Jump to content

Dial mark on Zenith


Daneel

Recommended Posts

 

I picked this up on Ebay and love the design, but failed to spot the mark around the 2 o'clock marker. The same issue looks to be starting at 3 o'clock. Can anyone suggest what the problem might be, and the best way to tackle it?

 

Link for higher resolution - http://imgur.com/a/kebkfaP

 

Thank you! 276bff9e25fae7a21f7901aa171fb30f.jpg&key=cc45f2aa08cedb44f34fedc9493e7f6595dcd6ab77c9c89e34be17d32c6e2fad

 

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Difficult to say what it might be, but it is possibly fungus or moisture reacting with the glue holding the marker to the dial.

As to what to do about it, proceed with extreme caution. Examine under high magnification, preferably a microscope, so you can see if the dial finish is damaged, or if the dark mark is only on the surface.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Difficult to say what it might be, but it is possibly fungus or moisture reacting with the glue holding the marker to the dial.
As to what to do about it, proceed with extreme caution. Examine under high magnification, preferably a microscope, so you can see if the dial finish is damaged, or if the dark mark is only on the surface.
Thanks. Is this something I need zenith to do (that's sounding very expensive), or a capable watchmaker can handle?

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chemical recation between markers and dial? Is it a plated dial?
Send an email to Zenith and tell them that you are a long term customer but are dissapointed; can you help? etc.
Agreed. I sent them an email over the weekend, hoping for a reply early this week.

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Having sent the watch to Zenith, the came back to me with a repair bill of $670 for a new crown and gaskets, and another $306 for the dial (which they would not do separately from the crown replacement). Given the value of the watch, I declined to proceed and asked for the watch to be returned. I just picked up a replacement dial and am wondering if I should have a try at fitting it myself, or employ the services of a watchmaker. Does anyone have experience of replacing a dial on a Zenith Elite they can share please? Also, any ideas where to source correctly sized gaskets?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Daneel said:

I just picked up a replacement dial and am wondering if I should have a try at fitting it myself, or employ the services of a watchmaker. Does anyone have experience of replacing a dial on a Zenith Elite they can share please? Also, any ideas where to source correctly sized gaskets?

If you don't plan to do further work on watches in the future I would give it to a watchmaker. He will get all parts needed for you. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Sounds great! And yes, I would use grease for the keyless as well although treating the parts with epilame would make the grease less likely to spread in the long run. Not critical but won’t hurt. My current strategy is to epilame treat all parts getting in contact with oil or grease.
    • Hello everyone, for what it's worth, here is my approach: 1. Escape wheel submerged in Epilame, then dried quickly with a hairdryer. Then the final tip of the pivots are cleaned by poking into pithwood. The logic being that the Epilame is removed at the intended contact point (to avoid any residue that may mix with the oil), but remains in the areas where oil is not supposed to spread to (further down the pivot towards the wheel). The escape wheel teeth also benefit from having Epilame to keep the 9415 in place.  2. I use a syringe to treat only the pallet stones. I suspend the pallet fork with some Rodico so that the stones hang downwards. I notably use a rather thick needle where a drop WON'T form, but rather where the Epilame liquid stays in the needle tip, which I then dip into the pallet stones. It requires some practice to get the right amount of Epilame into the needle tip, but it works for me now. This way, no drop will "jump" onto the pallet fork and potentially go all the way to the pivots.  3. I let the movement run for a few minutes without lubricating the pallet stones... to scrape off the Epilame in the intended contact "channel". Then I remove the balance again and lubricate the exit pallet stone with 3-4 successive drops. See the "channel" that forms on the pallet stone in the picture -- not so easy to see, but it's visible.       I am conflicted about the use of Epliame in balance jewel settings. My impression is that the two jewels sufficiently suspend the oil (even 9010). Apparently Rolex recommends NOT to use Epliame there (heard from a former Rolex service center watchmaker), as it could cause additional wear. Apart from that, I follow specific instructions where I can find them. E.g. the infamous Rolex reverser wheels or sometimes (parts of) the seconds wheel. Exception: I'm currently servicing an Eta 2824 and will probably ignore the service sheet that recommends treating the whole keyless works with Epilame and then using HP1300... I'll skip the Epilame and use 9504 grease.        
    • I'm going to give this a try today/tomorrow on my UTC33/Seiko 66, thanks!
    • Hello and welcome from Leeds, England. 
    • Don't forget Mark is a hard working watch maker so he is also tied up with work. I'm sure he is keeping his eye on this forum making sure it is running along nicely. 
×
×
  • Create New...