What does a "silver bath" mean, regarding dial cleaning?

Posts
2,968
Likes
6,323
A German told me that a watch I'm looking at was serviced and that the dial was cleaned. I asked in what way it was cleaned and he told me "...just dipped in a silver bath - no other treatment!".

Perhaps it is a strange translational issue. Does somebody understand what he's talking about?

Dial:
 
Posts
15,918
Likes
47,762
Probably some sort of a liquid silver cleaner designed to allow an item to be dipped. Goddards and Hagerty (as well as many brands available at your supermarket) make it available as a fork cleaner. But it might work on a metal dial, as well. At your risk, by the way,
 
Posts
3,568
Likes
13,508
Not sure if this helps you in any way, but a “silver bath”, or “Silberbad” in German, would usually be a mixture of water, salt and baking soda that silver is dipped into for a couple minutes. I’ve done that with silver cutlery and it’s clean and shiny afterwards - I can’t imagine doing that to a dial, though. Even if the dial is solid silver, surely the printing would suffer from the aggressive baking soda (sodium bicarb)?
 
Posts
1,600
Likes
2,716
If the printing is baked enamel, then a bath might not harm it like regular tampography dial.
 
Posts
30,171
Likes
77,904
If the printing is baked enamel, then a bath might not harm it like regular tampography dial.

Yes, most silver dials on vintage are quite robust and can be cleaned rather aggressively without damage.
 
Posts
3,568
Likes
13,508
If the printing is baked enamel, then a bath might not harm it like regular tampography dial.

Very interesting! Didn’t know that. Well, in that case, the “Silberbad” might have actually been what we were thinking.

As a collector of mainly 50s Omegas with those delicate dials the thought of dipping a dial into a bath with chemicals still makes my neck hair stand up though. 😁
 
Posts
18,720
Likes
38,860
I have access to some, not actually mine, more "hers".

 
Posts
3,801
Likes
20,261
It's a lovely dial. I would like to see some more pictures of that watch.
 
Posts
2,968
Likes
6,323
I appreciate your responses. Should I receive it, I will gladly take more photos of the watch.