Ronin Posted May 23 Report Share Posted May 23 Anyone know when Rolex went from RELIEF/(real)GILT to Printed? About what year / model? (Subs, GMTs) Anyone know of a source of replica/redial vintage dials using the relief vs pad printed gilt? (PM Me if you don't want to share openly). Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted June 5 Author Report Share Posted June 5 Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtools Posted June 5 Report Share Posted June 5 I'd be interested to know as well. I love the look of a gilt dial, but I haven't seen a replica one that is good enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted June 6 Report Share Posted June 6 I believe the last gilt Subs were produced in 1966. But, as with all things Rolex, I do not think anyone (outside Rolex) knows for certain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manodeoro Posted June 6 Report Share Posted June 6 not that easy to get a real-gilt dial ... at the least for a fair price ... nevertheless film-free decal method is a way to make nice real gilt dials ... as long as you have a good control of the process ...here's an example ... all real-gilt except for the depth which is silver printed ...another one ... all real gilt except for the "sub aqua" which is gold printed ...Envoyé de mon moto g(9) power en utilisant Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted June 7 Author Report Share Posted June 7 Nice. Did you make those? I reached out to MQ/Minh who seems to list/differentiate print gilt from ‘depth’ gilt. Assuming by depth they mean ‘relief/real’. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manodeoro Posted June 7 Report Share Posted June 7 Nice. Did you make those? I reached out to MQ/Minh who seems to list/differentiate print gilt from ‘depth’ gilt. Assuming by depth they mean ‘relief/real’. Thanks and YES "depth gilt" ... "real gilt" I guess the best to describe those specific dials would be "negative-relief gilt" as the gilt parts are recessed from the black coat ... but English is not my native language so maybe I'm not certain ...mine got 2 black coats over the polished copper dial plate then 1 white coat for the markers ... finish is 3 coats of nitrocellulosic varnish like they used in the 60ies ... lume is low green glow or just dead lume reactive to UV lightEnvoyé de mon moto g(9) power en utilisant Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WatchN3RD Posted June 8 Report Share Posted June 8 On 6/5/2024 at 8:32 PM, freddy333 said: I believe the last gilt Subs were produced in 1966. But, as with all things Rolex, I do not think anyone (outside Rolex) knows for certain. That sounds dead accurate. The 1675 GMTs were gilt until 1966, possibly '67, but the switch to matte printed dials was definitely in 1967. It would make sense if the switch was company wide vs. a general transition by model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted June 9 Report Share Posted June 9 The exception to this is the 16800 Sub, which 1st appeared with a matte dial in 1979. The 16800's dial was changed to gloss in the mid 1980s I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted June 9 Author Report Share Posted June 9 So here is a follow on. (I have not seen a 1675(3/8) Rootbeer/Nipple in person). Those were "Printed" Gilt correct, as are all the later/current Two-Tone models. "Relief" stopped in the mid-60's all together? Jumping over to Tudor. Were those early 7922, 7923 Relief or Printed. (Again never saw one in person) But I have always been under the impression Tudor was always Pad-Printed pseudo-Gilt. ???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WatchN3RD Posted Monday at 11:47 PM Report Share Posted Monday at 11:47 PM On 6/9/2024 at 2:01 PM, Ronin said: So here is a follow on. (I have not seen a 1675(3/8) Rootbeer/Nipple in person). Those were "Printed" Gilt correct, as are all the later/current Two-Tone models. "Relief" stopped in the mid-60's all together? Jumping over to Tudor. Were those early 7922, 7923 Relief or Printed. (Again never saw one in person) But I have always been under the impression Tudor was always Pad-Printed pseudo-Gilt. ???? Yes the 1675/3s were gilt printed, not true gilt. The brass of the dial did not provide the gold lettering. The writing was screen printed with gold paint, and the indices/nipples and coronet were applied pieces of metal. I'd say you are correct with Tudor being pad printed as well, but I'm not sure about the chapter ring. The chapter rings and the writing look like a different application on most, so perhaps the ring was true gilt... and the writing was printed. It could also be they were printed at different parts in the process. I think it's safe to say the lettering is pad printed though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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