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Old 7 March 2015, 06:05 AM   #1
aaamax
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At what point is Tropical too tropical?

Here is an interesting dial. The photos are not blurry, this is actually how the dial looks.
It's a bit over the top no?
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Old 7 March 2015, 06:13 AM   #2
Frogman4me
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Yes and no. This is not an ideal tropical, to most its a damaged dial. I still don't mind owning something like this but I would not pay a premium because the seller states "tropical" dial. In fact I would consider this a damaged dial and would expect to pay significantly less than a standard non tropical dial of the same reference.
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Old 7 March 2015, 06:22 AM   #3
MitchSteel
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There's water damaged, and there's sun damaged( tropical).....I'll take the sun damaged.
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Old 7 March 2015, 06:58 AM   #4
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This isn't tropical. This is damaged. There is a distinction.

First off, the whole term "tropical" and "chocolate" are probably somewhere between misnomers, and words that have detached quite a bit from their original meanings...

I think the intent behind "tropical" was to capture a dial that naturally aged and faded from its original, deep, black color to a more faded tone. Generally this fade trends brown, although it can also trend grey.

Your typical seller crowd on eBay, chrono24, etc began co-opting that term to where instances now include dials that are damaged - not aged and intact; not exhibiting evidence of use but care; but outright damage.

I don't consider a damaged dial to be "tropical", or, desirable. And certainly not worth a premium!!!!
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Old 7 March 2015, 12:37 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frogman4me View Post
Yes and no. This is not an ideal tropical, to most its a damaged dial. I still don't mind owning something like this but I would not pay a premium because the seller states "tropical" dial. In fact I would consider this a damaged dial and would expect to pay significantly less than a standard non tropical dial of the same reference.

Agree. Maybe I have no idea what I am talking about but a lot of the watches I see what are tropical are damaged and people are following the fad of tropical. Imo
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Old 7 March 2015, 01:10 PM   #6
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dial is one thing, the lumes are all bad/washed out.

not for me
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Old 7 March 2015, 01:19 PM   #7
LunetteVerde
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IMO Definitely not the following :

1. Tropical
2. Starburst
3. Stardust
4. Milky Way

Just a plain moisture damaged dial dude. Call me cynical but i call a spade a spade


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Old 7 March 2015, 06:20 PM   #8
Vincent65
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Well, she ain't purrty!
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Old 7 March 2015, 06:51 PM   #9
aaamax
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...Just a plain moisture damaged dial dude. Call me cynical but i call a spade a spade
Exactly and the point of my posting… how far some push the boundaries and try to make an actual flaw into a reason to charge a premium.
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Old 7 March 2015, 07:02 PM   #10
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Exactly and the point of my posting… how far some push the boundaries and try to make an actual flaw into a reason to charge a premium.
x2, reminds me of the damaged brown DD dial recently posted where the owner claimed it was a rare stardust dial.
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Old 7 March 2015, 07:31 PM   #11
Vincent65
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I think most would agree (wish to be able) to pay a premium for something like this. A stunning tropical 1665. Photo borrowed from Fabrizio - who posted this on VRF - which I hope is okay.

That's the epitome of tropical, IMHO
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Old 8 March 2015, 12:04 AM   #12
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I'm a huge fan of tropical dials - not a fan of damaged dials. My research points at a handful of watches that have the DNA to turn brown over time and this is down to nothing other than the dial's paint mixture. The stunning DRSD posted above is a Mark II dial that had the ability to turn. Some were changed out at service as Rolex deemed these to be faulty dials, making a tropical MKII DRSD pretty rare. The same goes for the MKII 1680 red sub - there are some stunning tropical examples of faded to brown dials. Other great references that have this DNA are the late 60's/early 70's daytonas where the black paint has turned brown.

The rest for me is damage and not something I would ever buy let alone pay a premium for.
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Old 8 March 2015, 12:06 AM   #13
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I think most would agree (wish to be able) to pay a premium for something like this. A stunning tropical 1665. Photo borrowed from Fabrizio - who posted this on VRF - which I hope is okay.

That's the epitome of tropical, IMHO
It doesn't get any better than that!!!!
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Old 8 March 2015, 12:36 AM   #14
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I was looking at the MF 5513 the other day and was thinking the same thing! If anyone is interested:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1966-Rolex-S...-/191508972671
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Old 8 March 2015, 02:25 AM   #15
PoderEsBueno
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Quote:
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I'm a huge fan of tropical dials - not a fan of damaged dials. My research points at a handful of watches that have the DNA to turn brown over time and this is down to nothing other than the dial's paint mixture. The stunning DRSD posted above is a Mark II dial that had the ability to turn. Some were changed out at service as Rolex deemed these to be faulty dials, making a tropical MKII DRSD pretty rare. The same goes for the MKII 1680 red sub - there are some stunning tropical examples of faded to brown dials. Other great references that have this DNA are the late 60's/early 70's daytonas where the black paint has turned brown.

The rest for me is damage and not something I would ever buy let alone pay a premium for.
I think some early 1675 dials could be added to this list


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Old 8 March 2015, 02:28 AM   #16
jdmi32
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Tropical vs too tropical...
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Old 8 March 2015, 02:31 AM   #17
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Tropical vs too tropical...
Nice visual support
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Old 8 March 2015, 06:41 AM   #18
mluther
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Quote:
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I think some early 1675 dials could be added to this list


Photo Credit:B&S
Agreed PEB, had one in my hand a few weeks ago, took too long deciding and it was sold in a flash.

The above 1675 also shows a peculiarity that I see a lot of, the true tropicals almost always seem to have very light/white plots and hands - not sure why this is, but does seem to be a common element....

As we're talking tropical:

Here's my DRSD:

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Old 8 March 2015, 06:45 AM   #19
Wesley Crusher
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Tropical vs too tropical...
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Old 8 March 2015, 06:57 AM   #20
southtexas
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Too tropical?




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Old 8 March 2015, 07:52 AM   #21
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Too tropical?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just a tad.
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Old 8 March 2015, 07:55 AM   #22
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Tropical vs too tropical...
Ky, you're still my hero, my friend. Geat visual!!!!!!!!!!
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Old 8 March 2015, 08:38 AM   #23
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I beautiful tropical dial is to die for....

Here are a couple I found on the internet and can only dream of...



Photo compliments of RPR
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Old 9 March 2015, 10:30 PM   #24
LunetteVerde
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Tropical vs too tropical...

LMAOOOOO


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