Will modern watch dials patinate in time?
Shout out to @Cgmiliani for his earlier article on opinions about patina that made me question this.
I'm wondering if there is any kind of consensus on the extent to which, or even if at all, watches made with modern materials and manufacturing techniques will get patina on their dials in decades to come?
Like Carlos in his post, I'm somewhat on the fence: loving patina in some instances and longing for pristine dials in others. From a romantic standpoint, I like the idea of handing on some of my watches to my boys many years from now when they've got a few dings, maybe a little fade and generally assumed some character that sets them apart. However, I feel like the combination of modern watch making techniques (sapphire crystals, laboratory-type 'clean room' environments, extremely tight tolerances, etc.) mean that the dials of my watches are most likely an hermetically-sealed space that is unlikely to change. But I'm wondering if some models, say those with Hesalite/acrylic or that use certain dial materials might patinate in spite of those modern methods?
What's the feeling, Crunchers? Do you expect your timepieces to patina over time? With the obvious exception of bronze, has anyone got a 'modern' watch (say, manufactured in the past 20 years) that has discoloured or otherwise developed that used and vintage look?
Watch obsessive who believes smaller and cleaner trumps bigger and flashier. Much first hand love for Tudor, Grand Seiko, Longines, Oris, Hamilton, etc. while pining from afar for Rolex, Patek, VC, et...
It’s a very subjective point. I play guitar however I refuse to pay top dollar for fake patina where someone wants to charge we three times the value of it so they can scrape it, whack it with little hammers and drag it along the ground. That said my Les Paul has been through the mill playing live and hard, every ding and scratch is from me. When my boy inherits it I wonder if he will think it’s cool or a badly scratch guitar. I also have a classic car from 1972. It had LOTS of patina when I got it (I.e. wrecked) now it’s in mint condition.
I hope none of mine develop it. I bought them cos they look nice as they are.
I would assume they won’t. New materials tend to be acid-free and have UV resistant dies.
I think modern watch owners take pretty good care of their stuff—at least the people on crunch. Patina’d vintage watches reflect a time of neglect or trauma. But there ARE manufacturers that sell ‘distressed’ new models—don’t think they sell well. If you like patina, live hard with it on your wrist or neglect it in a moldy drawer and see if it survives. Also modern materials may last longer.
With watches I've inherited I quite like it. On watches I've bought myself I don't want it. 🤔
I won’t be around if / when they do, and I know my wife would just throw them out when I’m gone.
I have a couple of watches that I've owned from new for 23 years and they have no patina whatsoever. While neither was babied, it's fair to say that they were not worn on a daily basis and were stored in a watchbox while not in use. I would anyway go out on a limb and say that (relatively) modern watches don't patinate.
I think modern watches highly unlikely to patina. Not only the modern dial materials but the far superior sealing and water resistance.
Hang on a few minutes while I hop in my Tardis to let you know, although I told you that yesterday 🙄
All things are changing with time. Although some things take so long to visibly change you may not be around to see it.
Well first of all thank you very much for the shout out!
I don’t think there’s a specific consensus…. However, I agree with @Chronophobia (Ben). All things, in due time, will degrade and deteriorate…. Leave a space rocket exposed to the elements for long enough and corrosion will make it dissapear. That being said, I think it will take significantly longer to happen with modern materials…
That lead me to my final point here…. Perhaps it’ll be 200 years before it happens, and by that point, what would the perception be about mechanical watches? Would they be though as useless trinkets that should be discarded? Would they be greatly cherished as the memento of the “better times”? Who knows? But the reality is, if we want our kids and their kids and their kids to appreciate that, we need to start trying to pass on the passion and hope for the best.
Thanks for keeping the discussion alive.