Perrelet James Cook Antarctica Restoration

[manzana]

Hi,

I will be working on restoring Perrelet James Cook Antarctica. 

For those who may not know the brand, Perrelet takes its name from Abraham Louis Perrelet, the inventor of automatic watch movements back in late 1700. The brand, however, did not survive through the turbulent times, and was only re-activated in the 1990s. And that's when Perrelet James Cook Antarctica was born.

I would say that the Perrelet timepieces from the late 1990s and early 2000s seem to be the most beautiful to me. I think the case design and the dial are timeless, hence my personal affinity to the brand.

I already own a two-tone Perrelet Tempest and spotted this Perrelet Antarctica on eBay with some visible damage to the dial and hands. I pulled the trigger and here I am trying to restore it. Also, the bet with the size of the bracelet did not pay off, and I am currently trying to source spare links from Perrelet - what a pain. I already contacted the authorised distributors in the US, the UK and Germany, but apparently everyone in Switzerland is on holiday now!

 

 

As you can see, the dial appears to be water damaged, but the markers are fine. Additionally, the front rotor (the trademark of Perrelet watches) appears to be discoloured in places, which after some inspection seems to be due to stripping of the nickel (or possibly gold) plating on steel rotor. I will be nickel plating soon (using brush technique) and will share pictures soon.

 

I have managed to remove the markers and strip the dial from its colour. I am however unsure whether the original colour was achieved by chemical treatment or painting - the colour seemed to be completely resistant to varnish. It could only be removed by gentle polishing. There is still some left over in the ridges.

I am unsure how to proceed from here. I would like to get back the beautiful blue finish on the dial. I already purchased an airbrush, but I have difficulty in choosing the right paint for the job - I would like to preserve the sharp look of the ridges without putting too many thick coats. I would greatly welcome any advice on what paint would be the best for the job, and how to prep the dial (assume roughing slightly with 1500 sandpaper would do fine?)

Alternatively, is it possible to achieve such deep, aquamarine blue colour by electroplating? That would seem like an ideal solution?

 

Hopefully, all the sweat will pay off. I will keep updating the thread with progress as I go. Happy to answer any questions on my work so far.

[Nucejoe]

How about the movement, in house?

Much like ulysse Nardin the dial, color and design is a halmark of their pieces, and very attractive. Unfortunately I don,t know the first thing about coloring/ painting, just the movements. 

I follow your post with interest.

Best wishes.

 

[AndyHull]

It is possible that the dial is dyed rather than painted. This technique is often used on anodiesd aluminium finishes.

Alternatively it may be a coloured lacquer (similar to nail polish) to give that transparent/metalic look. 

Whatever technique was used, there is probably also a sealing topcoat or clear coat to lock in the finish.

You will most likely need to experiment with scrap metal pieces till you get something you like.

[RyMoeller]

Interesting.  I've not even heard of the Perrelet watch brand until this very post but they have some cool timepieces- I like the "Turbine Family".

Often the color of a watch dial is achieved through a chemical process.  To repeat it you would need to know what metal is used for the substrate (brass, steel, aluminum, etc.) 

Anodizing also comes to mind because you can get some vivid really vivid colors.

[SiZi]

Very cool, and all the best!

[stevew]

nice Watch must take a look on getting one

[Nucejoe]

Is this the double rotor, is the second rotor functional is double rotors? 

[Nucejoe]

14 hours ago, stevew said:

nice Watch must take a look on getting one

Pricy. 

[vinn3]

  good show,    i will be eagerly awaiting more info.  vin

[watchabit]

I have watched many a infomercial satellite feed in the 90's when they were selling these watches. Exuberantly hyped and sold with all the discounting and bundling techniques. I always felt they were pitched to those who didn't know better and at the time I think they were regarded as lower quality "pretty" watches. That said, I always was tempted to buy one but never did as I'd rather spend the money on a quality vintage watch.