Ageing Case And Crystal?

[Jason]

Hey all,

I am going to start a vintage PAM project soon, and wanted to know everyones techniques for ageing the case and the crystal (this project has plexi instead of crystal)

Thanks for the help and sugestions!

[infinitime]

acrylic crystals can be aged nicely by leaving them out in the sun (after disassembling the watch), after a week or so, the crystal begins to yellow rather nicely... for added effect, do this with the crystal submerged in salt water.

for yellowing the hands and markers, some have suggested the use of watercolor, but i prefer a light coat of tea (which is easier to apply in multiple coats) to darken progressively. finally, for the case, if you are looking for that scratched up look, then tossing it into a bag of loose change (without the crystal), and shaking it for about half an hour, will provide you with some of the most "natural" looking wear on a watch.

Depending on how far you want to go with the vintage look, you can also create artifical "pitting" of the case by leaving a steel case in a saturated solution of salt water for several weeks. Even if it is made of stainless steel, you will begin to see rust and pitting marks on the perimeters.

[chris5264]

for yellowing the hands and markers, some have suggested the use of watercolor, but i prefer a light coat of tea (which is easier to apply in multiple coats) to darken progressively.

Interesting. Do you mean that you just make some tea (black or green I guess) and paint it on the dial and hands?

[infinitime]

Interesting. Do you mean that you just make some tea (black or green I guess) and paint it on the dial and hands?

yup, but a highly concentrated dose... i pour a half cup of boiling water into a cup with two Earl Grey teabags. let soak, (to get the flavor and colour out!), then apply with detailed paint brush...

[oswald]

I'd like to see some pics of the tea technique!

[chris5264]

Just for the hell of it,,,,,I have some of davidsen's gold fiddy hands soaking in some chianti. Should be interesting.

[chris5264]

The Chianti turned them a cool looking red, but not exactly vintage. I ended up getting a stain marker which looks very cool. Basically, I just stained them with a dark stain.

[infinitime]

Not a rep, but here's a picture of my genuine 1970s Chinese Air-Force issued "SHanghai" watch. The hour markers are chrome-plated "dishes" filled with luminscent paint. Unfortunately, the paint in two of the markers fell out... I refilled it with new luminscent paint (which is VERY new looking), then "aged" it with my tea leaf techique. The same with the luminscent paint on the minute hand. Can you guess which two markers with replacement "aged" luminscent paint?

Not a rep, but here's a picture of my genuine 1970s Chinese Air-Force issued "SHanghai" watch. The hour markers are chrome-plated "dishes" filled with luminscent paint. Unfortunately, the paint in two of the markers fell out... I refilled it with new luminscent paint (which is VERY new looking), then "aged" it with my tea leaf techique. The same with the luminscent paint on the minute hand. Can you guess which two markers with replacement "aged" luminscent paint?

[chris5264]

Nice job with the tea, I can't tell which two at all. Here is a pic of one of the low end vintage models going around. I replaced the hands with davidsens capped hands after I stained them, which I think turned out pretty good. I also changed the movement and put in a 6497 which fit very nice. Its not great, but my first vintage attempt.

[infinitime]

Very nice... I really like that model, and was just thinking of getting one myself. Do you mind me asking why you switched out the Russian movement? Isn't it quick similar to the Rolex movement found in the vintage gen? Also, have you had any problems with the threading on the crown stem? I've been told that they wear out prematurely? Thanks for any info!

[chris5264]

Very nice... I really like that model, and was just thinking of getting one myself. Do you mind me asking why you switched out the Russian movement? Isn't it quick similar to the Rolex movement found in the vintage gen? Also, have you had any problems with the threading on the crown stem? I've been told that they wear out prematurely? Thanks for any info!

thanks, great watch for the money. I just personally don't like the Russian movement even if it does look more like the vintage movement. I'm certainly no expert, but the one's I've worked on seem really inferior to even the asian 6497. No problems at all with the crown stem, this seems like a totally different deal than the 183.

[infinitime]

Thanks for your response Chris, I was actually looking at ordering hands from Davidsen myself... I am also testing a new method for aging dials... don't laugh, but i have disassembled a watch, and placed the exposed dial under an UV lamp. My theory is that much of the yellowing on the dials of vintage watches are caused by UV penetration of the paint (albeit increased due to the heat forming underneath the crystal)...ever notice how watches from the tropics, where the wearer gets alot of sunray, tend to look most aged? Too early to tell, but I have had the dial under the lamb for a few hours each day now, and its been a week... I can begin to see the yellowing, and it is much more "natural" looking than using an applied on method with watercolor or tea...

may, this is kind of a black art now...