Question On Patina

[Tavli3]

Just purchased an 88 Sub 168000 and the plots and hands are still whitish and they are the original hands and dial. My question is can Patina start at a late date or is it if it hasn't started by a certain date it won't start ever?

With a loupe I can see the hands just starting to turn yellowish. So can a watch be a late bloomer Patina wise?

[Tools]

Not sure what you are talking about..

I have plenty of watches from the 80's and 90's that do not exhibit more than an ivory color or less.

Excessive "patina" is more damage than it is much else.

[Tavli3]

I thought it was normal for the lumes to turn from white to cream or tan color as they age.
Now that you mention it I would say my lumes are an Ivory color. So if that's normal on an 80s watch I feel better.

Thanks

[lhanddds]

Actually putting it in the dark is supposedly what contributes to darker patina. But who wants to do that?

[sillo]

There's no hard timeline. Some watches exhibit vivid patina, others barely any. There's so many factors that play into this and what you see on your watch is completely normal.

[Pureform]

I have a 16800 that had a yellowish patina, after wearing it everyday for 4 months straight no longer yellowish but its creamy now and in some lighting looks white...

[swish77]

There are also theories about patina becoming darker based on where the watch was worn: More humid environments, more patina. Drier environments, less patina. Not sure I buy that, but maybe ....

It often seems random. I have a 3.7 million 5512 that has a nice ivory cream patina, but I've seem the same watch with a close serial number with vivid yellow patina. Go figure.

[stevedssd]

Here's my L serial 5513 virtually no patina at all. It's in rotation so spends time in a safe which makes no difference to the colour. As said above similar age watches can have very different patina

[Tavli3]

Nice watches and thanks for the feedback. Was a bit nervous I got defective or lazy lume since it wasn't turning. One other question does the lack of colored lume effect the value? In other words two exact watches in year and condition, one with patina, one without. Same value?

Here's a picture of mine
Just realized there's no link option for a picture. How do you get the picture in the post?

[sillo]

Originally Posted by Tavli3

Nice watches and thanks for the feedback. Was a bit nervous I got defective or lazy lume since it wasn't turning. One other question does the lack of colored lume effect the value? In other words two exact watches in year and condition, one with patina, one without. Same value?

Here's a picture of mine
Just realized there's no link option for a picture. How do you get the picture in the post?

Use something like Tapatalk, flickr or one of the the other image hosting sites. There's a really simple one, but I forgot the name because I just use Tapatalk.

If they're exactly the same reference, serial range, correct parts and condition I think lume color would have little effect. Maybe slightly more for perfect patina, but I don't think there would be a large difference in price.

[Tavli3]

Sub 168000

[Kingface66]

Originally Posted by lhanddds

Actually putting it in the dark is supposedly what contributes to darker patina. But who wants to do that?

It’s funny, I just pulled out a guitar that had been in its case and under my bed for a few years. Originally, it came out of the Gibson factory in 1987, and I bought it at a pawn shop in 1995. It was an off-white, pearlescent finish that looked like this in 1997:



Yesterday, after removing it from the case, I was shocked (shocked!) to see how much patina it had developed in the dark. Not sure what the relationship is with pearlescent white paint, and the paint used in luminescent dial markers on old watches, but it was an amazing transformation.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[lhanddds]

Originally Posted by Kingface66

It’s funny, I just pulled out a guitar that had been in its case and under my bed for a few years. Originally, it came out of the Gibson factory in 1987, and I bought it at a pawn shop in 1995. It was an off-white, pearlescent finish that looked like this in 1997:



Yesterday, after removing it from the case, I was shocked (shocked!) to see how much patina it had developed in the dark. Not sure what the relationship is with pearlescent white paint, and the paint used in luminescent dial markers on old watches, but it was an amazing transformation.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow, that’s amazing. Is that the same pick guard also?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kingface66]

Originally Posted by lhanddds

Wow, that’s amazing. Is that the same pick guard also?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Larry, that's the original pick guard on it now. The pinup girl decals were put on about 5 or 6 years ago, as were the new/old knobs. Otherwise, the same guitar.
I'd always hoped it would develop a custard yellow patina like old late-50s Juniors. Who knew it would take a few years under the bed!

[Racer X]

Tools is correct: technically speaking, patina is damage. Much like a mild tan, however, many of us like the look even though it’s damage.

As for how long it takes, it definitely seems that the more time that passes, the greater the patina of vintage watches. I have a 1680 form 1969 that has a deeper patina as compared to another 1680 I have from 1979, which is more ivory.