Vignette dial check?

[miamiclay]

I know there are plenty of fakes of these nowadays - This looks right to me, but some (ok, fine, … lots) of y’all know more than I do!

Looking through old paper auction catalogs, I’ve about decided that I can’t tell anything from the color gradation itself - Among the genuine ones, I’ve seen every variation from almost all black to almost none.

Any thoughts on this 18239 dial?
TIA
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[foxytimes]

I'm not the best expert on these, but it looks right to me too. Color gradation, marker position, lume dots - everything excellent.

The only thing I'm not familiar with is the dial color. I remember a brighter hue of green. But I guess I'm fooled by the many YG dials I saw. It's a different dial, WG, and the almost goodwood green color is certainly suitable in this configuration. From this photo alone it's also difficult to tell if the dial has a matt finish (dial surface) or glossy (day window).

The experts will chime in and maybe give even the exact catalogue number. Nice watch by the way...

[crowncollection]

Originally Posted by miamiclay

I know there are plenty of fakes of these nowadays - This looks right to me, but some (ok, fine, … lots) of y’all know more than I do!

Looking through old paper auction catalogs, I’ve about decided that I can’t tell anything from the color gradation itself - Among the genuine ones, I’ve seen every variation from almost all black to almost none.

Any thoughts on this 18239 dial?
TIA
.

Looks good it’s an early 18239 ?


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[miamiclay]

Originally Posted by foxytimes

I'm not the best expert on these, but it looks right to me too. Color gradation, marker position, lume dots - everything excellent.
[…]
The experts will chime in and maybe give even the exact catalogue number. Nice watch by the way...

Thanks! I have a *very* lo-res image of a WG dial catalogue sheet which may show this type of dial as a number S126 - ?

Originally Posted by crowncollection

Looks good it’s an early 18239 ?

Yes, pretty early, anyway - It’s listed as a 1991.


1M thanks for both your help - TRFers’ endless generosity with their time (and especially with their hard-earned expertise) is truly inspiring.

If anyone else has worthwhile thoughts or info, I’m always eager to learn …

[carwashchris]

It's a beautiful piece, wish I had more experience with the vignettes. I did look at a couple other's before my post. I don't see anything that would lead me to think it's not original.

Chris

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[0nly5iv3Digits]

Looks good to me.

[KY..]

I think this is it or a similar one.
Definitely shows well.

[interestedwatcher]

Everything looks right - lume, diamond, markers - don't rely on colour, as the lighting of the shot or temperature can make the green look different to IRL.

[Incroyable12]

How much do these go for now in WG?

[miamiclay]

Well, this WG green vignette turned out *not* to be an original dial … dammit!

The execution was exceptional - I’m simultaneously impressed and terrified. Here are a couple of macro pics I took.

Seller refunded the payment promptly upon return, no hassles there. It does appear it was sold to another buyer about three weeks before I bought it, and presumably was returned. (Ofc, I can’t know the reason for that return. The seller got it back from me about ten days ago, and has not re-listed it.)
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[KY..]

Originally Posted by miamiclay

Well, this WG green vignette turned out *not* to be an original dial … dammit!

The execution was exceptional - I’m simultaneously impressed and terrified. Here are a couple of macro pics I took.

Interesting to hear…
Without disclosing the exact issue publicly, was there a tell on the front/back with the dial removed from the case?
I do have a blue vignette datejust dial I had previously planned to use on my old 16258 that looks correct to me.

[miamiclay]

Unfortunately idk exactly what the tell was here, but 3 different people with expertise said nope (from photos, without removing the dial.)

I’d’ve been tempted to keep it if there’d even been a split of opinions among them - It looked terrific.

[0nly5iv3Digits]

Originally Posted by miamiclay

Unfortunately idk exactly what the tell was here, but 3 different people with expertise said nope (from photos, without removing the dial.)

I’d’ve been tempted to keep it if there’d even been a split of opinions among them - It looked terrific.

Very curious. But hey, if the experts think it's wrong, it's wrong. Looks spot on for my eyes. The only thing I could possibly fathom is that it's a genuine dial that was re-finished

[carwashchris]

I just looked at the blue one on C24 and compared it to the presumed ( fake ) . If the blue one is good, the only difference i see is the font on the green one seems thicker.

Chris

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[TuRo]

Things I look out for Length/Shape of prongs on all the 5 E's are spot on as are all letter spacings etc

Only difference is the second A of DAY - DATE on green has a serif on RH SIDE of top of letter, whereas Blue doesn't....would have caught me too, probably !

[foxytimes]

Originally Posted by TuRo

Things I look out for Length/Shape of prongs on all the 5 E's are spot on as are all letter spacings etc

Only difference is the second A of DAY - DATE on green has a serif on RH SIDE of top of letter, whereas Blue doesn't....would have caught me too, probably !

The E in Rolex looks now slightly odd to me in this extreme makro-perspective. The lower base seems shorter giving the prongs an unsymmetrical appearance. Most certainly due to distortion.

So where to look at? It has gotten a terrible minefield to find a correct dial/watch. But if the price of a watch is based mainly on the dial it gets interesting for fraudsters. Especially in the lesser common dials where you have less specimens for comparison.

[carwashchris]

1 other thing ( I think i see ) lol
I think the word ROLEX is tilted ( lower on left and higher on the right ) ?? Chris

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[Incroyable12]

I wonder where they make these.

There are some really good aftermarket stone dials now.