Service
Pkonos shares a concerning discovery: light brown stains on the dial of his Ulysse Nardin Perpetual Ludwig GMT +/- Limited Edition in Platinum, stored in a safety deposit box. This post delves into the potential causes of such discoloration, particularly focusing on environmental factors within storage and the influence of watch cases. Readers gain valuable insights into watch preservation and the unexpected challenges collectors can face.
Whilst recently rummaging (very carefully) through the safety deposit box, I decided to strap on my UN Perpetual Ludwig GMT +/- Ltd. Ed. in Pt. for the first time in a while only to find that … Alas! – it’s apparently been TOO long of a while.
Appearing amidst the silvery dial’s pretty wave
patterning… light brown stains, like English milk tea, dribbled about the subdial.
(I’m loath to call the localized discoloration "patina.")
I’m left wondering what could have caused this, as:
- the watch has never been near water; and
- the ambient air of the storage area feels nothing but arid.
Very odd.
I’m looking rather suspiciously at the old
watch case by Underwood (purchased some 25 years ago) in which it was stored, as a Breguet Type XX
Aeronavale that I had also placed inside it, next to the UN, appears to show some accelerated
patina on its luminous numerals and hour markers as well.
Quite curious, indeed. Other watches that I have nestled in separate watch cases (in the same safety deposit box) show no visible changes. Perhaps the adhesives or the pigments used in the old Underwood? Possibly- - but after more than a couple of decades, it’s hard to believe that they would still be (if they'd ever been) a cause of discoloration. Hmm,.. maybe the storage case has a propensity to retain moisture.
Oh well.
Back to the Perpetual Ludwig GMT +/-. Unfortunately, my past experiences with the service center in Japan have been far from satisfactory. I suppose I’ll have to look into sending the piece back to its Swiss home… or, perhaps, learn to live with its newly acquired, …ahem, patina.
In any case, lesson learned, memo to self: rotate watches regularly and often!
1 - Safes in banks (or anywhere) are actually quite humid and even if not felt should be considered as such... I recommend maybe a silica gel sachets, which if nt very useful, are not harmful at least ! 2 - Regarding the patina of your Type XX, I have read a few times that leaving the watch in the dark / in a drawer accelerates the patina more than full sunshine (which tends to "burn" dials). I hope you will be able to solve it, but it seems strange that the stains concentrated on 1 spot specifi
Thank you, Montres1, for your insights and recommendations… I’d previously given thought to silica gel sachets, but didn’t deploy them out of (misplaced) concerns about drying out lubrication. Very interesting that a drawer’s darkness can accelerate patina more than sunshine! The dial is undamaged (at least to the extent discernible under a loupe), but the case’s water resistance is suspect, indeed.
Perhaps the lubricants used in the watch soaked into the dial and caused the discoloration? It may show more on this watch compared to others because of the light colored dial? Just a guess...
I’m assuming that the metallic dial (I’m not sure of its composition) isn’t porous, but thank you for your helpful conjectures, JG.
especially after many years with no service, i.e. the same (old) seals. Do you measure the humidity? It should be between 40-60% - everything outside this range could be a disadvantage for the longlivity of a watch, dial etc. and yes, it seems to be a silver dial - i.e. very likely to get patina with higher humidity!
Thank you, Markus. Mea cupla. Years of no service, no measuring of actual humidity. I apologize to my poor Ludwig.
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