Is this a gilt dial or just aging?

[levallois]

This is a 1966 Explorer #1376xxx. The markings aren't as gold as some but you can see that the second hand, triangle at the 12 position and the 9 are trending toward that color. Others, like the 3 are lighter. The background appears more shiny than matte but I just don't know. What do you all think? Thank you.

[Dan S]

Gilt refers to the printing, not the lume color. It looks like gilt to me, but better photos would help.

[levallois]

Thank you for the reply. Wasn't the gilt lettering associated with a glossy/shiny background? And I would love to post better photos but a photographer I am not. Let me fiddle with it a bit.

[Dan S]

The glossy background can sometimes be captured better by taking a photo at an angle. Also, try to use natural light. And crop away the excess, there's no reason to show anything but the actual watch.

[TurboWatch]

Originally Posted by levallois

This is a 1966 Explorer #1376xxx. The markings aren't as gold as some but you can see that the second hand, triangle at the 12 position and the 9 are trending toward that color. Others, like the 3 are lighter. The background appears more shiny than matte but I just don't know. What do you all think? Thank you.

That's not the way to tell if the dial is actually GILT. There is no such thing as gilt printing; the font is actually the brass/gold color of the dial plate.

You can't really tell from the picture provided. You'll need a macro shot of the fonts and see if they are below the black paint of the dial.

[levallois]

This is as close as I can get. Still not very good. All I have is an iPad and a crummy iPhone 6S to take photos.

[roh123]

It’s an all correct mid 60’s gilt Explorer.

[levallois]

Thank you!