Refinished Double Red Sea Dweller dials - I know it’s not right!

[pierson]

I own a 1974 DRSD with a destroyed dial. I can’t afford a mint one, but found these two “refinished” dials. It is all I can pull off.

What do you all think of both? B is brownish, I believe.

And YES I know this is going down frankenwatch world,
But that’s the best I can do today.

[joli160]

I wonder how bad the destroyed dial is to even consider plan A or B.

Wearing a watch with non OEM components would always bug me and not give me the enjoyment I normally get from wearing a nice time piece. It would end up in the drawer.

[KY..]

I don’t know if anyone is going to recommend turning a potentially legitimate DRSD into a fake dialed wannabe…
Can the original dial be repaired or salvaged at all?
If not, I would consider finding a nice authentic Great White dial long before thinking option A or B.

[rootbeer7]

Fake dial or refinished. There’s a massive difference.
There’s some incredible workmanship out there & id imagine many many thousands of refinished dials; relumed, spots removed, damage repaired etc.
OP have you though of having your dial repaired?

[Dom9]

Who does the forum recommend for refinishing/repairing dials? I've always considered it for my badly blistered 9411s but at some point, if they're 'starting again', might be better to keep the originals with the watches and look at other options.

[TuRo]

100% a no no for me personally.

Have you a photo of the original one ?

I just don't see any difference personally in a $300 dial from (say) a Vietnamese company, a repaint on a dial plate or a so-called Artisan Dial creation (that cost £3000-4000!!).

To me they are all Copyright Infringement fakes and a waste of money to boot.

A sympathetic tiny tiny dial spot or edge refurb by say SHWR I'd the only thing I'd even contemplate...and even then I've not been tempted thus far.

[Dom9]

How far back in the catalogue do RSC stock service dials? Do they still exist for 4-digit Rolex and Tudor?

[JDsnewwatch]

Of the two, B looks better (A is just sloppy).

If you must do this, go with B. unfortunately, there is no good answer here.

[1675-David]

it's your watch so do as you please, the only people in the whole world who will have any kind of opinion about it is the handful of guys who reply on this thread!! BUT you did ask for advice so here are my 2 nuggets of wisdom

1. wear it/keep it as it is until you have the resources to source the correct dial. A redial from e-bay is money down the drain.
2. sell it and by a nice white sub

good luck with whatever you decide

[springer]

My first choice would be a red DRSD service dial. They are out there for sale.

[ExplorerI]

You have one with the destroyed dial already? Maybe get that destroyed one refinished?

[Tools]

A replacement dial doesn't make anything a "frankenwatch" unless you are using a red dial on a non-red, then you are making it something that it is not.

Most collectors would want original dials, but would likely pass on completely trashed examples. There is a point where you have to stop with "original" if you want serviceable/functional.

An authentic, original DRSD is a valuable watch. Changing a dial should not be taken lightly. If a dial is changed, the original should be carefully stored for the future.

[1675-David]

Forgot to ask, what's the case condition like... maybe you can post a few images?

[TuRo]

Ref service dials mentioned above that's good legitimate
and perhaps cheapest option:

A Red Swiss luminova service dial and hands typically sells for about £3000 or so. I've seen two sell on eBay last year around that fig.

And cheaper still is a later white swiss luminova set for about £1500-2000 + like this - not strictly period but Rolex.https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155665609...mis&media=COPY.

Either service dial/h-set ostensibly will knock the watches value by about 1/3 unless you keep the old Red dial and h-set of course, which protects the sets value.

Ps We sometimes over pay on the second hand market for service items eg I've seen mint service 93150 sell for £1500 and they are cheaper from RSC. I've spoken to my (notoriously unreliable) friend who thinks a red DRSD SWISS service dial and handset would be under £3000 from an RSC, so worth pursuing perhaps.

Still like to see what the original looks like please ...as years pass by we buyers become more forgiving.

Some of the 1952-59 T-o-g's, Gmts's, Explorer1 and Subs that I had years ago were considered a little bit rough dial condition 35-40 years ago... but now they would be considered average condition ;-)...so time is a healer, when orig. dials get super-scarce.

[one80]

Originally Posted by 1675-David

it's your watch so do as you please, the only people in the whole world who will have any kind of opinion about it is the handful of guys who reply on this thread!!

Agreed!

Originally Posted by Tools

Most collectors would want original dials, but would likely pass on completely trashed examples. There is a point where you have to stop with "original" if you want serviceable/functional.

I think this is a good point also.

Personally, I don't see the logic of persevering with a damaged watch just for the sake of 100% originality, and particularly if this is something you wear day-to-day.

Certainly keep the original dial if you ever want to resell it down the track, or if you go down the path of having it refinished just make sure you are honest and transparent about that, and let the buyer/collector make their decision, but for the sake of getting use and enjoyment out of your watch you should make that your priority.

So whether it's refinished, service, etc you should ultimately do what pleases you.

[Dom9]

Like this sentiment!

[tekno]

Let’s see OG dial.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Sothy]

Are repainted dials considered the same as “fake” ones? (Repainted genuine Rolex dial I mean.)

If you get a service dial for a DRSD, doesn’t the service dial use luminova, have white hour markings without gold surrounds, but still have the DRSD text, or do you lose the red text?

[one80]

Originally Posted by Sothy

Are repainted dials considered the same as “fake” ones? (Repainted genuine Rolex dial I mean.)

If you get a service dial for a DRSD, doesn’t the service dial use luminova, have white hour markings without gold surrounds, but still have the DRSD text, or do you lose the red text?

As you'll see from the rest of the thread there are a range of views on refinished dials...
I have no issue when they are used to bring a watch "back to life" (e.g. in this instance) and just so long as they are acknowledged as refinished. For me, they are a problem occurs when they are being sold as genuine.
Being a vintage Rolex forum, with many collectors who are only looking 100% originality, you will get responses that they are unacceptable and I certainly understand that also from a collecting perspective.



For the 1665 red service dials, yes, they use luminova. I believe there were two types - one with a single line of red text, and the other with two.
More info and examples on:
https://www.drsd.com/watch-info/doub...rsd-dials.html

[Dom9]

Interested to hear who could refinish a dial to a high standard

[tekno]

We need to see the condition first.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[tekno]

Originally Posted by Dom9

Interested to hear who could refinish a dial to a high standard

You can have a decent relume job done and it will look pretty good unless under a Loupe. If the person knows what they are doing, they can replicate the era of lume.

As far as refinishing a whole dial, that’s not something I suggest searching out. IF you found someone good enough it would be smarter and cheaper to buy a service dial I’m going to bet. No one here wants a replica dial.

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by springer

My first choice would be a red DRSD service dial. They are out there for sale.

100% agree.

[Dom9]

Originally Posted by tekno

You can have a decent relume job done and it will look pretty good unless under a Loupe. If the person knows what they are doing, they can replicate the era of lume.

As far as refinishing a whole dial, that’s not something I suggest searching out. IF you found someone good enough it would be smarter and cheaper to buy a service dial I’m going to bet. No one here wants a replica dial.

Pics of mine in this thread: https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=909533