To Lume or not to Lume

[vlydog]

I have searched in many places and have yet to see a MC 7031/0 without its characteristic yellowed home-plate indices.

I am using A DW dial and genuine lumi service replacement hands.

In dozens of photos I have seen of this vintage model, the hands always seem to be a lighter shade than the indices.

Would keeping the dial the way it is and using the hands without re-lume be totally inaccurate?

Thanks

[lhooq]

I've never seen a Luminova service dial for the Tudor 7031/2, and I don't know if one was ever made. However, white hands/white plates would match those on the 7033 prototype, which was displayed alongside the Heritage at Baselworld 2010.

Mind you, I've had my doubts about the provenance of that never-before-seen 7033, but there you go...

[ubiquitous]

Most of the 7031/2 homeplates I've seen have luminous that looks like crud (same goes for the 7149/59/69). Very few exceptions look decent; most have lume plots that appear to be peeling or breaking down and going out of shape.

In the case of accuracy with regards to being correct to a gen; make the plots look like they are doing the same. Shrinking/aging/peeling lume. If you want the dial and hands looking clean, have the dial and hands re-lumed and matched in a light ivory tone.

Personally, I'd lean towards aesthetics instead of accuracy in this case. I'm not particularly fond of how well the gen dials seem to age on these.

Just my opinion...

[vlydog]

In the case of accuracy with regards to being correct to a gen; make the plots look like they are doing the same. Shrinking/aging/peeling lume. If you want the dial and hands looking clean, have the dial and hands re-lumed and matched in a light ivory tone.

Personally, I'd lean towards aesthetics instead of accuracy in this case. I'm not particularly fond of how well the gen dials seem to age on these.

Just my opinion...

I am not fond of the yellowed decaying look either. After posting this I found a watch for sale that had the look I am happy with; the light ivory tone that Ubi speaks of.

Thank you M and R for your suggestions and opinions.

[TeeJay]

If you can find it, I would suggest luming the hands and dial with Revell Night-Color, or Americana Glow in the dark paint (product name and description ) It dries in a creamy off-white color which has a pretty vintage look to it, but it still glows pretty well for a few hours

[lhooq]

B: On your 7031 picture, is it possible that the tritium either fell off or was cleaned off, leaving the dial's surface exposed? It looks very nice, regardless. (Though I am partial to yellowed, shrink-a-dink homeplates!)

[gplracer]

I am going to use Yuki hands, DW subdial hands, and then have the dial lumed to match.

[Dizzy]

I would just relume the dial and hands to whatever color or shade you want. The dial is not gen anyways so who cares. The hands may be gen Tudor but you can relume them also. If you ever want them back to the way they were, just relume them white again with Superluminova. No big deal. The only lume you DONT want to ever touch is tritium because you can't replace it later.

dizz

[vlydog]

Thanks to all who responded. I appreciate very much your opinions and different point of views. I am just waiting to receive the last of my parts and then it is off to have all the juicy bits assembled.

Monte Carlo club, here I come!

[lhooq]

Good luck, B! From what I know about your list of ingredients, it's bound to be a spectacular build!

And congratulations on post #4000!

[vlydog]

decided to go with something close to this:

or perhaps a shade lighter???