Stabilize hands on this 5513 or not?

[swish77]

Originally Posted by Vincent65

I can usually spot re-lumed/colour-matched hands immediately anyway, so, for me at least, that kills it. The texture and colour is never the same as the original Tritium, however hard they try. Some sellers seem to like doing it to a great many of their wares, and I always think... "Oh, but why?" Why not at least let prospective buyers see them in their original state first, and then decide, before just going ahead with it and spoiling the original integrity of the watch? Of course, some are likely very necessary to 'repair' before any presentation, but my guess is a good few get done when they needn't have been.

There's also - again IMHO - an irrational fear of 'what if particles of loose lume fall in the movement?' OMG! Alert the media! I doubt it will destroy the movement, in the short term. It wouldn't be long before the offending missing chunks of lume made their absence known to the passionately enthusiastic - 'obsessed'? and I speak for myself, too - owner, noticed. It would survive a crumb or two of ancient Tritium, before being sped away to the nearest emergency watch-doctor. They're largely made of Swiss steel, not Swiss chocolate... or cheese...

x2. There's are a couple of things that bug me on vintage Rolexes, but near the top of the list is mismatched patina on the dial and hands. Stabilizing hands, even when done very well, will often change their color/patina, from slightly to a lot.

And as for crumbling tritium from hands ... People often write about their fears of movement damage, but I've always wondered how the tritium actually gets from the hands/dial, and into the movement. There are no gaping holes or gaps that allow that, right? Surely any loose tritium would just sit on the dial surface, and would be noticed before being taken care of (as noted above).

In a worst-case scenario, I'd rather just try to track down an original set of tritium hands and swap 'em out. (Easier said than done, of course.)

[toxicavenger]

This watch has had some lume repair and stabilization. Un-noticeable.

[cowboy music]

Question: What kind of risk, if any, is there of damaging the dial if the lume falls out of the hands?

[toxicavenger]

Originally Posted by cowboy music

Question: What kind of risk, if any, is there of damaging the dial if the lume falls out of the hands?

It can get into the movement and cause issues.

[Fredrik]

Originally Posted by swish77

And as for crumbling tritium from hands ... People often write about their fears of movement damage, but I've always wondered how the tritium actually gets from the hands/dial, and into the movement. There are no gaping holes or gaps that allow that, right? Surely any loose tritium would just sit on the dial surface, and would be noticed before being taken care of (as noted above).

The date aperture.

(If you have a watch with a date...)

[cowboy music]

Originally Posted by toxicavenger

It can get into the movement and cause issues.

Yes, but my question is whether there is any risk of damage to the dial itself. Is the lume hard, and is it possible that it might scratch the surface of the dial?

[toxicavenger]

Originally Posted by cowboy music

Yes, but my question is whether there is any risk of damage to the dial itself. Is the lume hard, and is it possible that it might scratch the surface of the dial?

Doubt it. But some of the older Rolex's has some shitty paint on the dial. So no telling.

[mountainjogger]

Originally Posted by toxicavenger

This watch has had some lume repair and stabilization. Un-noticeable.

Nice watch!

[mountainjogger]

Originally Posted by cowboy music

Question: What kind of risk, if any, is there of damaging the dial if the lume falls out of the hands?

I asked the same question to RCS Dallas to 3 different service reps (they took a while getting back to me on the answer and I had to call multiple days while they kept my watch). Each person told me that the tritium could come in through the "date aperture." I politely explained that the 5513 has no date function and therefore no date aperture.

Each time they said they would go speak to the technician and get back to me. Never got an explanation as to how it could get into the movement on a no date watch.

[toxicavenger]

Originally Posted by mountainjogger

Nice watch!

Thanks, it was a customers watch we worked on.

[saskmh]

As far as damage, I've actually had a gloss dial watch with lume that fell out and got stuck under the hour hand. the movement of the hour hand with the clump of lume stuck underneath scratched the lacquer on the dial. Loose lume inside a watch is just just a bad thing.