Cheers All, I wanted to gather some info and some opinions. I saw this speedy sell last year at Christies: https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/...-white-gold-speedmaster-ref-31923000-13/32258 And I figured it was maybe a one-off that had some damage to the dial. Then just today I received my own white gold speedy after a hellish experience with UPS (I recommend Fedex). And it has the same tropical dial. The watch is NOS, looks to never have been worn or taken off the original strap, still has some blue zappon on its ass. So I have to assume it happened naturally, and this appears to be a reoccurring phenomenon. Is this oxidation? Serial number at Christies was 213 and mine is 252. I'm curious about the other 498, if anyone out there has the same thing happening to the dial. It's a fairly cool effect in person.
I've got #209 and it has a beautiful starburst dial with no discoloration. There is a nice hint of patina on the lume of the plots.
That's "tropical"? I thought the term applies to black dials that age into chocolate and lighter shades of brown. What you have is normal old patina.
Just trying to figure out what is the cause and how common it is. Feel free to edit the title to whatever descriptor makes you feel less uncomfortable
Trouble is it's tricky to get the right light when taking a picture of the dial. My speedy's tropical dial has a definite dark brown shade to it but when I post pictures they never look quite right. I really like your watch dial. For me, it has an interesting and attractive colour tone!... but then again... I know nuffink about watches!
What makes white gold discolor like that? I thought the gold would make it extremely resistant to tarnish.
