From this to that...in the tropics!

[springer]

Many of us here are always on the hunt for our next vintage acquisition and sometimes when lucky, we run across a treasure, a pristine vintage example, and other times the search leads us to a true gem, a "diamond in the rough." We've all been there and can relate to the hunt becoming ever more frustrating as the decades pass us by. While many of the true vintage gems have long been found and made their way into private collections, there are still some treasurers lurking out their and while not 100%, they have many of their original vintage parts still gracing the watch. With some minimal work, some of these new-found treasurers can be brought back to life and provide the new owner with decades of enjoyment. So whether you are a purist, or restorer; whether you prefer beat-up cases or a finely refinished case and lugs; whether you are a connoisseur of fine quality bezel inserts or the scratched and dinged variety; or whether you prefer the original patina from a nice set of matching tritium hands versus a set of hands with missing tritium, pitting or corrosion, the following photos might interest you.

I recently came across an old GMT-MASTER for sale, and while my initial impression wasn't very positive, I took some additional time to examine it and determined that this watch had some potential and might possibly be a true "diamond-in-the-rough" in need of some work to get it back to all its previous glory. My initial evaluation indicated the hands were in poor condition, the dial plots had turned a dark greenish-yellow color, the bracelet needed some work, the crystal was heavily scratched and the movement hadn't been serviced in over a decade. As I continued to look at this watch, I started to concentrate on the positive attributes of the watch after placing all the negative aspects to the side. The dial markers had retained its original tritium lume, the case was very nice, the bezel insert was original and the heavily scratched crystal could be replaced. As I continued to look at the dial, it became clear to me that it had gone tropical and had a very pleasing chocolate color. Since I had never owned a tropical GMT 1675, and this one appeared to have a very nice dial without any damage, I purchased the watch and went to work on bringing it back to life.

One of the areas that would need attention were the hands - having a dial with aesthetically pleasing hands is always a bonus on a vintage Rolex. Sometimes though, that isn't possible and you have to work with what you have. The first order for me was to have the hands repaired while retaining the original tritium. The hands were repaired from the back side, retaining all of the original tritium, and stabilized. They were cleaned ever so carefully to remove as much of the corrosion as possible. While some of the pitting remained, it was minor distraction and they cleaned up very nice.

I had the watch serviced, the crystal replaced, the case touched up and the bracelet repaired. When all was said and done, this old, tropical GMT-MASTER, while looking much better than when I found it, came back to life fairly well.

Below are some before photos, completed photos and a comparison between this GMT and another GMT without the tropical dial.

[jdmi32]

That turned out very nicely John.

[ticktack]

so thats what tropical mean...

[springer]

Originally Posted by ticktack

so thats what tropical mean...

Yes, it has a few definitions from different collectors but basically it is a faded dial and on some, they turn a brownish color which can vary from watch to watch. Many watches claiming to have tropical dials are clearly damaged dials. The tropical dials are most often seen with the glossy dials, but it does happen with the later watches too.

There are several threads here on the forum regarding tropical dials.

[erikscollectables]

Great outcome, nice project!

[omitohud]

I like it. 👍


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[GGGMT]

Inspirational! Thks for sharing.


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[The_Walrus]

Nice restoration of the hands- watch looks great.

[wearl]

Nicely done, looks great!

[ticktack]

Originally Posted by springer

Yes, it has a few definitions from different collectors but basically it is a faded dial and on some, they turn a brownish color which can vary from watch to watch. Many watches claiming to have tropical dials are clearly damaged dials. The tropical dials are most often seen with the glossy dials, but it does happen with the later watches too.

There are several threads here on the forum regarding tropical dials.

thanks mate its very knowledgable!!!

[cell1010]

Nice output. And such a watch is alwys worth rescuing. Although it can turn out in a finacial desaster.

I like the look of your GMT. Congrats.

[lee fowler]

Very nice, who restored the hands??

Lee

[willang]

Wow! Turned out great!

[AS1]

nice work!

[nsumner]

Fantastic John!

It's tough sometimes to set aside the negatives of a particular piece and focus on its positive attributes but you did. You have a great eye and it certainly paid off this time.

That's one nice gmt!

[roll9]

[springer]

Originally Posted by nsumner

Fantastic John!

It's tough sometimes to set aside the negatives of a particular piece and focus on its positive attributes but you did. You have a great eye and it certainly paid off this time.

That's one nice gmt!

Thanks Nate and to all the others for their comments. This watch reminds me of another one that I picked up a few years ago that was also pretty "ratty," but I purchased it in spite of everything. That one came out pretty nice also - circa 1970.

[PoderEsBueno]

Both turned out well - Love that mk2, owner must be a lucky man

[Wesley Crusher]

Nice story, John. That 1675 came out looking great.

[watchcrank]

Another saved to be worn another 20 years! Nice JP!!

[lhanddds]

Very nice John and great write up. Do you have someone locally in your area that helps you with these? You can PM me if you prefer.


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[springer]

Originally Posted by lhanddds

Very nice John and great write up. Do you have someone locally in your area that helps you with these? You can PM me if you prefer.


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Thanks Larry, Mike and to the others who responded.

As far as working on the watches, it is often a "group effort."

[Beaumont Miller II]

John congrats on bringing ANOTHER great watch back to life, well done.

[springer]

Originally Posted by Beaumont Miller II

John congrats on bringing ANOTHER great watch back to life, well done.

Thanks jF.

Just a reminder. there are a couple watch shows in Las Vegas toward the end of May. WWT is Saturday and Sunday and the IWJG is Monday and Tuesday. You should be rested up by now and ready for another road trip.

[TimeToGo]

Great transformation, Amigo!

[greekbum]

Originally Posted by timetogo

great transformation, amigo!

x2

[springer]

Originally Posted by greekbum

x2

Thanks Nick, and Norm!!!