reintitan
2622
That "gold" color is the underlying brass
which is the material most (but not all) watch dials are made of.
You see the same phenomenon on some 5402s as well. The top coat of paint/laquer is either oxidizing or another process is occurring which is slowly "evaporating" the top coat over time. It's probably due to some defect or weakness of the paint used on the dial.
Edit: Notice how the white print on the dial is untouched by the process. It's not degrading like the grey/black top coat paint. The printing on the dial was applied with a "cadran cushion" and used a different paint. It may be that the top coat on these AP dials are actually applied via electrolysis and if so, is actually another metal separate from brass, and it is wearing down over time.
More posts:
Vintage dial
have a look at the bottle foto which was taken about 8 years ago when I purchased the watch. The dial of this 39mm yellow gold chrono was like new just some tiny colour changes around the subdials. The other fotos show the dial as it is today. In the last...
That "gold" color is the underlying brass
which is the material most (but not all) watch dials are made of. You see the same phenomenon on some 5402s as well. The top coat of paint/laquer is either oxidizing or another process is occurring which is slowly "evaporating" the top coat over time. It'...
I think they probably cleaned the dial during service and that further weakened the already degrading finish
It's a matter of personal taste but I would replace the dial and put the original aside for collection purposes.
