Patina on Vintage Omega Dials: A Collector's View

While the primary definition of “patina” is the green film which forms on copper or copper alloys, such as bronze, as a result of oxidation, it has come to be used to describe any acquired change of a surface through age and exposure. Watch collectors, of course, think of it mainly in terms of dial discolorations and other degradations associated with age.

Patinated dials can be perceived very differently, depending both on the type and degree of the changes, and the viewer’s preferences. Many old dials are ravaged by age to such a degree that it is difficult to see anything redeeming about the changes. Perhaps they do have a certain “character”, but their attractiveness is clearly degraded.

In some cases, however, patina not only adds character to a vintage dial, but, through a serendipitous combination of materials used, time, and types of exposure, it actually enhances its beauty. To my mind and eye, this is one of the most interesting variables in vintage watch collecting. A fairly ordinary silver dial can be transformed into one that both oozes character, and provides a very attractive, colorful contrast to the case and/or markers and hands.

The importance of contrast, in my view, can’t be overstated. Much like a champagne colored dial in a yellow gold case, I find that nicely patinated dials are far less interesting when their color comes close to matching that of the case metal. Patinated dials almost invariably look best when they contrast well with the case metal, which most often means white metal.

The classic eggshell patina is light enough to look good in gold cased watches, but my preference is usually for steel or white gold cases. In fact, I find the contrast of a nicely patinated dial and white metal to be extremely attractive. A glossy (or shiny) finish and a matte (or flat) finish compliment each other very well, and, with the right patina, the combination can be beautiful.

Prior to the 1950’s, most manufacturers below the very top-end used dials that developed a great deal of patination over time. In the 1950’s through the early 60’s, some mid/mid-high companies (e.g. IWC, Rolex, etc.) began to use new processes, and their dials proved much more resistant to signs of aging. During that same period, Omega, for some reason (perhaps simply cost consciousness), continued produced watches with dials that had a tendency to degrade readily. In other words, most of their dials were very susceptible to developing strong patina. This could be considered a criticism, of course, as whatever processes Omega (or their suppliers) chose resulted in dials that often changed dramatically over time.

Many such changes did lead to dials looking old and used, rather than aged and charming. But, luckily for vintage watch collectors, there are many, many exceptions. It is ironic, in fact, that the arguably flawed manufacturing processes which resulted in such widespread and severe degradations, would also, in many cases (pun intended!), be responsible for such unique beauty.

The other irony, which dovetails so nicely with the one touched on above, is that Omega made so many excellent watches, featuring such fine movements, that it is both fun, and not terribly difficult to seek out and find really nice examples of a classic, pantinated Seamasters, Constellations or Geneves.

So what motivated me to think about, and delve into the subjects of patina and vintage Omegas? Simple – I was lucky enough to recently find and acquire a very interesting – and to my eye beautiful – example of a patinated Omega dial. It is a so-called “Clous de Paris” textured dial, which is a specific guilloché pattern of hollowed lines that intersect to form tiny pyramidal shapes. The dial also rounds down around the outer chapter ring (similar to a pie-pan), and this contour is accentuated by a two-tone color effect. The patina is a very pleasing orange, which, to my eye, contrasts particularly well with the shiny bezel and case.

And with that, here is my 1952, cal. 354 tangerine dream...