bruce79 Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Looks awesome Bruce, I think it's fine as it is. Let us know your technique? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefcook Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 (edited) 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 Edited July 11, 2008 by chefcook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highoeyazmuhudee Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Good job how'd you do it? some sort of wood stain or something? i agree about the dial needing aging. and i wouldnt go darker either... again GOOD JOB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guanaco Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Looks really good, what's your technique?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Looks very nice indeed Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 I think it looks great, the ones I have seen are typically darker than the dial lume, so this one should be spot on. Great work. RG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Looks good! I agree with Ziggy, a lot of times the pearl is darker than the dial, so I'd leave it like it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce79 Posted July 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir-Lancelot Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Well, once again it seems that there is no general rule. Almost everything can happen to those vintage Rolex Great thread, a lot of new experiences and information, as usual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce79 Posted July 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieselpower Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Looks great. Congratulations on a good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shundi Posted July 12, 2008 Report Share Posted July 12, 2008 Superb work!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanikai Posted July 12, 2008 Report Share Posted July 12, 2008 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest carlsbadrolex Posted July 12, 2008 Report Share Posted July 12, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce79 Posted July 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2008 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. 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazarini Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Great job i love it is this the product u used : http://www.acehardware.com/sm-indian-head-...tml#showReviews I need to do this to one of my projects at hand any one from EU tried that and can tell me what product u used or what would be the equivalent product to that one and can be bought in EU. Regards Laz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce79 Posted July 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Hey Laz, This is the exact product I used. I'm sure other stuff will work just as well though. Best of luck to you. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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