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Ultra rare 2849 - black dial, silver gilt, silver arrowheads

Tony C.
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The lettering and minute track shine through as base metal. That’s a dead cert gilt dial isn’t it?
Not in my view. "Gilt" classically refers to gold, or something that resembles gold, on a surface. Your dial was presumably silver.

Very nice find, though, so congrats.
 
omega1994
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Thanks very much for the kind words!

I do however think youre incorrect - silver gilt dials are a thing. The word gilt is just a confusing one, as yes it conjures the idea of gold. But in this case gilt just refers to the manufacturing/finishing process for these dials.
 
omega1994
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Lovely watch! Yes when the black laquer fails on these gilt dials the base metal underneath can show, to beautiful effect.
 
SOG53
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Nice watch OP.
I don’t see advantage of resuming a few dots why don’t you leave it original? To me resuming brings it down unnecessarily.
 
omega1994
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It’s something Ive grappled with. The hands being lume free annoys me, frankly. I’ll keep the original lume on the dial and reinstate the four missing dots with an accurate colour match. James Hyman is an artist
 
omega1994
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I wonder what the general consensus on here is - should I? His work is out of this world, in my opinion
 
Tony C.
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I do however think youre incorrect - silver gilt dials are a thing.
Well, at the risk of being pedantic, you are wrong.

gilt3.webp gilt2.webp
 
CaseStudy
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Lovely piece that sounds like its ended up in some great hands; strap does its job of elevating the presence nicely. Will check them out.
No wrong answer in respect to leaving it or luming it - if its going to be a wearer. Preservation is king if its staying more a collectable for you. Can’t wait to see more.
 
theluckyluke
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Cool watch. I am personally not a fan of patina, generally, but I can see an intriguing effect depending on how the light reflects on the dial.
 
omega1994
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Now that’s a sparkly dial.
 
IMG_6477.mov - 16.1 MB
IMG_6477.mov - 31.7 MB
Porteroso
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https://www.rescapement.com/blog/what-is-a-gilt-dial-watc

Worth a read if you have the time. Silver gilt dials are real. Gilt doesn’t refer to gold in this very specific niche context.

IMG_6463.webp
Probably accurate. In the common vernacular, gilt means "covered in gold," or "gold colored," but as a manufacturing process, it simply is the process itself. Really it should be viewed as a different word, depending upon its usage.

I do like the watch. These old ones deserve to be saved.
Edited:
 
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