My Patek Philippe

Posted By HARRIS A S on March 3, 2010

Aged dial against reconditioned/refinished dial.

In view of the increasing number of people indulge in vintage-watch collecting, there is a great number of watches to be picked on the market.

Apart from the usual dealers, prospective-buyers can also get some nice pieces from the numerous auction houses. There are some houses that will auction only the top-end watches, while others may list just anything, from the good, the bad to the ugly, in the eyes of collectors.

In view of the great choice, those new-comers to the world of vintage-watch collecting should be wary of what they pick up. The worse drama will be, buying a fake for the price of a genuine piece. Another scenario which is not as bad is, picking up a watch with a reconditioned or refinished dial, even though the basic dial is factory-original.

There is nothing wrong in picking up a watch with a redone dial, as long as, the work was undertaken at the birth-place of the watch, since usually the original stencil is still kept by the factory.

Very few watches, once purchased for daily use, will be found in pristine condition today, dial-wise. The top-end watches, for instance Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Gerald Genta, ect, will generally be found as close as possible to mint condition since, over the years they were rarely worn. Rarely do we get an Omega, Longines or Rolex in show-room condition, unless those belonging to the top of the range model.

Collectors may have to pay top dollars for an immaculate condition ‘work-horse’ watches. Owners will usually demand an unreasonable price, achievable only in seven years’ time, while a prospective buyer would usually want to pay a yesteryear’s price . As a result of this, there are potential sellers who prefer to put an aged dial under the knife, rather than selling it, as is.

The following is just an example as to why, most of the time, it is not advisable to buy a watch with a reconditioned/refinished/redone dial.

Red sticker
The Longines Conquest Calendar Power-reserve with a red sticker has been reconditioned or refinished and when comparing it to those watches with a white or one with a blue sticker, definitely the one with the black dial appears to be very attractive. Unfortunately, the original characteristic of the dial, where a substantial amount of the total value of the whole watch lies, is totally lost. A new-comer to watch-collecting may find it difficult to detect.

White sticker
The Longines Conquest Calendar Power-reserve with a white sticker is very close to above excellent condition, bearing in mind, when it was born into this world, this model was meant to be a ‘work-horse’ and not vaulted up. It has experienced wear and tear, caused by the number of hours it was on the owner’s wrist. After 50 years or so, for it to be in this tidy condition is rather rare.

Blue sticker
The Longines Conquest Calendar Power-reserve with a blue sticker is something a new-comer to watch-collecting will not want to even glance twice. However, one who is an experienced vintage-watch collector would find it definitely more desirable to wear or keep, compared to the one with the red sticker.

Since we now have all the three watches lined up for us to compare and contrast, it is imperative that one has to do some homework before buying into a watch, which is seldom seen or considered a rare time-piece, with a reconditioned or refinished dial. Very likely, the one with the white sticker and also, that with the blue will be admired by collectors, while the one with the red sticker will never find its way strapped onto a watch-collector’s wrist or vaulted up in a safe.

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