From the past few years, the domestic market of high-level used watches has gradually shown a drastic transformation, plus more and more watch enthusiasts are keen to wear old watches, and wearing such watches with traces of age is even more personalized, tasteful or cool. Realistically, the cost of getting a used watch is also much cheaper than buying a brand new one, and these factors are the key to the growth of the used watch market.

Used watches, especially vintage watches, are more or less prone to oxidized rust or even discoloration after years of baptism. With the blowout development of the domestic used watch market, it also ushers in new problems, how to define the original degree of used watches, which parts will have a very big impact on the value of the watch, and can even influence the authenticity of the watch? Let's talk about it today.

Putting aside the center of the machine, the restoration and refurbishment of the dial in the watch is a very controversial issue in the trade of second-hand watches.TUDOR Black Bay M7941A1A0RU-0003 The vast majority of watch players or collectors in the purchase of second-hand watches, more concerned about whether the dial, hands and scales are original, flawless old watch seems to be the only choice many consumers will consider. So there is a consensus in the watch circle that a refurbished dial is a big taboo.

It does not have much effect on the luminous restoration of the dial scales and hands.

However, not all refurbishments on dials are created equal,TUDOR Ranger M79950-0001 and in recent years we have encountered dial restoration models with varying degrees of luminescent filler, including some hands and scales with luminescent fillers that have undergone recoating with luminescent compounds (in some cases, even taking out the old luminescent coatings and re-adding new luminescent coatings), and the trend seems to be catching on in the global pre-owned watch community.

But recoating luminous compounds on dials and hands is nothing new. Watchmakers have been "upgrading" the luminescent compounds on customer dials for decades. Early conflicts between customers and brands due to material constraints, including the fading of the dial hands of their watches over time, making them difficult to read at night, have led to significant developments in the material upgrading of luminous compounds in recent years. Talented repairers are using their skills to restore dials in a very different way to watchmakers of the past. Regularly calibrated luminescent compounds are being applied to dials that have been damaged or reluminated poorly. After all, luminescent compounds don't last as long as the watch itself, if not much less.

Although the replacement filling of luminous compounds on dial scales and hands will not affect the value of antique used watches too much, but only if the master's craftsmanship must be professional and meet the standards of craftsmanship of the hands and scales.

The value of a watch after refurbishment depends on whether it becomes better, or worse.

Some antique watches may have been subjected to rust from moisture during their history, or residual debris that deforms the hands, and there is no way to avoid refurbishing and restoring the dial and hands for these problems. We must weigh whether the dial restoration will affect the value of the watch, and here we emphasize in particular that original dials and hands are to be preserved uncompromisingly, and should never be replaced willy-nilly! The original is the best! Even if it has minor problems, as long as it does not affect the normal timekeeping of the watch.

When we identify a watch, we will first check whether there are any problems with the dial and hands, which is also the key point for identifying the real and fake watches in the premium watches. The replacement of the dial and hands will lose the sense of charm of the watch itself, and will also depreciate the value of the watch significantly.

In the vintage watch market, astronomically high prices are contributing to the fact that we have so much faking in vintage watches today, including the casual replacement or refurbishment of dials and hands. And dials and hands aren't the only things that suffer from counterfeiting; we also often see used watch cases polished and refurbished, or even laser-welded and repaired, as well as replacement imitations of key parts in the heart of the watch, which are then sold at the original watch value. It is difficult for us to judge the restoration of second-hand watches.

Regarding the restoration on the dial, let's summarize what places will be restored or refurbished, or even replaced in the regular ones.

The luminescent compounds on dial scales and hands have decayed over time and need to be refilled with new luminescent paint to return them to their original luminescent readability;

Repair and replacement of dial hands and scales. Some watches may have suffered impacts leading to deformation of the hands or scales, and there will be some processing marks if they are to be repaired. The watch suffers from water vapor pointer, metal scale rust. Because the original hands and scales are very difficult to obtain, so the optimal choice is to repair to the maximum extent, replacement will have a great impact on the overall value of the watch.

Dial restoration or replacement, this is considered an extreme restoration. Dials are generally not recommended to be moved. Whether it is repainted and restored or replaced, it will have a very large impact on the overall value of the watch.

On the market, almost all used vintage watches are restored to some degree, including the fact that our watches are sent to a repair store when they have problems, where the repairman may polish the case that has a scarred surface, and parts that are already broken will be replaced, etc., and these tend to be our default practices with each other when we send our watches in for repair. However, the general slightly polishing and replacement of routine parts, generally will not have much impact on the value of the watch, this we need to know, after all, mechanical watches will inevitably have problems in their lifetime.

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