Hi guys, As I go through this forum, I often see beautiful vintage watches from the 60s, 50s and even 40s. While I am constantly amazed by the durability of the mechanism, I often notice signs of aging. But for watches supposedly waterproof, what will cause rust on the hands, mechanisms and the dial? Thanks in advance for your help!
Well age. Sorry silly answer, but "waterproof" isn't a forever thing... As seals wear/degrade water/dirt/muck do get in. Patina tends to be caused by moisture, and light.
To elaborate, the crowns have a rubber seal inside them that can wear and will eventually break down. This then allows dust and moisture to enter the case. The case back also has a rubber seal that also breaks down with time. As @Archer has often said, they are perfectly OK until they fail. To a much lesser extent, the air inside a watch also contains moisture and sudden temperature variations can (on rare occasions) allow this air to reach its dew point and release that moisture. Whilst this is a very small amount of moisture, it will have to collect somewhere. This phenomenon is more likely to occur in tropical regions.
This is actually a fairly complex topic, but briefly: Yes, the quality of the case and condition of gaskets were crucial in preserving movements, hands and dials. However – and this applies particularly to vintage Omega in a negative sense – the quality and finishing of the dials (lacquers, primarily) were also very important. Finally, the type of metal used in the hands also helped to either preserve, or degrade them over time. Gold hands, for example, degrade more readily with lower gold content (or thin plating).
Smoking was more accepted and prevalent in the old days. Just like your lungs, watch dials in such an environment aged rapidly. Some watch dials were heavily painted with radioactive materials like radium. The half-life of radium is over 1,000 years, so even if it no longer glows in the dark, the dial is exposed to its effects. Think of it as a constant sunburn. gatorcpa
What's new - I'm confused I always thought that light and/or sun light created patina, especially on the plots and sweeps. However a very knowledgeable member informed me that watches left in drawers or safes helps promote the creamy dark patina most of us desire. Help
I bought an old military wrist watch with the dial faded out except where the hands had stopped. probably sunlight. I am tempted to send the dial out to a restorer - like Kirk dial. ill send a pix vinn