Repairing grandpa's 1680 52879xx

[33matt]

This is my late grandpa's watch that I inherited 13 years ago from my now also deceased uncle
I actually thought it was a fake, as my uncle had 2 fake rolexes as well, and all the watches had some sort of issue, this one being the damaged face. Everything just sat in a box until recently when I took a visit to a local watch shop with my box of watches he had
I'm fixing it to keep on my wrist as a memento but I want to do it right and not ruin the value for my eventual inheritor
The shop, within about a week, found me a dial for $1000 - according to them it's a serial and period correct non service dial
They just sent me a picture this evening, it's a little fuzzy but good enough for a comparison, and I do see differences
I want to verify with you guys that this is correct since this dial thing is so unbelievably complicated and I've had several folks point me here

[stevedssd]

Hi welcome to the forum. We will need to see some detailed photo's of the watch close up and the dial that has been sourced. Ideally in respect of the replacement dial it would be good to have a shot of the back as well as the front close up.

[33matt]

Hm I tried attaching the photos (it wouldn't let me link to my full res pics on my dropbox because I have less than 10 posts), let me try again

[stockegsix]

never seen a dial peel like that before.

[Tom1675]

The existing dial you have does not match the type of your replacement as evidenced by your macro shot.

I have never seen a Rolex dial peel like that, experts will confirm....

[Hollywoodvillain]

i just saw pics of a RED sub that this exact thing happened to only on a smaller scale it peeled like that and lifted a couple lume plots . source a good dial and you will have a nice piece !

[Wahlberg]

First time I've seen such a dial. Good luck.

[themaninblack]

Originally Posted by 33matt

Hm I tried attaching the photos (it wouldn't let me link to my full res pics on my dropbox because I have less than 10 posts), let me try again

I know of a few vintage watch dealers who could write some interesting sales spiel on that dial!

[Speed]

Originally Posted by themaninblack

I know of a few vintage watch dealers who could write some interesting sales spiel on that dial!

Oh yeah. I agree. As I search for a nice vintage Sub...I am reading all kinds of marketing malarkey for watches which look like they've been up a Trucker's A** for decades..

[33matt]

I was mostly concerned about the authenticity of the dial but I finally found that Type A service dials indeed had the P further right under the O on rolex and closed 6s like the one the shop bought
Today I found the sold listing on the dial the watch shop bought (item# 322758765046 ) while looking for examples of mine (did find *one*, item# 311942795235 is my same new dial and is $2500 *choke*) and its indeed a type A Bayeler service dial with the stamped B on the back, so its got real tritium and is period correct for the watch being serviced in the 70s or 80s, no paste, not a fake one and I see white subs with old correct tritium service dials going for the same as with original so I'm okay with the repair
Had to do some reading though!

[buenosdias]

The dial they offered to you is definitely a service dial!
The dial in your watch is/was a MKII Beyeler dial.

Good luck on the hunt!

[Kingface66]

Whoa. That's a beautiful "Shredded Fish Scale Tropical" dial (also known as "I Hate Raking Leaves Tropical", "Mom's Flaky Pie Crust Tropical" and "Burnt Sunday Newspaper Tropical"). They're incredibly sought after now, and generally fetch a few grand more than an otherwise flawless dial. I would keep it as is, and just enjoy it.
It looks stable.

[stevedssd]

Originally Posted by buenosdias

The dial they offered to you is definitely a service dial!
The dial in your watch is/was a MKII Beyeler dial.

Good luck on the hunt!

Spot on

[Vlad]

I think I had a similar dial....