Community Stories

Would you relume these hands?

caspar2632
Posts
14
Likes
142
I’ve had this Heuer Monnin for a little while and the yellowed tritium dial is great. I think a yellowed set of hands would complement it well.

I intend to hold onto this one, but in the unfortunate circumstance where I might have to sell it, I wonder if a good hand relume will affect its value. I see why this might be the case for replacing nice, yellowed lume - but these hands are black.

I would love to hear some opinions on whether you’d relume these hands if you owned this watch 😀
 
856F9E50-C46E-422E-BE32-339C57818FDB.jpeg
Foo2rama
Posts
17,778
Likes
26,953
A very nice restoration of the hands and a match to the dial lume makes sense on this to me.
The hands drag the piece down.
Edited:
 
T
Posts
20
Likes
15
yeah, i got the same 844 monnin with cathedral hands which are a darker shade.
these watches were often loosely put together and you often see transition pieces for this first model as heuer had not got it together with this yet, and this one was begin made in france not switzerland.
definitely for me a good lume job wouldn't impact the price and once i can get back to the UK from Singapore I'll be searching out Mr James Hyman who trades as the alchemist relumer to sort my one out.
Cheers
 
JwRosenthal
Posts
16,307
Likes
44,939
I think in a situation like this it would only help the value and not hurt it as it would be far more attractive. More importantly, you would get far more pleasure wearing it.
 
lexieb007
Posts
328
Likes
127
I am a vintage watch collector and absolutely not - do not relume the hands if they are in an original state and period to the watch...reluming (partic replacing tritium) is a complete turn off to a vintage collector like me...
 
caspar2632
Posts
14
Likes
142
lexieb007 lexieb007
I am a vintage watch collector and absolutely not - do not relume the hands if they are in an original state and period to the watch...reluming (partic replacing tritium) is a complete turn off to a vintage collector like me...

I appreciate the input, would you hold the same opinion if the hands were matched perfectly to the dial? Is the blackened tritium more desirable to you?
 
lexieb007
Posts
328
Likes
127
caspar2632 caspar2632
I appreciate the input, would you hold the same opinion if the hands were matched perfectly to the dial? Is the blackened tritium more desirable to you?
Yes ...absolutely the tritium is more desirable.. as a matter of interest I totally love a speedy for sale on this forum but the tritium hands have been relumed "to match".. ie the tritium has been removed and replaced by a coloured material to match the indices. This is a total turn off to a collector like me. If I bought that watch I would look for original tritium hands. So I have immediately discounted that watch by the cost of replacing them.. just my view...
 
lexieb007
Posts
328
Likes
127
You see tritium (being radioactive) fades.. both after holding light (aged tritium doesn't hold it for long) and in colour (it changes over the decades) If the hands aren't tritium and the dial is ..the watch immediately looks more like it;s been partially faked IMO ...
 
caspar2632
Posts
14
Likes
142
lexieb007 lexieb007
You see tritium (being radioactive) fades.. both after holding light (aged tritium doesn't hold it for long) and in colour (it changes over the decades) If the hands aren't tritium and the dial is ..the watch immediately looks more like it;s been partially faked IMO ...

Thank you, I’ll have a think about all this. Appreciate it !
 
lexieb007
Posts
328
Likes
127
caspar2632 caspar2632
Thank you, I’ll have a think about all this. Appreciate it !
Your watch looks awesome how it is IMO... those hands look pretty clean...Vintage Heuers are great! But if you must "fix them", then remove them..Don't relume them.. keep them and replace them (and offer the originals in the sale)... give any future purchaser the option ...best of both worlds...😀
 
Dan S
Posts
21,826
Likes
49,511
These particular hands don't bother me enough to want to restore them.

More generally, re-lumed hands will often hurt the value of a collectible watch unless the original hands are in very poor condition (e.g. with significant lume loss). But if you would enjoy the watch a lot more, then a small hit in value may not be the end of the world for a watch with modest value. For example, if we're talking about the potential loss of a few hundred dollars, then that's a small price to pay for enjoying the watch more, potentially for years and years. It's your watch. However, if it's a 5-figure watch, then I would definitely be much more conservative, since it can only be original once.
 
jaguar11
Posts
2,710
Likes
17,410
I would. In this case it will make a huge aesthetic difference. With full disclosure of course if selling.
 
Spacefruit
Posts
5,281
Likes
24,089
I have no issues re luming anything when justified.
When I look at the OP watch I feel that if the dial is original, and the hands are original, then it has a an original look, and feel.
When I look at the dial plots I see dust, and leakage - I am assuming in this model it points to original lume on the dial?
If the hands are original, and they look it, then I suspect that this difference in colour between the hands and the dial is indicative of an original watch.
If so I would not touch anything.
 
caspar2632
Posts
14
Likes
142
To those following this thread, I did a quick and dirty photoshop to see what a relume might look like:
 
heuer.jpg
caspar2632
Posts
14
Likes
142
Spacefruit Spacefruit
I have no issues re luming anything when justified.
When I look at the OP watch I feel that if the dial is original, and the hands are original, then it has a an original look, and feel.
When I look at the dial plots I see dust, and leakage - I am assuming in this model it points to original lume on the dial?
If the hands are original, and they look it, then I suspect that this difference in colour between the hands and the dial is indicative of an original watch.
If so I would not touch anything.

Thanks for your input. The hands and dial are all completely original and have never been touched up.
 
lexieb007
Posts
328
Likes
127
caspar2632 caspar2632
Thanks for your input. The hands and dial are all completely original and have never been touched up.
cool..then leave them alone....
 
JwRosenthal
Posts
16,307
Likes
44,939
If you can source another set of hands that are worse off and have those relumed to match the dial (and keep the originals in safe storage) you could have the best of both worlds.
 
Spacefruit
Posts
5,281
Likes
24,089
JwRosenthal JwRosenthal
If you can source another set of hands that are worse off and have those relumed to match the dial (and keep the originals in safe storage) you could have the best of both worlds.

While a great idea, the success depends on keeping the original hands safe - think of papers for example, and how easy it is for them to be disconnected permanantly.
 
JwRosenthal
Posts
16,307
Likes
44,939
Spacefruit Spacefruit
While a great idea, the success depends on keeping the original hands safe - think of papers for example, and how easy it is for them to be disconnected permanantly.
That can be an issue, but I think most collectors are fairly organized when it comes to documentation and parts for watches in their collection. If we are talking about the average Joe- agreed- those parts/ papers get thrown in a drawer and forgotten until well after the watch is traded/gifted/sold (particularly in decades past when watches weren’t valued for originality or full kit)
I have a silver dialed Rolex Airking that was lovely but I preferred my OPD which was very similar and found the silver/silver hard to read under the sapphire crystal. I sourced a black dial and hand-set for it and had them swapped out and I love the watch now. I could have sold it as-is and bought a black one, but that would have cost more than just procuring the parts and I already knew the provenance and service history of my watch.
The original parts are safely in the factory box for that watch in a closet. If I ever sell it, they will be included with the watch for the next owner to decide if they want to return it to the factory configuration.
Edited:
 
1 More Post...
Sign up or log in to reply...

Similar threads

sonicosa

Do these hands look correct for 165/166.024?

sonicosa Vintage Omega Watches Help, Discussion and Advice
Davidt
Davidt
Posts
5
Views
2K
R

Radium dials and hands - remove, restore and relume? Advice welcomed

Radiumjapes Vintage Omega Watches Help, Discussion and Advice
Dms5150
Dms5150
Posts
55
Views
11K
M'Bob

What would you do with these hands?

M'Bob Vintage Omega Watches Help, Discussion and Advice
Pvt-Public
Pvt-Public
Posts
17
Views
3K
seekingseaquest

So - would you refinish this case? [Lemania triple date]

seekingseaquest Other Watch Brands Forum
Aroxx
Aroxx
Posts
7
Views
2K
Kjack48230

Can you relume hands?

Kjack48230 Vintage Omega Watches Help, Discussion and Advice
watchyouwant
watchyouwant
Posts
5
Views
3K
FinnishVintage

Is this rotor correct and can these hands be cleaned?

FinnishVintage Vintage Omega Watches Help, Discussion and Advice
Canuck
Canuck
Posts
9
Views
1K