The case of the re-lumed tritium seconds hand

[sukurux]

Recently bought a Tudor sub 75090 and got it serviced by an independent watchmaker. The seconds hand was already in dire straights (see first photo). When I got it back 2 weeks later, everything looked great EXCEPT that he re-lumed the seconds hand (second photo). I imagine the rest of the tritium flaked off when he was servicing it, and so he took it upon himself to re-lume. Does it look terrible? Should I try to find a replacement? Does it devalue the watch significantly?

[southtexas]

Definitely does not look good, but it didn’t look good to begin with. You should be able to find another one that matches for not too much money, or have someone who knows what they’re doing relume it for you.

As an aside, I sent my 1965 Tudor sub off to the watchmaker for a service. Prior to doing so, I took pics of it under blacklight.

I got it back and everything looked great. Several weeks later, I was playing with the blacklight and, low and behold, half of the base of the hour hand had been relumed. Made me very angry that it was done and not mentioned. I understand that s**t happens and he might’ve knocked it out during hand removal, but to then not mention it is just wrong.

Moral of the story- take good photos of your watch before service, and then look very closely at it upon its return.


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[Tools]

Fixing missing lume on the seconds hand will have zero affect on the value of your watch.

If you don't like it, you can always have somebody knock it back out again.

[sukurux]

Lol seriously considering it.

[sukurux]

Originally Posted by southtexas

Definitely does not look good, but it didn’t look good to begin with. You should be able to find another one that matches for not too much money, or have someone who knows what they’re doing relume it for you.

As an aside, I sent my 1965 Tudor sub off to the watchmaker for a service. Prior to doing so, I took pics of it under blacklight.

I got it back and everything looked great. Several weeks later, I was playing with the blacklight and, low and behold, half of the base of the hour hand had been relumed. Made me very angry that it was done and not mentioned. I understand that s**t happens and he might’ve knocked it out during hand removal, but to then not mention it is just wrong.

Moral of the story- take good photos of your watch before service, and then look very closely at it upon its return.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Damn, what a way to find out! Yeah, didn’t notice until i got home. A bit upset, but not the end of the world. The watch looks super clean though. Took the time to thoroughly clean the hands

[toxicavenger]

Originally Posted by Tools

Fixing missing lume on the seconds hand will have zero affect on the value of your watch.

If you don't like it, you can always have somebody knock it back out again.

^^^ Completely correct. Lume usually does not match the hands and dial anyway. So it is not a big deal. What is a big deal is lume flaking off and damaging your movement.

Enjoy the watch and wear the heck out of it.

[Dr.Smellody]

Needed a touch of black coffee mixed into it.

[sukurux]

Originally Posted by Dr.Smellody

Needed a touch of black coffee mixed into it.

Wow, really? Can I do this myself? Literally just submerging the hand in cup of black coffee? I have a ton of coffee at home.

[henrylee]

Personally think it looks better

[epicurus]

Defiinately better than what it was.

[uncleluck]

Bit of a shame. Kind of one of my pet hates with some people that relume, he’s used way too much binder. I’d be pretty confident I could have mixed a match of colour with less binder (dries without that wet look) & gone over what was there already filling in the hole and stabilising it.

[BelovedWatch]

My main concern would be where that little piece of lume went. Worst case into the date aperture damaging the date wheel. Not a big deal as long as the loose lume doesn't damage the dial.

Good luck!

[05carbondrz]

Originally Posted by Tools

Fixing missing lume on the seconds hand will have zero affect on the value of your watch.

If you don't like it, you can always have somebody knock it back out again.

I disagree,The Buyers I deal with are EXTREMELY picky.

[sukurux]

Originally Posted by BelovedWatch

My main concern would be where that little piece of lume went. Worst case into the date aperture damaging the date wheel. Not a big deal as long as the loose lume doesn't damage the dial.

Good luck!

Luckily the date function continues to work. The movement was disassembled and cleaned up.

[toxicavenger]

Originally Posted by 05carbondrz

I disagree,The Buyers I deal with are EXTREMELY picky.

Luckily not all buyers are watch nerds.

[214270Explorer]

Your service person may have re-lumed the hand, or replaced it.

Keep in mind that there is no guarantee that if you find a matching replacement, it too, may flake in the future. Stuff happens.

No devaluation the way it is now, as Larry stated, so enjoy. There is no big deal here. This would not bother me, and I can be picky.

[sukurux]

Originally Posted by 214270Explorer

Your service person may have re-lumed the hand, or replaced it.

Keep in mind that there is no guarantee that if you find a matching replacement, it too, may flake in the future. Stuff happens.

No devaluation the way it is now, as Larry stated, so enjoy. There is no big deal here. This would not bother me, and I can be picky.

[sukurux]

I was replacing the bezel and the pip from the original fell out on to the floor. I had a mini panic attack, but was able to locate it after 15 minutes of frantic searching. Will post photos of the new bezel when there's better lighting.

[Dan S]

In your photos, you can see that the pearl was not installed correctly in that blank insert.

[springer]

Originally Posted by Dan S

In your photos, you can see that the pearl was not installed correctly in that blank insert.

I noticed this too. The pearl should be pressed in from the top of the bezel insert, not from the bottom.

Also, missing lume on vintage seconds hands is not that uncommon at all. Many of these hands have been replaced or relumed due to the lume not being very stable after several decades of use. How does it affect the value of the watch - at the most, it would be minimal. Granted, it might take a few weeks to find a tritium hand with matching patina, but having the lume replaced would be the choice for most collectors. After all, it's a seconds hand and the lume was never intended to last forever.

[mountainjogger]

Originally Posted by springer

I noticed this too. The pearl should be pressed in from the top of the bezel insert, not from the bottom.

Also, missing lume on vintage seconds hands is not that uncommon at all. Many of these hands have been replaced or relumed due to the lume not being very stable after several decades of use. How does it affect the value of the watch - at the most, it would be minimal. Granted, it might take a few weeks to find a tritium hand with matching patina, but having the lume replaced would be the choice for most collectors. After all, it's a seconds hand and the lume was never intended to last forever.

Have to agree with Springer. No more water in your boat than you started with. I would not sweat it.

[sukurux]

Took shots of the new insert

[sukurux]

Thought 36mm might be a bit too small, but not bad at all I think.