yum!
     
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  4. Masterofkarate Mar 25, 2019

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    Applied by UG or by a third party in that case?
     
  5. Mazoue Mar 25, 2019

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    I think it is just the original dial finish breaking down
     
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  6. jimmyd13 Mar 25, 2019

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    Spider dials are a pet hate of mine. Yes, it's original. Yes, it's damaged. That said the damage isn't something that has happened to the watch rather it's a known reaction of the laquer used to temperature changes. In the same way that a "tropical" dial is heat damage to the paints used in certain watches; spidering is heat damage to the laquer.

    What you have to ask is whether you like the look of that damage. There's no doubt that it makes the dial unique. The Rolex crowd go crazy about this sort of thing. Personally, I prefer a dial that is close to new but with gentle colouring of the lume used or a cream dial that was originally white. I won't look twice at a spider dial ... many people will pay over the market value for one. You just have to decide which side ofthe fence you fall on.
     
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  7. pweingarten Mar 25, 2019

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    I agree with jimmyd13..it's a very personal decision. I also think that the extent of the spidering makes this a watch you either love or hate...so you decide which!
     
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  8. Theluglife Mar 25, 2019

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    I don't normally like spider dials but it really works on this piece. Consider me a changed man.
     
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  9. Braindrain Mar 25, 2019

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    I dunno. To me, it looks damaged.
     
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  10. pweingarten Mar 25, 2019

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    I'd say "crunchy."
     
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  11. Larry S Color Commentator for the Hyperbole. Mar 25, 2019

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    I don't want to like it but I like it...
     
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  12. vintagemillenial Mar 25, 2019

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    looks like it has a lot of character. i like it
     
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  13. durri70 Mar 30, 2019

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    I have an UG with spider dial too and gives a very special effect to the dial, I love it even do I agree that the effect comes from cracking the lacquer
     
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  14. sdre Mar 30, 2019

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    To me, this is ABIT over the top.

    My tropical has ABIT of spider but it's not very pronounced.

    IMG_20190303_220200_465.jpg IMG_20190227_091748_945.jpg
     
  15. Diabolik Mar 31, 2019

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    That is one pair of funky looking polerouters. I love 'em both !
     
  16. rustynuts Mar 31, 2019

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    Charming though they are, I'd be hesitant to buy a dial in that condition if I had any plans on keeping the watch more than briefly. Is today's "Spider" dial tomorrow's "illegible and flaking"?
     
    Edited Mar 31, 2019
  17. CaptainWinsor Apr 1, 2019

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    If it were hanging in a museum no one would question it like many pieces of art
     
  18. bimbim1207 Apr 2, 2019

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    My tropical Polerouter also have this spider-web kind of dial, I think it really goes down to personal taste, mine is not as pronounce as OP's or @sdre, it has thinner lines and I like it a lot. However, certain spider-web dials just looks terrible, I have had a chance to handle one with deep, broken cracks, and even fungus grows within. That's yuck!