Now before people get upset and climb up onto their high horses, let me just say that while Bienne is allowing parts to be sold, I'm going to have myself some fun What you'll find below has not been done to deceive people, rather to see what is achievable.

I'm building a transitional Speedmaster, complete with a 1968 serial 861 and applied logo dial. All parts are new, except of course the movement.

I like the look of the patina that occurs with tritium dials but wondered if it might be possible to get the same effect with a new luminova version.

In the process of experimentation I seem to have turned the dial itself a subtle brown. It wasn't my intention to do this and I'm mightily surprised by the result.

It's been an expensive road to get to this point so I'm not keen on sharing the process itself but thought you all might like to see it. If I've been able to do this it makes me wonder what other watches might be out there with manufactured patina that are being passed off as something they are not?

Thoughts?

Before..


After


Side by side

 

Interesting
I have been working at this myself.
Mainly because I find myself prepared to pay premiums for attractive aged dials, and I want to know what a new deliberately patinated dial could look like.
I do not think this dial looks like an old dial, however it looks attractive. ....and on an ebay photo, poor description, by an undisclosing seller.....
I really appreciate you sharing this.
I too have had an expensive education in this field....

 

I like the looks of your test piece. Just curious thought which dial are you planning on using for your transitional project? I may be incorrect but the dial you are trying your aging technique is a dial that would fit only the 321 movement, correct? The only new replacement dials I have seen with the raised logo and Professional on the dial are for the 321 movement. The second dial lacking the Professional is the only one I have been able to source as we'll that would fit the 861 movement. I went through this whole dial issue getting my first '68 serviced.

Are you planning on using the non Profession dial on your transitional piece or are you also going to fit the older 321 style replacement dial to the 861?

I do like the results of your test and will follow your project with interest.

 

Yes, correct the dial is for a 321 but I will modify it to fit, I didn't want to compromise on that. Not that I'm going to try it on this dial but I feel that it would be relatively straight forward to make the dial actually appear old as well. On this watch I'm going for the perfectly aged look rather than the survivor look, if that make sense.

Spacefruit, you're right I think, given the optimal set of circumstances it would be fairly easy to pass off a suitably patinated dial as being real. I'm glad to be able to show my results to help open eyes as to what is possible.

 

I have been doing this myself.
225 in a fan assisted oven for around 15 minutes works a treat.
I have turned my 105.003 with modern dial into a 2915 lookalike, just waiting for the silver bezel.
Pre damaged practice dial.

New Luminova dial.

 

Hey that's cool! I applaud your bravery in modding the 105.003, it looks great with the matched hands too. I guess using heat makes sense, I remember reading somewhere that during the NASA testing the extreme heat burned the luminous material off the dial. As you found out there is a temp at which a nice colour change occurs which is awesome I had also heard of using tea to stain the surface as well.

 

No bravery needed to mod the 105.003, it had a modern dial and I have kept the tritium hands so nothing is lost really. The lume now glows softly even when I have been outside, it disturbed me a bit seeing the dial plots glow bright before this process. So in short I had nothing to lose. If a correct dial comes along in the future I will buy it and change the watch back again to correct spec or let the person who buys it do the same.
For now I can wear the watch and dream it is a 2915, a bit like having sports car with a higher spec body kit on which fits my champagne taste lemonade pockets fine, and I also get to give the purists something to wince about
The dial paint etc stands up well to the heat, I think I could have left it for a lot longer, I just kept my eye on it and when the colour was right I took it from the oven, easy.

 

So it's win win then, even better! As long as things can be reversed and in all but extreme cases they can then I agree that changing things up a bit is just fine and a lot of fun actually. I mean its not like CK2915's grow on tree's. This will be the second Speedmaster I've built from new parts and hopefully not the last, this way I can have pretty much whatever I want

 

You have hit the nail on the head, it is a lot of fun doing things like this, in fact I get a lot of joy looking at the watch now, as I mentioned the bright luminova disturbed me before, I really like the look now, a 2915 in any form is a hard thing to come by and very pricey too. I can only dream at the moment.

 

I'm already outside trying to turn the black paint brown, I might be a while, this is the UK after all.

 

there are instructional videos all over the youtubes for how to
tropicalize and give yer subbie that "unique" wacky tabaccy look.

 

+ 1 on all this as it's a fascinating project

 

Well here is the finished watch. Will have to wait until tomorrow for sunshine to show the colours properly. You know, here in Perth on a summers day, naturally ageing the dial is probably possible lol.

 

Looks great. So what modification did you have to make to fit the 321 feet from the dial into the 861 movement properly?

 

The 321 feet are longer and thicker than those for the 861. It was a matter of careful machining to bring them down to the correct size. The actual positions of the feet are the same for both movements so it was a fairly straightforward modification.

 

You could always send it to me in tropical Darwin for a few months to naturally age it....

 

I didn't cook mine Dsio, might need to ask Michael from what he says above it has subdued it a bit. Probably in keeping with the aim of the exercise though, so a happy coincidence.

Standy, how are your dials going in Darwin? Talk about a harsh environment for a mechanical watch!

 

Find on my Speedy Moon the lume is so bright by the end of the day it glows like it's a light. Keep watches airtight when not wearing more to preserve the leather.

Don't even think of rubber straps as lucky for any to last more than 6months. Do a lot of fishing in salt water and even beaters with plastic parts don't last long. Have a army mate that goes through a g-shock every 3-4 months in the build up season the worst.