I sometimes find it hard to distinguish between "patina" and "damage".
I get that tritium lume sponges or shrivels up a little bit naturally due to age, but sometimes it darkens?
I get that some dials change color over time due to UV light, but sometimes random "spots" appear on it?
I have no base knowledge on chemistry to understand why these happen.
This is why I find it hard to get into vintage watches. The chemistry behind "patina" is too hard to fully understand.

 

My new patina threshold. Quite a journey from being on @Spruce ‘s LPT camp to this one. I still hate bubbles (even one on a otherwise perfect dial) or the grainy type of patina that looks like freckles or acne. Somehow I kept being drawn back to this one. I didn’t buy it for the patina, I like the ref and the condition of the case, but I really don‘t mind the patina on this one at all as it’s flat and fairly evenly spread. Somehow the hands and indices have not oxidated so readability is still good.

 

I’ve hesitated about moving this one on a couple of times, but I am quite drawn to its “lived in” look. The spiderweb cracking is damage rather than patina, and the oxidation on the hands likewise, but for all the honest wear and tear I still find it attractive and, after slapping on a NATO or brown leather strap, I think still fairly presentable for casual wear:

 

This one ruined me for patina.

 

For me it depends on the age of the watch. I'm also really put off by uneven patina. Half the dial stained and the other half clean would turn me off. Fungus and mildew type marks are also a no-no for me.

 

Here is one I was truly struck by. I would have to say this surpasses my patina threshold. But then, it could be quite a conversation piece.

 

My Genève 2754-1 had such a great combination of unique patina and case condition, I couldn’t resist when @jankoxxx had it listed here last year! My father was a professional woodworker, and it reminds me of finely finished 'Birdseye' or Curly Maple!

Speaking of my father, this was a hand down from him some years back after it sat on a sunny shelf in the Southwestern US at a high-altitude.

I purchased a lovely replacement dial, but haven’t been able to make the switch as it would change the overall character too much…I might change my mind someday, but for now it’ll stay as-is.

 

I call this one 'Pigpen'.



With much affection.

Art

 

I kind of like "pigpen." I'd wear it.

 

Dirty, dingy, and damaged, with both 'southern' lugs crimped together by a criminal watchmaker who only had a spare 19 mm springbar to replace the original 20 mm. But liked so much that I had a custom strap commissioned for it, 20 mm short side and 19 mm on the punched.

 

Now THAT is love.

 

You just brought back childhood trauma, that movie wrecked me when I was a kid.

 

I see . . .



. . . the resemblance.



De gustibus non est disputandum.

 

Raised (or lowered?) my personal threshold again

 

I think it looks fantastic, but also maybe damaged enough that I'd worry about the structural integrity of the dial. Isn't there a risk a chunk of it will simply crack loose one day?

 

I've just read this older thread from start to finish. Really interesting to read and see the individual takes on acceptable patina and what folks consider to be acceptable or not. I think I might be somewhat extreme when it comes to this as I am actually finding myself specifically searching for watches exhibiting some sort of ageing - I am not sure why. I think I just prefer the look of a watch that doesn't look brand new. They are unique and somewhat quirky in many cases. The same goes for really quite weathered watch straps.

I picked up a couple of Avia watches recently - one because i just liked the textured dial face and the fact that it was discoloured around the edges (dirty?) and will contrast nicely with a strap I already have, and then almost immediately afterwards i came across a very rough looking example which had a cracked crystal and again, appeared dirty (very), particularly around the dial edge and numbers/markers. The latter, for what it cost me - virtually nothing, I thought I would use it as a bit of a project and see whether I could turn it into something i liked or not. I think that is what I would call past my own personal limit though....as it currently stands. It hasn't even arrived yet but the pictures were so poor that I am kind of hoping a replacement crystal will improve things a little. This remains to be seen.




Similarly, I have a couple of Enicar examples, one of which I again bought just for the off-white dial colour and unusual design, and then the other for what I can only describe as 'heavy patina.' It has a 9:25 hand shadow which to me at least, is fabulous. It has a deep brown central circle with a sparkling golden outer circle which changes colour a lot in different lights. I am guessing from the previous posts on here most will not approve however.




I have a very early and perfectly functional H.Samuel tank watch, purchased mainly for the funky strap but also because it didn't have a pristine dial/hands and came with the original box. I guess I just kind of like old things to look old. I also have a Poljot 2408 and a 3017, both of which have a certain amount of patina.

 

My watchmaker seems to think it’s stable and OK, at least for now…

Whilst I’m here, following on from @dinglem's Avias above, here my somewhat later mid-1960s chrono, with a greenish patina that I paired with an olive strap. I’m very pleased with the combo:

 

I don’t mind a bit but I definitely prefer the cleaner end.

 

I much prefer to wear this over its blue dialed counterpart.