1803 dial, is this right

[A1equipment]

Looking at a vintage 1803 made in 1966. Noticed the Tuesday has some
“Fade”. Is this normal, does anything else look off?

[southtexas]

Can’t tell much from those photos. Does dial say “Swiss” only at 6 o’clock? Clear photos would be very helpful.

[ronricks]

Can’t tell from those pics about dial but the lugs have been polished down to toothpicks.

[A1equipment]

Does this show it any better. Thanks for pointing out the lugs.

[CTech]

The bracelet looks to have quite a lot of wear and is a concealed clasp model, a later design not original to a 1966 1803. An original bracelet in good condition costs a lot and repairing this one could also be expensive.

The "fading" of the day wheel is possibly due to a high spot scraping on the underside of the dial, but it's not a big deal as both day and date wheels can be replaced.

The bigger concern is the condition of the case, and apart from the lugs being very thin, as noted above, the rest of the case seems to have been polished very badly.

Another area to look at is the case protrusion near the winding crown. A good case will have a noticeable bulge out from the profile of the bezel, but the angle of these photos doesn't really show whether it is there or if it has been polished away.

Lightly polished 1803 cases should look like this one:

https://www.europeanwatch.com/watch/...APE-35950.html

with a slight bulge and a straight section where the crown screws down.

[alwayshere]

Originally Posted by CTech

The bracelet looks to have quite a lot of wear and is a concealed clasp model, a later design not original to a 1966 1803. An original bracelet in good condition costs a lot and repairing this one could also be expensive.

The "fading" of the day wheel is possibly due to a high spot scraping on the underside of the dial, but it's not a big deal as both day and date wheels can be replaced.

The bigger concern is the condition of the case, and apart from the lugs being very thin, as noted above, the rest of the case seems to have been polished very badly.

Another area to look at is the case protrusion near the winding crown. A good case will have a noticeable bulge out from the profile of the bezel, but the angle of these photos doesn't really show whether it is there or if it has been polished away.

Lightly polished 1803 cases should look like this one:

https://www.europeanwatch.com/watch/...APE-35950.html

with a slight bulge and a straight section where the crown screws down.

great advice and that is a stunning 1803 as an example.

[KY..]

I like the look of the flat black dial but TBH there’s nothing special about this watch unless it is dirt cheap.
And that would still be questionable.

[A1equipment]

So what would a dirt cheap price be?

[jgottsman11]

Originally Posted by A1equipment

So what would a dirt cheap price be?

I wouldn't pay more than $7500 for a watch in this condition. Lugs are gone, bezel is gone, bracelet is terrible

[tommm]

Thats an awful Day Date. Sad to see such a watch being so badly polished.

I'd only buy that for the scrap price of the gold.

[rootbeer7]

The case has been discussed above. I’m not sure about the dial. I returned an 1803 a few years ago as the black dial was aftermarket. The fonts are a giveaway in determining whether it’s real. With that case though, I wouldn’t bother!

[TuRo]

I’m with RB7 - the Swiss (pre 64 footer btw too) is way too over to the right !

[Dan S]

Can you tell from close inspection if it's an actual galvanic gilt dial vs. a matte black dial with painted gold lettering? The lume dots look very greenish, which makes me think the whole dial may be repainted or aftermarket.

[miamiclay]

Originally Posted by Dan S

Can you tell from close inspection if it's an actual galvanic gilt dial vs. a matte black dial with painted gold lettering?

Are there matte galvanic gilt dials? I thought they were all gloss …