Vintage Air King - Condensation on Face. Help!

[rgrassl22]

This is a new-ish to me vintage Air King from the 60s. Went from crazy humid outdoors to freezing cold coffee shop and noticed a small bit of condensation on the face. I took it out of the cold and it cleared up within 15-20 min with the crown unscrewed.

Currently have the watch under rice. I'm thinking I should send it for a service ASAP but seeing differing opinions on whether to take a watch this old to RSC?

[Tools]

Unscrewing the crown, or putting the watch in rice will do nothing. That's pretty much a cell phone thing. Unscrewing the crown does not open your watch up; all of the seals are inside, around the stem.

If you see condensation, you have moisture in the watch, although if it clears up quickly, there may not be more than usually found in high humid areas.

Take it to a watchmaker if you want it looked at. The "fix" is to unscrew the back and place the watch on a watch hot-plate. When the moisture is gone, the watch is then sealed back up. It is also the only time that a watchmaker can look at the metal parts and see if there is any corrosion present.

[brand_c]

No complaints for RSC for me! These vintage pieces will likely be sent to Lilitz. I really stressed on the no polishing for mine. Did not cost as much as I thought, paid around $800 for it earlier this year

[L.K Johnson]

Took the hair dryer once and blew with cold air until the condensation cleared up…don’t know if that is considered okay but it did the job…

[Widows Son]

Originally Posted by L.K Johnson

Took the hair dryer once and blew with cold air until the condensation cleared up…don’t know if that is considered okay but it did the job…

Well, it solved the moisture problem, but not the root of the problem. The watch still needs to be serviced.