Rollie
58
Patek 1518 - dial dilemas
Dear Guys,
A friend of mine recently received this Patek 1518. It had spent 40 years in a safety deposit box...so the good news is that it was never polished and the hallmarks are unbelievable. The bad news is the degredation of the dial (sorry the photo is so bad). Anway, the patina of age on the dial is actually great in real life, but the "black dots" are the issue. I don't know what to advise him to do, but I said I would ask. It seems to me 3 questions are obvious:
Question #1. What do you do about the dial. Ignore it and enjoy the watch or send it to Geneva. If it goes to Geneva are there 3 options? Opiton #1 - some type of "acid wash' to remove the spots or lessen them, but retain the patina of age. Option #2 - a restoration where the lacquer comes off and the dial looks almost new , but with all loss of age patina/? Option #3 - something goes wrong in the restoration process and it ends in the dreaded"new dial." So, what could Patek do to lessen the dark spots or does it have to be a full restoration.
Question #2. Why di this happen? Is it a result of mositure or is it simply breakdown of the lacquer/paint on the dial? If a the 1518's are not waterproof and some moisture got in awas this what affected the dial, or is this just normal aging?
Question #3. Patina of age vs the "mint of restoration." Most watches show a patina of age which I assume is due to chages in the lacquer finish of thedial over the years. Yet, the majority of 1518s I see in Patrizzi's photographs are absolutely immaculate and with no patina of age. So my question becomes - what is our "gold standard"? How can any 60 year old watch be truely "mint" and not have a patina of age? Have all of the superb watches we see in photogrpahs have had a "little touch up" or even a major restoration? If these watches sat in a safe in Geneva for 60 years what would their dials look like?
Anyway, I would love to hear people's thoughts both specific as to what do with this dial, but also the whole question of what our standars are as collectors. - patina of age even if there are spots or "mint restoration" or is there truely a "virgin mint."
Thanks, Rollin
T
