Advice, please - redialing a day-date?

[fenway]

I intend to buy a 18038 or 18238 in the next year.

Is it realistic to think that an experienced jeweler could replace the dial on a periodic basis? Does this create a lot of wear on the watch? And would anyone have a ballpark estimate about how much someone would charge to redial a watch?

Sorry if this is a stupid question and thanks in advance for the advice.

[KY..]

If you are buying a watch with papers those papers may show what dial the watch came from the factory with.
Or if you send the watch in to RSC they can look up and see what the original dial was.
They may or may not service the watch if the dial is swapped with a factory dial, but they definitely will not service the watch with an aftermarket dial or aftermarket parts.
Even if the dial is original but has diamonds added later it is still aftermarket.
So I do not recommend installing an aftermarket dial on the watch as it will hurt the resale value a lot.
Keep the original dial in a safe place you bought the watch with if it is a factory dial.
Personally I don’t see any issue if you use another factory dial and hands.
But I would not change it out a lot if times regularly, that’s just me.
I don’t know the fees for dial swaps as results may vary.
Good luck.

[tekno]

I have done all that custom dial crap 20 years ago… it’s not worth it. It doesn’t look factory and will Make it look cheap. Back then no one knew the difference, now days you are likely to get called out. I was a kid and didn’t have the best taste.

Back in the early 2000’s I had a jeweler friend who sold the custom refinished Rolex dials. Spend the money on a real Rolex dial.

Or take the extra money and buy a nicer watch that is crisp. Keep in mind many of the dials on eBay are fake, have fake stones etc.

Spend the extra $ on a factory Rolex President with the look you want.

[Tools]

There are dozens of dials available for the Day-Date.

Dials on these models are replaced all of the time and there is no reason to think that a proper watchmaker couldn't do the job whenever you want to.

Might be an expensive whim if you do this too often.

[Stan Cooper]

Just one datapoint, but recently a local watchmaker removed the dial with radium lume on one of my watches. I sent it to a specialist to remove the radium, clean the dial and relume it with Super Luminova. When I got the dial back the watchmaker reinstalled it. He charged me $40.

[tekno]

I think most have a bench charge of $80-100 depending on your relationship.


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[Bestdj777]

I got quotes on swapping a dial on my DJ back in November and, if I recall correctly, it was around $100 to have it done. I didn’t end up going that route and instead just bought another watch so I’d have watches with both dials I liked.

I’d be apprehensive about swapping it out too often. I’m not an expert but, would imagine, the chances of something getting messed up on your watch increase every time you have something done to it.

[Dan S]

It's not a big deal to swap a dial, but a decent watchmaker will certainly want to charge for their time. And since you don't appear to have an existing relationship with anyone, you will have to figure that part out for yourself. The corner battery-changer will be cheaper, but an AD jewelry store would be safer. As noted above, if possible you should hold onto the original dial.

As an FYI, the word "redial" is generally used to mean something completely different, i.e. restoring or modifying or repainting or refinishing an existing dial. So some people are confused about what you are asking. I infer that you are just asking about replacing an existing dial with a different dial, maybe authentic, maybe not.

[fenway]

Originally Posted by Dan S

As an FYI, the word "redial" is generally used to mean something completely different, i.e. restoring or modifying or repainting or refinishing an existing dial. So some people are confused about what you are asking. I infer that you are just asking about replacing an existing dial with a different dial, maybe authentic, maybe not.

That's exactly what I meant. Sorry for the confusion.

I am torn between a Champagne Tapestry, a factory plain black and a lapis dial. No such confusion for the Sub, the GMT (I do change the bezels occasionally - that's what made me think of it) and the Buckley Datejust I currently have.

Thanks to all for your advice and input.

[miamiclay]

A DD dial swap here is $75.
All three of those are lovely dials. I’ve found the champagne tapestry to be a little harder to read, but only a little.

I think it would be ok if you do not want to swap often, but I wouldn’t try to treat it like changing straps. Every time you swap, there would be some additional risk of damage to the dial and hands, however small.

The risk of damage would likely be higher for tritium dials and hands than it would for no-lume versions. I don’t believe there is lume on any 5-digit DD lapis factory dials, but you may want to seek out no-lume versions of others if you do this. (I don’t actually know whether or not a no-lume version of the champagne tapestry dial was ever offered.)

Good luck, let us know what you do (and of course we’ll want to see pics!)

[Bigdelicious]

Wow some
Good information