Face Off?

[ron c]

Friends, experts,

I own a mid-80s 5513. It is beautiful and I love it, of course. I bought the 5513 because I love its clean lines, the simplicity of the design. My dilemma is this: mine has the white gold surrounds and I've been staring at this watch long enough that I now know I would prefer that it didn't. It's a small thing, perhaps a minor detail I know, but we own these watches because we care about small, beautiful things, and we sweat the details, right?

Questions for the council: How difficult it is to change the dial? How expensive? Where does one find a quality replacement dial? How does one insure that the dial and the hands somewhat match? Would it be simpler to swap watches?

Any wise counsel appreciated.

Cheers,

Ron

[swish77]

Swapping a dial/hands is simple, but the bigger question is, what is original to the watch? There are 5513s that originally came with dials such as yours (starting in the early '80s, I believe), so if yours is original, wouldn't you want to keep it that way? I could see wanting to source an all-tritium dial for a 5513 if that's what it came with from the factory, but I wouldn't do it otherwise. If you really want an earlier version of the 5513 _ without the white gold around the hour markers _ perhaps pursue one. Good luck either way!

[Beaumont Miller II]

I agree with Aaron. If you are the kind of guy that sweats these details, you need to consider the likelihood that it will bother you that your watch has the wrong dial not to mention the time spent finding the dial and matching handset could be time consuming. There are many nice matted dialed 5513's out there. Be patient and find one that speaks to you, and then decide what to do with the one you currently own.

[HL65]

Originally Posted by Beaumont Miller II

I agree with Aaron. If you are the kind of guy that sweats these details, you need to consider the likelihood that it will bother you that your watch has the wrong dial not to mention the time spent finding the dial and matching handset could be time consuming. There are many nice matted dialed 5513's out there. Be patient and find one that speaks to you, and then decide what to do with the one you currently own.

Good advice John!

[77T]

If you "dial it back" to a pure tritium plot version, the RSC will never service it without changing back to original era dial.

I do understand your issue, is it possible to find a 5512 for your daily wear and sell this one on?

[landroverking]

I wouldn't do it. Trade is an option.

[TurboWatch]

But if it still bothers you, a decent matte 5513 can be had for few extra dollars.

[Ted Shred]

Originally Posted by TurboWatch

But if it still bothers you, a decent matte 5513 can be had for few extra dollars.

Personally, I love the WG surrounds. And I that photo!! Nice!

[ron c]

Thanks, all. Good advice. That's why I come to TRF.