Tudor snowflake just in: service advice

[Glengoyne17]

I'm not an active poster here, I post more on some other fora. Today i received a Tudor Snowflake and I'm looking for more expert advice on what parts to service so I decided to post here and will appreciate any help or suggestions. Before it arrived I had plans to have it fully restored but now that I have it I am no longer sure. I want to keep what is vintage as much as possible. For some areas below I am uncertain if they are the originals or service parts so I'd like to get to know more on what exactly has arrived.

I haven't taken the bracelet of yet, don't want to haste that and damage it.

I am unsure about the hands perhaps having been relumed. The color doesnt completely match the dial so initially I wanted to have them relumed but I don't want to touch old tritium if it is still Tritium. The lume on the hands looks more shiny, does this mean it has already been relumed once? On my 79090 the lume looks completely unshiny.





Second area I am looking at is the insert. Also initially I wanted to replace it as it has aged to a very matte look and shows some wear. Under a Macro the fonts look less refined than on (again) my 79090. However I am not sure if this is an age thing or perhaps a sign of already an aftermarket insert?



pip


Lastly the plexi. from a sideview halfway up it angles to the watch center. I know nothing of these plexi's - is this an original or original service replacement? would either need a polish or a replacement



some more pics. It came on a Rolex 93150 bracelet with 585 endlinks.

[Vincent65]

maybe the hands have been stabilised - hard to tell.

Just pop off the bracelet with a wooden tooth-pick.

Font on insert is not exactly sharp, but doesn't mean it's not genuine.

Plexi looks OK too. Maybe just needs a polish. I'd have it checked at an AD for frequency/if it's running well, and water resistance. Take it from there.

Looks like a nice watch to me.

[Glengoyne17]

Thanks much appreciated. Stabilizing of lume is new to me but thanks to Google I am now aware. It is indeed a very nice watch from a reliable seller so I don't question authenticity. But on these old watches lume is often worked on and inserts/plexis replaced somewhere along the way and just very curious about this one before I even consider any work.

[John in MA]

Only the plexi looks to be a service replacement. Rest looks original to me.

Nice sub.

Hands on the snowflakes have a tendency to be darker then the dial.

[Glengoyne17]

Thanks. Can the "shinyness" of the lume only be explained by stabilizing?

[Brenngun]

The hands definitely look like they have a shininess. If this is stabilizing then it's the first time I've seen it applied to the front of the hands. The watchmaker I use always applies it to the back of the hands not the front. This keeps a natural matte look to the tritium lume.

[Knappo 1307]

The hands on my "past" snowflake look to have been stabilized, and look almost the same as yours... I miss it, great watch!!

[Lgear080]

Pressure test and go. I wouldn't touch a thing if its running well.

[Glengoyne17]

Thanks, did you have it stabilized yourself or was it done by a previous owner? And stabilizer was also applied on the front?

Tried to capture it in different light, reall shiny. This can't be natural, in that case I'll have it repainted with a matching matte color.

[linesiders]

Looks OK from what I can tell. A lot of snowflakes have similar appearance on the front of the hands - I'm not sure how many are due to stabilization.

Insert looks OK (as does rest of watch) thought the camera lens is distorting things a bit.

Nice piece

[Glengoyne17]

Originally Posted by linesiders

A lot of snowflakes have similar appearance on the front of the hands - I'm not sure how many are due to stabilization.

Thanks, so this shiny effect can also be "natural"?

[linesiders]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne17

Thanks, so this shiny effect can also be "natural"?

I think so or an awful lot have been stabilized - including mine. Mine is a 79ish 937xxx which has a similar look. In the darkest room after eyes have adjusted their is still a very faint glow comparable to the hour markers which has no bearing on whether charged or not.

I would be curious to what John in Ma thinks, he is one of the more knowledgeable on these.

[Knappo 1307]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne17

Thanks, did you have it stabilized yourself or was it done by a previous owner? And stabilizer was also applied on the front?

Tried to capture it in different light, reall shiny. This can't be natural, in that case I'll have it repainted with a matching matte color.

Previous owner, but from what I'm reading may have been natural aging... In any case wear it in good health, it's a great watch....

[damo_t]

To the OP.

I recently bought an '81 94110 from a very trusted seller in Berlin. Interestingly it is only my hour hand that has the same "shiny" effect. I queried the seller (as he is quite knowledgeable on Tudor snowflakes) and he responded with this:

your watch is from the last generation of snowflakes. the early ones had problems with the large tritium part on the hour hand, it tended to break or fall off, so they changed that and coated this area on the later ones with some see-through-stuff.

So it may seem that Tudor "stabilised" the hour hand themselves in later models.

I hope this information helps you. Your photos have helped me immensely, as I had trouble capturing the "shiny" effect myself.

Pic is from the original seller for your reference.

Oh yeah......nice watch!

[Glengoyne17]

Wow thanks, i've learned a lot about my watch. Definitely thought something had been done but i'm nt messing with original lume.

I've also been googling plexi's. I think I need the 25-125 according to a pdf I found. I could only find aftermarket online by Clarks. Are they decent? Will ask my AD tomorrow for a quote on an original one as well.

[damo_t]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne17

I've also been googling plexi's. I think I need the 25-125 according to a pdf I found. I could only find aftermarket online by Clarks. Are they decent? Will ask my AD tomorrow for a quote on an original one as well.

What PDF did you find?

I do believe the Tropic 125 is the correct crystal. I have read that the Clark crystal does not get the date magnification right (too large). Again, not from personal experience but reading in forums.

Also, would be interested to know how much an AD would charge for an original.

[linesiders]

Originally Posted by damo_t

To the OP.

I recently bought an '81 94110 from a very trusted seller in Berlin. Interestingly it is only my hour hand that has the same "shiny" effect. I queried the seller (as he is quite knowledgeable on Tudor snowflakes) and he responded with this:

your watch is from the last generation of snowflakes. the early ones had problems with the large tritium part on the hour hand, it tended to break or fall off, so they changed that and coated this area on the later ones with some see-through-stuff.

So it may seem that Tudor "stabilised" the hour hand themselves in later models.

I hope this information helps you. Your photos have helped me immensely, as I had trouble capturing the "shiny" effect myself.

Pic is from the original seller for your reference.

Oh yeah......nice watch!

This is good info and jives a bit with what makes some sense as a lot of the later Flakes are this way. Too many to have all been stabilized by the owners. Would love to see more confirmation n this.

[John in MA]

I have owned both glossy and matte hands with no real bearing on year of issue.

THese are all pics of snowflakes I"ve owned or currently own. Some were matte others were not. The photos don't show it well so I'll layout which year they were from:

1979-matte


1983-matte


1978-glossy


1977-matte


1973-glossy


The 7016 on the far left was from 1972-matte

[damo_t]

Originally Posted by John in MA

I have owned both glossy and matte hands with no real bearing on year of issue.

THese are all pics of snowflakes I"ve owned or currently own. Some were matte others were not. The photos don't show it well so I'll layout which year they were from:

A really helpful post. Very much appreciated.

Some top notch examples!

[Glengoyne17]

Interesting. The pdf I found is here: http://www.esslinger.com/pdfs/rolex%...l%20number.pdf

[John in MA]

Welcome.

Also 9411 uses the tropic 125. 79090 uses 140 iirc. Don't get one of those.

Clark 125's are an ok solution but are a bit wide for some retaining rings.

Replacement should be around $125 from an AD.

[John in MA]

Forgot about this one. IIRC it was from 81.

Glossy hands.

[drainaps]

I agree with opinions stating that shiny hands are not necessarily the product of aftermarket manipulation. It is very true that many Snowie hour hands had issues with lume chipping , and that Tudor tried to solve the issue in newer hands.

My Snowies have matte hands, and I'm not sure I'd appreciate shiny hands though. Matter of taste.

As for your watch, I would not touch anything, except the insert. I have never seen one deteriorating with such a grainy look. It has a kind of sandblasted matte effect. I'm not sure it's original.

I would also look at the traces of rust that show in one of the pictures. You will need to have that checked. Water staying under the bezel isthe usual culprit.

[Glengoyne17]

Thanks again. Going to an AD later today for an insert, he can order one and I get to keep the old one. Also need to adjust the bracelet and hope he can do it better than me. Screws are small and my eyseight up close is poor. With Bracelet off I also need to check the serial.

Then I'm going to wear it a bit. I will need to have it serviced, saw the rust as well so if the movement has to go out might just as well get everything right, ETA service is not that expensive. I'll also aks them to clean the hands, some rust there as well and a mild polish to the case. The Plexi will either be polished or replaced. Aftermarket will only work if magnification is correct. Can anyone confirm Clarks are not correct, or any othr aftermarket plexi that is correct? Will also ask the AD and post back.

I think I'll keep the hands like this for now. I would prefer a matte look but don't like the idea of tampering with original lume. But who knows what I'll think after wearing a little.

[damo_t]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne17

Interesting. The pdf I found is here: http://www.esslinger.com/pdfs/rolex%...l%20number.pdf

Thanks. Cool resource.

[damo_t]

Originally Posted by John in MA

Forgot about this one. IIRC it was from 81.

Glossy hands.

Another beauty. Especially love the year!

[damo_t]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne17

Thanks again. Going to an AD later today for an insert, he can order one and I get to keep the old one. Also need to adjust the bracelet and hope he can do it better than me. Screws are small and my eyseight up close is poor. With Bracelet off I also need to check the serial.

Then I'm going to wear it a bit. I will need to have it serviced, saw the rust as well so if the movement has to go out might just as well get everything right, ETA service is not that expensive. I'll also aks them to clean the hands, some rust there as well and a mild polish to the case. The Plexi will either be polished or replaced. Aftermarket will only work if magnification is correct. Can anyone confirm Clarks are not correct, or any othr aftermarket plexi that is correct? Will also ask the AD and post back.

I think I'll keep the hands like this for now. I would prefer a matte look but don't like the idea of tampering with original lume. But who knows what I'll think after wearing a little.

To give you a better idea of where I heard the magnification issue regarding the Clark crystal, it was when I was trying to find out which crystal was correct for the 94110. My own searching somehow directed me to fora where people were looking to "build" their own "snowflakes". I was quite surprised at the level of detail they had. I won't mention much more as I think it is against forum rules.

I think you should leave the hands as original as you can.

Anyways, post pics after the service!

[Glengoyne17]

Back from the AD. Plexi costs EUR 45 and EUR 65 installed + water tested. They will also dust clean the dial and remove the rust so I ordered it.

A new insert is EUR 85 installed and I get to keep the old one. The watchmaker was not in so they will get back to me next week when the parts arrive. Bracelet was sized (one link removed) so Im am finally wearing it and I have the serial. I have a 1980 94110.

I've also asked the AD for a service quote + mild polish but they couldnt tell without the watchmaker present. Might go to Wesselink and Vreeker here in Alkmaar who did a great job on my 79090.

[Vincent65]

I wouldn't polish that - I'd leave it 'vintage' and with the patina of the years it took to reach your hands - just my view, of course! Good news on the plexi and W/R test. I'd leave that insert in there as well, looks awesome. Cheers.

[Dan Pierce]

Originally Posted by Vincent65

I wouldn't polish that - I'd leave it 'vintage' and with the patina of the years it took to reach your hands - just my view, of course! Good news on the plexi and W/R test. I'd leave that insert in there as well, looks awesome. Cheers.

This!
dP