chezlaskin
203
European dial refinishers?
This is a question I throw out to the whole community: I have an OMEGA chronometre (30T2SC rg) that needs a proper dial refinish. The original dial has already been refinished, so I would not be spoiling a great original dial. I have had lots of experience with dials done at Kirk Rich, and sometimes they are great and sometimes they are not. I have been told that there are some superior dial refinishers in Europe. Can anyone recommend what they think (or have heard) is the BEST dial refinisher for a project such as mine? I would appreciate any advice or thoughts about your own experiences. Many thanks.....Michael Laskin
PS: I have also heard that there are NOS dials around occasionally. I tend to doubt that most of those are really original NOS dials, but any information on that might also be of use - thanks
European dial refinishers?
This is a question I throw out to the whole community: I have an OMEGA chronometre (30T2SC rg) that needs a proper dial refinish. The original dial has already been refinished, so I would not be spoiling a great original dial. I have had lots of experienc...
Actually I know...
Hi Michael, actually I have experienced work of 2 of the "superior" or let´s say well known European dial restorers yet. Both of them are located in Germany: Bethge and Causemann. Output was very "mixed" or "unsteady" - sometimes it was a pleasant redial ...
Quote of the month.
.....I have already resigned a little bit and I have started to buy only watches which do not need any restoration on the dial - it is much more pleasant than the anger about bad redials, the hassle sending them back for a redo and the very long waiting p...
Hoi, much appreciated!
Hoi, thank you for the interesting news! please keep me informed best erich
DialcraftInCanada
What a coincidence. I faced this same dilemma, a few years ago for the same watch, in near identical circumstance. I too have a 30T2, with 2 original dials plus another spare redone, and so wanted to go ahead and redo the one which was poorly redone in th...
I am a bit picky.
Hi Rishad. Thanks for your post and pictures. I am very meticulous and picky, especially when I am dealing with vintage dials. To me, the script must look like this to be correct for the dials in that era, particularly the Rg Chronometres. In case there i...
Sorry to say...
Sorry to say, but this dial redo is far from perfect. Wrongly shaped Omega logo, "chronometre" is far too large, script is too bold, circle lines too bold... I think Causemann would have done it better, especially the "wording"... But maybe I am too picky...
Hoi, if your guy is that good
he should move to Switzerland or Germany and make a living there as a dial refinisher. I share Erich's concerns - no dial refinisher to my knowledge is consistently excellent. Keep me updated about this fellow as well. Mike
GoodEyeForDetail
Hi again, Yes, I do see the differences, now that you point them out to me. I thought I was picky too! But I have to say, the job on my watch was/ is good enough for me. I guess this is more due to my being used to the really pathetic re-dials we get in m...
The tricky art of dial refinishing
As I understand it, you need to find a refinisher who specializes in the brand you need done in order to best match the particular fonts and logos used and has the library of these dies to use. You don't want someone who isn't familiar with the nuance of ...
OmegaOutOfDials
Forgot to mention, Omega is sadly out of NOS dials for 30T2 Chronometers. I had written to them at the same time in 2008 asking the same, and was informed their stock had exhausted. The more I look at my dial after reading your posts above, the more I am ...
You will become picky. I am sure.
Hi Rishad. I am quite sure that you are becoming picky like us. And someday, even if you find a refinished dial which is 100% the same like the original, you're still not happy. Why ? because deep in your mind, you know it's not original and that feeling ...
I agree with you Hoipolloi that…
your standards rise the more dials you look at. And eventually, even a 'perfect' repaint will not do. Having said that, the 2nd Omega dial you posted below is not a bad job, at least not considering what he charges. Good value, certainly. I've attached be...
You need to find someone who recognizes
the subtilties in fonts that Omega used . I would rather have them say they did not have the same logos in their files and decline the job rather than go ahead and do it with an incorrect letterform..
You're absolutely right.
It cost me more than 200 usd (shipping included) to have this printed on my dial. Nothing close to the original. I had to put it aside and really don't know what to do with it. Sigh........
I think the moral of this thread is...
that we must be vigilant and proactive when it comes to dial refinishers. Make sure we give them good instruction as to what we want to see done instead of simply relying on them to do it correctly.
Yes, but.....
I agree with that sentiment. I have even gone so far as to include excellent pictures of watches with correct original dials as a template, and still....it's not always perfect. Because of this I almost never buy a watch that needs a dial refinish.....but...
OriginalIsBest
Yes, I agree, original is unbeatable. I only had my 30T2 redone because I already had 2 other original dials spare in hand for the watch. This thread taught me quite a bit. Interesting. Rishad
One of my friends just had a conversation . . .
. . . with Omega's service department regarding dial restoration. His words, in effect, were they don't guarantee the results. The quoted cost for his '59 Seamaster dial was steep, too.
SureTheyWouldDoAGoodJob
No guarantee on a factory re-dial must be in place to safeguard themselves from the likes of picky purists like us. I'm still confident, Omega would do a really good job so it would probably be worth the premium they are charging. They made the original, ...
not sure about their dial refinishing.....
A few years backI had a horrible experience with JLC, sending a vintage dial off to Switzerland for a refinish, and it came back very poorly done - and at an ENORMOUS price in money and time. I don't think any of the Swiss brands refinish dials themselves...
I have seen..
I have seen a so so refinished dial which was shown in a forum and lots of people gave it very generous praise. It's time for those refinishers to do a better job and we should let them know that. Look at this and this they were from a famous redial house...
that's right snak..
.. I did it once (Constellation dial -about 12 years ago) bringing it to the factory in Bienne and the result was absolutely pathetic (wrong color - text at least 5° out of the horizontal !). Second time around -after refusal- only slightly better, b...