Where does it come from???

[samuelhuntington]

Patina

As I was looking at my 91' 16610 and noticing some small signs of a nice patina on my dial and I got to wondering what actually causes a dial to gain patina. Now I know it comes down to age, but will two watches from the same year have the same patina after 30 years if one was kept in a safe all it's life and one was an everyday wearer? I assume the sun probably has a lot to do with it, so will a watch that's worn outside all day have a nicer patina then one that's spent it's life sitting in an office? Maybe nobody knows but any insight would be interesting. Thanks

[samuelhuntington]

Any thoughts or is this a dumb question?

[Tools]

It's not a dumb question.. It's that nobody has done an in-depth, scientific examination of why one watch will darken more than another..

It is thought that moisture will have a more detrimental affect (darken) on patina than other causes. It also seems that sunlight may have a positive affect, while sitting in a safe may lead to a darker colorization..

In any event, no two watches seem to color the same over time consistently.. So, no, two watches exactly 30 years old may not have the same coloring at all..

[md543678]

I had a conversation about this with one of my friends, i really think that its oxidization, The air thats traped in the watch case after awhile breaks down the paint, atleast thats the only reasonable thing I can think of, and the sun helps alittle. Someone else will be along with some insite.

[samuelhuntington]

Thanks, that makes sense. I just love the look of a nice patina. It sets a watch apart from others of the same reference

[ecsub44]

Originally Posted by md543678

I had a conversation about this with one of my friends, i really think that its oxidization, The air thats traped in the watch case after awhile breaks down the paint, atleast thats the only reasonable thing I can think of, and the sun helps alittle. Someone else will be along with some insite.

It seems to me that the sun actually inhibits patina and keeps things quite white.