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Wow, that's a beautiful watch, congratulations!

Beautiful job! I wish I had the skills to do work like that. Tritium lume? That must glow forever! I wonder if we can buy that stuff in the US. Do you prefer the Tritium over Superluminova or Noctilumina?

I live in a beautiful place, I had a fantastic day, I'm going out with my friends later and I have a BEAUTIFUL fianc

Will do! Do you have that new winder filled up already? A Slate/Black BCE would look nice in there too.

Shoes... your wife lets you wear shoes?

Thanks to your encouragement (and my inability to accept defeat), I got the outer dial off of the inner dial! SUCCESS! I nearly pooped my pants, because I slipped with the razor (sorry Lancelot). I thought I scratched the 11:00 marker, but it just left a mark (cleaned it off with a Q-tip). The picture is from before I cleaned it up. The good news is that the glue used to hold the inner and outer dials together isn't too strong. A razor (X-acto knife in my case) and a careful hand (not mine) seems to do the trick. I wonder if a little heat might help. I'm going to wait until I get tired of the Black/Silver dial before I make the switch... But it appears to be possible!

Here's a picture of the rear and side of the dial. What are you thinking Lancelot?

Yesterday, I received the black/silver subdial BCE and the separate slate-grey dial. The BCE looks so much better in person than in pictures!! Now I know why everyone likes this watch so much. Anyway, I took the Watch (and Dial) to my favorite watch smith. I told him what I wanted to have done, which required an explanation of why I wanted to change such a beautiful watch. He looked at the Slate Dial and said that because of the glue, he could NOT separate the outer dial from the inner dial (too much risk of chipping the inner dial). He spent a few minutes trying to separate the pieces, but stopped. It looks like I'll have to: 1. Find another watch smith. 2. Give up on this project (and still have an awesome watch) 3. See if I can purchase a Slate inner dial and a Black outer dial (assembled or not). By the way the lume on this watch isn't too bad. I'm not sure I'll have it Super-lumed (i'm definitely keeping lume out of my nose).

Thanks for the replies. I'm sorry to hear that you had bad experiences with their products. I was hoping that they were a source for good (and inexpensive) plating kits. I wonder if their Black Chromate or Black Oxide kits are worth trying (has anyone tried them?).

This may be old news to many of you, but I just stumbled upon this site (I haven't tried their products yet): www.caswellplating.com/kits/index.html It looks like they have a way to touch-up the plating on watches (or other small items) without disassembling the entire watch. They also sell products that allow you to 'blacken' steel (at room temp). I'll let you know if I buy anything from them. I just wanted to share this information in case it was of use to anyone out there. Good luck.

Thanks for the information, I'll confirm, when I get the package, if the outer dial is removable (it would be so nice if it is). Don't re-lume your brain... it will make your snot glow!

Update: My limited knowledge of Breitling dials may have lead me down the wrong path. As I stated in a previous post, my intent was to purchase the black/silver BCE and a separate slate-grey dial. Once I received the package, I would replace the inner (black/silver) dial with the Slate Grey dial giving me the correct color combination (Slate Grey inner dial, Black outer dial). Ruby was kind enough to source a Slate dial and a black/silver BCE (see picture). It appears, unfortunately, that the inner and outer dial is ONE PIECE. Can anyone confirm this (can they be separated easily)? I'm still going to purchase these items from Ruby, but it appears that my "brilliant" idea may be a flop.

Per Subzero's request, here's a picture of the Grey Dial version for your reference. As you can see, this one has blue screws (from Josh). Sorry, I should have cleaned it before taking pictures (I wear it too often). The screws that hold the case together appear to be some strange 5-sided screw head. I assume that this would require a special tool for servicing (but then again, I'm not a watchsmith). Bummer that a special tool is required to remove the straps (good thing I like the black). On another note, I see that Subzero is selling a BCE ultimate, just when I have one on order from Ruby, DANG!

I, too love this watch (I have the grey version). It cost more than I would have liked to pay, but it's a thing of beauty. The strap is a bit uncomfortable (the clasp digs into my wrist), but otherwise it's great (and it keeps excellent time).

It looks like Tritec uses a Stylograph pen to apply their Luminous Pigment: http://www.rctritec.com/index.php?id=15 Does anyone know about this setup (or if there's something similar available in the US)? Maybe a sharp toothpick works just as well in a skilled hand (the weakest link may be between the brain and the fingers).

I must admit that I was bitten by the Rep bug while in Mexico. I found what I thought was a 'High-end' Rep dealer. He had Chopard, Porsche, Breitling, etc. (not just the Rolexes that you see everywhere). I purchased 2 watches for $300usd (Breitling and Porsche). Now that I've become educated (mainly because of this forum), I can see that I WAY over-paid. Vric is right, I could have bought the same watches from Silix for much less. Education is power!

Great thread. I very much appreciate your "experiment". Any chance you'll try using Super Luminova at some point (per The Zigmeister)? I might have to give this a try myself (when I have a dial I don't mind ruining).

I just found out from Ruby that it's possible to purchase a separate Slate-Grey dial. So... I'll be purchasing the black/silver subdial BCE and a separate slate-grey dial (thanks Mickey Padge). When I get tired of the Black/Silver version, I'll install the Slate-Grey dial (and maybe upgrade the lume at the same time). It will be a while, but when it's done, I'll post pictures.

I was excited when I heard that Angus might have a version with the dark outer dial, but it wasn't the case. This is the response I received from Angus: Actually it has a grey outer dial but just the light reflection shows it is black. Sorry about that. I'm now looking into ordering the black/silver subdial watch and a slate dial seperately (oh the price of being picky!)

I contacted Angus regarding his Slate BCE. He has informed me that the watch he has does NOT have a Black outer dial, it's Slate (bummer). He said that his picture just makes the outer dial look Black.

Thanks for the response. You might be correct, the screws may just be for decoration (good thing I haven't tried removing them). At this point, my problem is that the rubber on the strap is so stiff that if there are spring bars, I can't get to them. I guess I'll have to take it to a watchsmith if I want to change the strap.

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After looking at the Gen's at the Breitling dealer, I would have to go with Slate (I have a rep on order right now). For me it's the best balance between casual and elegant.

Dave, as usual you have been of great help, Thank you! I'll immediately send Ruby a picture from Angus's website. I noticed that Angus had that watch in stock, but I didn't notice the outer dial color (good eye). Ruby emailed me today saying that she had to order a watch for me from the factory (the one she had left looked pretty bad), this will give me the opportunity to specify the version with the darker outer dial color. Perfect timing, I really appreciate your input!!

I'll try to post more often, I just don't have the knowledge that most of you have (I pretty-much just have questions). It may take me a while, but I'll get there. By the way, I'm in the process of getting a Slate BCE from Ruby based on you're recommendations (thanks).