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Vintagized Tritium Pearl ...what do you think?


bruce79

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Well, after deciding to hold onto my 16800 for a bit longer, I thought I should take care of what has been a big eye sore for me. The pearl! Although I installed a gen bezel insert, the fact that the pearl was super lumed and the dial/hands were not, bugged me. I'd always admired those amber tritium pearls that were so orange and so beautiful...just screamed vintage. So I set out this morning to achieve what I'd wanted for so long...an amber tritium pearl for my 16800. Quick jump to the local Ace Hardware and done! What do you think? Should I go darker? I can say this, I fell in love with my 16800 all over again. :lol:

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I think it looks quite good, near perfect! I would not go darker, but the lume on the dial should have a more yellow/brown/amber touch to look the same age as the pearl IMO. Would be nicer if the lume was not so white on the dial.

Look at the pics in the attachments. These are genuine from around 1983 to 1987 and all have a slightly lighter colour on the dial lume than on the pearl.

The one in the middle / right looks pearlwise similar to yours, but got redialed at an AD. IMO this distorts the vintage look :(

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Edited by chefcook
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Thanks for your feedback. Like Zig said, many times the pearl ages much much more rapidly than the dial and hands...not sure why, perhaps it's because it's exposed to the elements more. But this was definitely the look I was going for. The dial and hands are a light cream color and I've seen many a photos of 16800 with very lightly patina'd dials and amber pearls...thus my inspiration. I can say that the new amber pearl has totally transformed my 16800. It's by far the most gen looking non-gen sub I've ever seen. Plus the amber pearl brings out the cream patina in the dial indices though you can't really see it in the pics above.

As for the technique, I went to Ace Hardware and explained to an employee the exact look I wanted to achieve. He said, without hesitation, Shellac! It's a finish and sealer for all sorts of things...sort of a multi-purpose of sealers but it comes in an amber version...giving whatever it's used on 25 years of instant age. Worked perfect, just one dab on the pearl and it's instant vintage. :)

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Looking good! I've seen many a 16800 with a pearl similar, or even darker than yours with light creamy indicies and hands in contrast. Many of these pearls from this time frame seem to take on an almost chocolate brown in color; not sure what the explanation is, but my guess is either they didn't do a good job sealing those pearls, or maybe something funky with the tritium or other material(s) used.

Oddly enough, I've also seen a good many 16610's (and a few 168000's) with trit pearls from a very similar time proximity with very light colored pearls. This, along with the fact that a lot of the manufacturing of these parts were still outsourced during this period (thus allowing for variations) makes me believe that perhaps the dark pearls from this era were maybe more of a manufacturing issue than anything else. I mean, there are a lot of older inserts and pearls from the plastic era with lighter color pearls still (yet with very naturally faded inserts).

Strange stuff :)

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Interesting. Thanks for sharing your results, It looks great.

Does it dry hard? Like will it come off if you rub it. Maybe I try this on a pearl from a 1680 too, depending on your answer.

Again, thanks for sharing.

It drys hard enough...it's probably not as hard as epoxy or something along those lines but you can rub your finger over it pretty good and it's fine. It drys to a shiny hard resin finish. Hope this helps.

Looking good! I've seen many a 16800 with a pearl similar, or even darker than yours with light creamy indicies and hands in contrast. Many of these pearls from this time frame seem to take on an almost chocolate brown in color; not sure what the explanation is, but my guess is either they didn't do a good job sealing those pearls, or maybe something funky with the tritium or other material(s) used.

Oddly enough, I've also seen a good many 16610's (and a few 168000's) with trit pearls from a very similar time proximity with very light colored pearls. This, along with the fact that a lot of the manufacturing of these parts were still outsourced during this period (thus allowing for variations) makes me believe that perhaps the dark pearls from this era were maybe more of a manufacturing issue than anything else. I mean, there are a lot of older inserts and pearls from the plastic era with lighter color pearls still (yet with very naturally faded inserts).

Strange stuff :)

I know, it seems to be a mixed bag. I really like the contrasted look of the amber pearl and the cream indices. Gives it a vintage look/feel with a somewhat modern sub. I figured, if anything the amber pearl would add to it's character and make it appear more genuine...I haven't seen many rep subs with amber pearls... ^_^

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thank you bruce !!!!!!!!!!!! I had some wood stain that I was contemplating to give a shot at, but.. well... I followed "your" lead .. my colour came out a little lighter but it matches well with Ziggy's vintage lume...after it dried partially I dabbed it with my finger to give it a little rogher texture like it's age.. it came out really well, thanks to your info here !!

you da man.. thanks again..

Aloha~Cheers

R

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Guest carlsbadrolex

Thanks Bruce, but that better not increase the price for when you sell it to me. Well, I guess I will buy the can of whatever it was you used.

Thats incredibly close to the pics I have of the genuine. Just the other night I spent about two hours collecting pics of the 16800 and you nailed it dude!

Here are some pics I found. I have about 20 more of this particular watch as well as a few others.

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Thanks Bruce, but that better not increase the price for when you sell it to me. Well, I guess I will buy the can of whatever it was you used.

Thats incredibly close to the pics I have of the genuine. Just the other night I spent about two hours collecting pics of the 16800 and you nailed it dude!

Here are some pics I found. I have about 20 more of this particular watch as well as a few others.

:lol: I've got a full can of it for you over here my man. Thanks for the comments...all of you! I couldn't be more pleased with the results. Shellac is the Shellit! The results are nothing short of amazing.

Oh and CBR, it most certainly did increase the price for you! We'll talk. :winkiss:

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