docblackrock

Gilt dial under Alaskan light. I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing that glorious combination. Over here, in need of your 1665's experience...

Burning human flesh has an unmistakeable aroma. And we'd smell it from over here.

Quite. I'd be ashamed to put it into a gen watch, as much as I would be wearing it around a friend (local AD and vintage nut). He'd quietly take me aside and say "WTF?" The 'moose head' comment made me chuckle, particularly as moose is Brit slang for a really ugly woman - seems appropriate here. Back to the drawing board GSW I'm afraid.

That IS a stunner. How did you age the insert or did you pick it up like that? The grey fade is spot on.

No particular GW love here but these rail dials are gorgeous and totally transform the watch. Not quite as droolworthy as my favourite of this dial type though, mmmmm...

Pfff, birth year is just the start. I want my 1655 / 1675 caseback to be engraved with the QUARTER-year I was born. Fortunately, I arrived on the cusp of III/IV so have more leeway here

I've just read your latest post so that kind of answers (but not completely) my question. I still don't quite know what the point of this enquiry was. FWIW I said the base dial is likely genuine but there's little doubt amongst those offering their thoughts here, that the rest of it is not. It's simply all wrong visually and citing Rolex's amateurish practices in the 60s doesn't qualify anything. As for worth, it's what anyone is (stupid enough) prepared to pay for it.

What exactly is your aim here? Your OP suggested you were looking for advice on a possible purchase of this dial. Which you've had. Avoid it like the plague. Strange though how your latter posts seem to devalue and refuse to accept those opinions and ask for further justification. I may be wrong here and it just may be your tone and writing style, but it almost (to me anyway) reads as if you've put together this redial yourself and are seeking QC here? As BWS says, take it to the gen forums and see what you get. Can assure you it won't be as patient, informed or polite as you've had here.

Have to disagree on it being aftermarket. The problem is as you say yourself "the more you look at it". In other words, because there are some blatant details here that fail the 'smell' test, it almost follows you start to question other aspects of the dial. That said, I think the recent proliferation of so-called tropical dials like this in almost NOS condition (which itself should scream out given how genuine tropical dials gain their patina) rings alarm bells and I know of at least one major vintage dealer who, without concrete provenance, won't touch them with a bargepole. Whatever the reality and indeed true value, the fact is it's not a particularly nice dial either way IMO.

Normally I'd PM but my box is dysfunctional... I'm guessing the cost issue means they're prescribing etanercept? You might want to ask your daughter's rheum about making enquiries about enrolling on a canakinumab trial. Some very promising clinical data in this area recently published. If she meets the inclusion criteria, not only would her outcomes be potentially improved, it would also negate you having to fund the cost of the medication. If you want further info, feel free to email me (check out sales threads in watches and parts for details).

Original dial. But touched up with red Sub text without question. And as Nanuq says, the fade on a tropical dial is almost always less uniform than this. It's been 'baked', probably with a hot halogen lamp. Walk away...

Renal colic is really not something you want to experience onset of an hour into a 7-hour transatlantic flight. The combo of excruciating pain and a level of nausea (without vomiting) usually reserved for severe sea-sickness without the option of being rendered unconscious is truly horrific. To this day, I avoid those claustrophobic plane toilets like the plague and consequently, my mile high club membership has been revoked permanently

'Budget' option... 'Black market organ donation' option...

That gorgeous faded/grey insert just caps off what is already a classical beauty.

Oh dear. The horological equivalent of a Stradivarius watercolour.