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Hi,
I would like to get the dial refurbished on my 60’s Certina. There are a few ugly marks which were from a clumsy previous refurb that I would like repairing.
Attachment 20770
Bill & Sons Ltd have come up on my internet search. Has anyone had any experience of using them? Are there any other companies you can recommend?
Thanks
Paul
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I think David Bill are the best in the UK but the results all depends on how specific you are with your requests.
Font, positioning etc etc
I've had several dials refinished by David Bill & Sons, I' ve been happy with the results and the service. However, you have to accept the limitations associated with refinishing, sometimes the font won 't be a perfect match and the dial colour will vary slightly from the original. Fine sunburst finishes don' t reproduce well, so the refinished dial doesn't look authentic in certain light conditions.
I' ve been unfairly criticised on this forum for recommending dial refinishing, the purists scratch their beards and shake their heads, but it all depends on the watch, the value and ( most importantly) the owners preference. A n original dial with light ageing is always preferrable but in many cases the dial has deteriorated well beyond this stage and having it refinished is the better option. Finding a replacement in better condition is an option but it' s akin to looking for a needle in a haystack.
James Hyman is extremely good but is not cheap
I think you'll find that James can`t refinish dials himself, he may relume them but the actual reprinting will be done by a third party, probably David Bills.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slevin Kelevra
Best way forward for the OP is to take some good photos of the dial, send them to David bills, and have a chat to them.
The dial will have to be removed to be posted off for refinishing, unless things have changed David Bills won't take the watch apart.
If you could post a legible photo it would help. Have you tried looking for donors on Ebay?
D Bill have a good reputation but another refinisher I have heard of is V Soni. As already noted above, refinishers can't work miracles and even a good redial might differ slightly form the original.
https://www.vsonidials.com/
From the micro photo in the OP, this looks like a chronograph.
So please do not go ahead with someone unless they will undertake to re-print it completely, making a new cliche to print from.
Otherwise, so many chronograph dial reprints have one or more of the following
- Mismatched fonts on the numeration of dial and sub-dials
- Different tachy or telemetre scales on the outer, with potentially even more different fonts
- Brand font altered
- Sub-dial markings not the correct size for the dial recesses (or concentric ring texture)
- Sub-dial numeration altered (for instance the running seconds may become 15, 30, 45, 60 when it started as 20, 40, 60)
It seems that quite a few (including reputable) dial re-printers regard the rarer chronograph dials as a patchwork to be made up of different (relatively approximate) elements rather than a single coherent design to be printed whole. they use whatever is in the library, rather than the actual design.
So ask (of any supplier) exactly what they will do for you, to avoid disappointment.
Of course some people are delighted to have a dial returned to as-new condition, even if the coherence of the design has been lost. A while back, I got into quite a heated discussion here with Brendan (ex of this parish) when he showed off a re-done chrono dial that looked new, but nothing like the original. He thought it was great, I thought it had been totally ruined. We agreed to differ