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Vintagizing A "california Dial" 3646 - Some Techniques


leitztozeiss

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Well, I had received a beautiful, pristine california dial 3646 from Neil and decided to experiment on some vintagizing ideas. Some of you might recognize it as one I sold to John a few days ago. I sold it to fund other projects. But, I just wanted to share some of what I did and some pics. First, I removed the crystal, stem, strap, and caseback and gave the entire case a medium coarse satin finish with sponge-type wood finishing pads - I started with medium grit and went to fine grit. I did the same to the end of the crown and to the crystal bezel ring. I rubbed the crystal lightly with a pad, then repolished using brasso to give it a worn, but polished look.

With the crystal already removed, I went to work on the dial and hands. I used one of my kid's black charcoal pencils to color the indices and hands. I also dabbed the indices with a gummy eraser to balance between the original color and the charcoal color. This went much better than anticipated, and it was very easy - no messy paints, no dipping in expresso or tea. Once I got the indices to a desired color, I took a pad and scoured the entire dial in a circular motion to give it an even faded look. Looking back, I think maybe a dark brown or dark orange color would've worked nicely also.

Also, I wiped the metal frame of the hands with a pad to give some wear to the edges, so in certain light a hint of metal would show through. Finally, I reinstalled the hands and put the case back together. I vintagized the strap using a scouring tip on my dremel. Then, I sold it to fund another project (6152!!). Here's the pics:

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This is one of the reasons I really like this forum. No one would ever experiment with a gen panerai. I think it turned out great. While WM's watches that go for a grand may be a bit nicer (perhaps?), some of these are serious competion. Looking forward to the 6152.

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Received this watch from Gil yesterday (08/07); he did a great job and the watch runs extremely accurate for a rep. I am wearing it now. :D

I have an 30T2 Omega WWW mil issue ca 1943; close to same wear and dial/hand patina. The Omega was probably a flight watch; some of my WWII ground force wrist watches show considerable wear. BTW, Gil is a super person to deal with. I hope to see more of his projects. John :D

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Thanks John!! Glad to see it's already getting use. I'd love to see it next to your other vintage war-era timepieces.

And, thanks to Marco, this will be the basis of my 6152 project. I'm still on the fence on which way to take this project: destro crown guard with brevet ital engraving, or brevet winding crown version. Marco also sent me a tastefully vintagized destro marina militare dial with 3-oclock subseconds dial, so I'm swaying toward the former. Hmmm.

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I wore this watch to a meting last night and a friend,USN retired admiral in his 60's, noticed it and upon handling it commented how great it looked as a vintage piece. I told him that it was a recently "vintageized" and he stated that whoever did this was very talented and should go to work for Hollywood as a prop master. He noted his past experience w/ Hollywood as a scene/prop advisor for USN ships/equipment. He wears a 1960s seadweller and appreciates vintage stuff. So Gil, you might want to consider a part time job w/ the movie masters for watch props! I'll send you some hard copy prints of the 3646 with a few of my mil watches shortly. J. :D:D

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  • 3 weeks later...

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