Pelagos V6F v4 bezel insert fading

[Almog]

Hey guys,
so after wearing the Pelagos for the past year and a half I've noticed the lume on my insert really fades and it really saddens me as you can't get a replacement bezel from the TDs.

Any ideas?

 

[Cameronh212]

I’ve noticed this ever so slightly on my 2 liner however not nearly as faded as your 12 bezel marker


Sent from my iPhone using RWI

 

[The_Forum_Drunk]

Hey guys,
so after wearing the Pelagos for the past year and a half I've noticed the lume on my insert really fades and it really saddens me as you can't get a replacement bezel from the TDs.

Any ideas?

wow, that looks horrible, really making think twice to buy this..

 

[northernsoul27]

Hi...I was wondering: Since the bezel is pretty much finished anyway, how about taking it off and replacing it with anything that is the right size? I know that would mean that it isn't an 'exact' replica, but considering that the watch bezel looks in terrible shape the way it is, that is personally what I would do. There are lots of bezels here: http://rafflesdials.com/bezel/

 

[p0pperini]

Hi...I was wondering: Since the bezel is pretty much finished anyway, how about taking it off and replacing it with anything that is the right size? I know that would mean that it isn't an 'exact' replica, but considering that the watch bezel looks terrible the way it is, that is personally what I would do. There are lots of bezels here: http://rafflesdials.com/bezel/

The Pelagos bezel design is pretty distinctive, and even though no rep is an "exact" copy, it doesn't mean you might as well just stick any bezel on a watch if the current one's got some issues. I mean, it's a bold suggestion, but I would think there's other avenues to explore.

I don't have a Pelagos, so I'm not certain whether the insert is ceramic and the markers are indented (it looks like they may be indented very slightly, from photos I've been peering at online). If they are, then the insert would be a candidate for a "Molotov" style paint job. Repaint the markers with white (either Sharpie, Molotov marker pen, or Humbrol enamel and thinners would do it) and scrape any excess off with a razor. There's guides on the forum. Of course, if there's no idents then this technique won't work, and it would take a damned steady hand to repaint the markers... But it could still be done, with care.

There's various threads on the rep forums, and various techniques. Google "RWI paint mod" for lots of threads.

 

[northernsoul27]

@popperini: Yeah, I know what you mean. What I meant was, as OP already said that they can't get the original bezel, finding an alternative substitute that is not exactly the same might be better than just throwing the watch away (I had a really cheap Tudor Black Bay from Aliexpress, and the numbers on the bezel were literally put on with transfers...in the end I did end up throwing it away, as half of the numbers had come off and it looked pretty horrendous!).

Your idea is good though (and easier/cheaper compared to replacing the bezel). It looks from the pictures that there are no idents, but it still might be worth it if OP can mask off the edges with tape or something similar. I don't know, bur perhaps there are modders around that specialise in this type of thing?

 

[p0pperini]

@popperini: Yeah, I know what you mean. What I meant was, as OP already said that they can't get the original bezel, finding an alternative substitute that is not exactly the same might be better than just throwing the watch away (I had a really cheap Tudor Black Bay from Aliexpress, and the numbers on the bezel were literally put on with transfers...in the end I did end up throwing it away, as half of the numbers had come off and it looked pretty horrendous!).

Your idea is good though (and easier/cheaper compared to replacing the bezel). It looks from the pictures that there are no idents, but it still might be worth it if OP can mask off the edges with tape or something similar. I don't know, bur perhaps there are modders around that specialise in this type of thing?

northernsoul27 I see what you mean, but the Pelagos is such a distinctive style I can't help thinking it would look too weird with a different design bezel.

Yeah, if there's no indents then masking could be used, but it's a really fiddly/skilled task to accurately mask the numerals. Something like Frisk masking film - as used by airbrush artists - would probably be the best masking medium.