Vintage experts help!

[AgentHsu]

I have a 16808 gold sub, and I do love it.

Something that I grapple with a little bit is that some of the examples I see online have better/cleaner dial contrast, due to better aging. My dial seems to have faded in color and writing, and I do wish it were brighter and more visible. Ideally, I'd like my vintage nipple dial to look brighter and newer, and thought it would be fun to find original parts to give it a facelift. The band and case are in excellent shape. Too bad they don't make nipple dials anymore!

Anyways, I stumbled on a seller with a pristine nipple dial in stock, so I emailed inquiring about it. Upon closer inspection, he mentioned that he did feel like it was TOO PRISTINE, and felt that it might have been refinished. He told me he was going to take down his post because of the chance it would not be 100% original, and so he did. His site proudly claims everything being 100% original, so I respect his honesty.

He ran it by two of his associates, one thinking it could be NOS, and another who believes it was refinished since the tritium unlikely is so perfectly preserved.

My original plan was to buy this dial and sell my original older one (maybe keep it now), but wanted the vintage expert's thoughts. The printing looks superb, and the "experts" did have a hard time deciding if it were genuine/original. The seller has been responsive, has thousands of reviews/references l, all positive, and has shown ethical business behavior.

I as about to purchase, since we reached a fair deal after some haggling. Then I noticed that the zeros and the T swiss T didn't match my current, as well as other examples online. Here's where I need the input of the experts.


Is it possible this is NOS, and Rolex might have made a version that we don't see often?

Should I pull the trigger, as the differences are pretty miniscule?

If it's refurbished/inconclusive, Will it affect resale value if I swapped, and sold my old dial? The craftsmanship on this dial looks fantastic, and is difficult to distinguish from a Rolex printed dial.

And if it's a refurbished dial, should I pay a premium, or should I receive a discount, considering the quality of the work?

[AgentHsu]

Some pics. First is of my original, and second shows the dial in question:

[AgentHsu]

Anyone?

[waspy1]

Of course if it's refurbished then it greatly affects the resale value. The hands also won't match so it'll look pretty bad unless you get new bright white hands. To me the second dial is refinished, I've never seen this font - at best it could be a service dial but this still hammers the resale value. If you do go ahead 'just for fun' then keep all the original parts but there is a significant risk that your good dial degrades out of the watch.

If learn to live with the ageing, pretty much all original 16808 I've seen look similar.


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[joli160]

I think your original dial and hands have aged nicely together. Don't see any reason to change this. If you do wish to fit this new one than the hands will look off, so you need a new set of those as well. Think it is wise to keep the original dial and hands in the box, one day you may regret swapping it.

Don't know about originality of this new dial, but if it is a refurbished dial than usually the value is mostly gone and certainly not worth a premium and will affect strongly the resale value of your watch. Personally I would never fit a refinished dial in my watch, let alone buy a watch with a refinished dial. For that reason alone do keep the original dial. Value of a classic watch is in the dial. Just my 2C only.

I hope somebody chimes in and can tell you if it's a correct dial or not and enable you to go ahead

[Qinhan]

Can't help with your question but, looking at your original dial, I'm struggling to determine what the problem is. Most people like and appreciate a little fade on the dial.

[AgentHsu]

Originally Posted by Qinhan

Can't help with your question but, looking at your original dial, I'm struggling to determine what the problem is. Most people like and appreciate a little fade on the dial.

I think I'm an inbetweener in this case. In love with nipples, but I like my toys looking brand new. Unfortunately this guys asking price is about the cost of an original dial, which doesnt seem like a smart buy now---unless someone can tell me this might be some later version dial. Feels doubtful, though..

[AgentHsu]

I don't mind sourcing some hands, as they aren't very expensive, whereas the dial is, relatively.

[joli160]

Originally Posted by AgentHsu

I don't mind sourcing some hands, as they aren't very expensive, whereas the dial is, relatively.

If you make everything new than don't forget the date wheel

[droptopman]

Beautiful watch. I understand your dilemma but think your current dial is quite nice. I have not seen this "variation" in an original dial.

[Old Expat Beast]

Keep it original. Don't mess it up trying to make it look new.

[Vincent65]

Leave it alone - looks just fine as it is

[fmc000]

Another vote for keeping that beauty original.

[dysondiver]

leave well alone ,,,

[crowncollection]

Looks fine the way it is


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[speedolex]

Originally Posted by AgentHsu

Should I pull the trigger, as the differences are pretty miniscule?

Yes, you should.

Keep the original dial, get a deep discount on the replacement dial, and give your watch a refresh.

What's important here is that it's your watch and in its present condition it disappoints you. You should look at your wrist and be 100% happy all the time. Only a handful of people on the planet would know that the dial may have a slight font nuance and that only matters if you're trying to sell it. Certain Rolexes don't age in a positive way, instead of getting some charming grey fade and khaki lume yours is losing its branding, if it were mine and I had no intention to sell I'd replace it as well.

[joe100]

Why are you going to fiddle with this watch? Leave it alone, your dial is great

[ref1655]

if you are able to verify this replacement dial as a legitimate Rolex factory original then you are 'home free'.

is it possible to procure the dial, have it verified by an independent RSC (or some other legitimate Rolex reference/source) & then return it to the vendor for a full refund in the event you elect not to keep or utilize it?

from the pics, your watch has the appearance of a typical aging dial...if you are hoping to 'refresh' its overall appearance & opt for the replacement dial, you might also want to consider replacing the hands as well.

simply put...should you decide to refurbish the dial/hands, keep the originals & set them aside for the sake of posterity & originality.

[AgentHsu]

Originally Posted by ref1655

if you are able to verify this replacement dial as a legitimate Rolex factory original then you are 'home free'.

is it possible to procure the dial, have it verified by an independent RSC (or some other legitimate Rolex reference/source) & then return it to the vendor for a full refund in the event you elect not to keep or utilize it?

from the pics, your watch has the appearance of a typical aging dial...if you are hoping to 'refresh' its overall appearance & opt for the replacement dial, you might also want to consider replacing the hands as well.

simply put...should you decide to refurbish the dial/hands, keep the originals & set them aside for the sake of posterity & originality.

Trying to do this now. I hope it works out!