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Old 29 May 2019, 04:42 AM   #1
Ashton_Horologist
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Tudor Snowflake Hand Restoration

Hi Guys,

I recently restored some hands for a vintage Snowflake that was done terribly. Thought you might all like to see.

Here are the before pics. A very sad sight indeed.

IMG_3028.jpg

IMG_3029.jpg

And here they are after restoration

IMG_3040.jpg

IMG_3042.jpg
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Old 29 May 2019, 05:09 AM   #2
MikeyV
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Great photos, thanks for takingthe time to post them.

Can you explain a little about what went wrong originally, and the process that you employ to fix them?
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Old 29 May 2019, 05:14 AM   #3
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I see you made some new 'lume' as well. I've done this a few times, and I suspect that the Tudor snowflake hand has to be a complete pain in the @ss to re-lume.

Well done Ashton
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Old 29 May 2019, 06:51 AM   #4
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Hand restoration? Why not simply get new hands?
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Old 29 May 2019, 07:09 AM   #5
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Question: In the photos, it appears that the hands sit at an upward angle, coming from the center stem towards the edges of the dial. Is this an optical illusion, or is this how they're supposed to lay? Or are they loose because they're not connected/"anchored" to the movement?
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Old 29 May 2019, 07:09 AM   #6
Lgear080
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Authentic new snowflake hands? $1.5-2k USD? Job looks pretty good. How does it look under crystal in the sun?
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Old 29 May 2019, 12:07 PM   #7
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Thanks for sharing OP and well done on fixing those snowflake hands.

You sometimes see snowflake hands for sale on Vintage Rolex Forum. Very hard to come by.

I had a 94110 which I sent in for service at the RSC. The RSC said the hands were scraping against the dial and had to be replaced. Unfortunately the RSC only had luminova snowflake hand sets and no tritium hand sets. The luminova hands would always bug me, because they didn't match the tritium dial. That said, I did appreciate the lume on the hands at night. I eventually let the 94110 go.
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Old 29 May 2019, 01:08 PM   #8
Styles Bitchley
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Looks great Ashton.


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Old 30 May 2019, 12:10 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SearChart View Post
I see you made some new 'lume' as well. I've done this a few times, and I suspect that the Tudor snowflake hand has to be a complete pain in the @ss to re-lume.

Well done Ashton
Oh yes, these are an absolute PAIN to re-lume!
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Old 30 May 2019, 12:11 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lgear080 View Post
Authentic new snowflake hands? $1.5-2k USD? Job looks pretty good. How does it look under crystal in the sun?
Yeah, new hands are around $1500. I haven't installed it into the case yet but I am confident it will look great!
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Old 30 May 2019, 12:11 AM   #11
Ashton_Horologist
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Quote:
Originally Posted by piratfisk View Post
Question: In the photos, it appears that the hands sit at an upward angle, coming from the center stem towards the edges of the dial. Is this an optical illusion, or is this how they're supposed to lay? Or are they loose because they're not connected/"anchored" to the movement?
They are only loosely fitted for the photograph.
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Old 30 May 2019, 12:12 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Seibei View Post
Hand restoration? Why not simply get new hands?
I can think of $2000 reasons why...
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Old 30 May 2019, 12:12 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeyV View Post
Great photos, thanks for takingthe time to post them.

Can you explain a little about what went wrong originally, and the process that you employ to fix them?
They were incorrectly lumed by a previous "watchmaker". Unfortunately, I can't take you through the process, that one is a secret.
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Old 30 May 2019, 12:16 AM   #14
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I’d certainly be happy with the outcome :)
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Old 31 May 2019, 01:07 PM   #15
phillip ridley
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I like it, Ashton.
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Old 31 May 2019, 01:56 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashton_Horologist View Post
They were incorrectly lumed by a previous "watchmaker". Unfortunately, I can't take you through the process, that one is a secret.
There seems to be watchmakers and people who happen to know enough to take watches apart.

Well done.
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