Zenith Rainbow Elite 670 - Redial

As I now need reading glasses some watches I own have become less worn as I find the dials hard to read without my glasses.

This is why I mostly wear either my Explorer or W10 these days ...

I have a nice Zenith which was an engagement gift from my wife that I will never sell ... but I don't wear it much as it's fine hands and white dial make it no so easy to read at a glance.

Rather than just allow it to sit in the watch box I was considering having it redialed or just some new hands ...

What are peoples thoughts on this? I don't care about the residual value.

https://i.postimg.cc/d0d2bZgH/zenith-re-dial2.jpg

What would the black face look like with the original hands?

I'd say theres not much risk here if you preserve and store the original dial and hands,

Is the new dial quite easy to source?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ejtrent

I'd say theres not much risk here if you preserve and store the original dial and hands,

Is the new dial quite easy to source?

---

I don’t have a spare dial so the original dial would be used ....

Is it possible to get a nice flat finish on the surface of the dial after you've removed the indices?

White date ring with a black dial always looks a bit cheap to me.

I'd find some wider hands that fit and get them painted black, it's a good look:


https://cdn3.volusion.com/htlyr.vuqk...jpg?1531783001

I think black dial looks very nice. I think that it is worth to make a new dial.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Montello

I don’t have a spare dial so the original dial would be used ....

---

I would not destroy the original dial. A new set of darker hands would do the job without compromising the original parts.

I've seen Rainbow Elite dials on eBay more than once, specifically the orange one. I would keep a watch and see what turns up.

New hands seem the obvious choice, easy to do and the least likely to need changed back if you resell?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Saxon007

I would not destroy the original dial. A new set of darker hands would do the job without compromising the original parts.

I've seen Rainbow Elite dials on eBay more than once, specifically the orange one. I would keep a watch and see what turns up.

---

If I could get my hands on a spare dial at a reasonable price it would be nice to keep the old hands/dial but if I can't I think I'll take the plunge anyway ... it isn't getting worn as it is; I don't care about resale so what's to lose?

Well I showed my mock ups to my wife who wasn't keen .... she said I'd spoil it and just to go out an buy a new watch if that one was hard to read ... can't argue with that really ...

The other possibility is to re-paint the existing hands black, to create contrast, and leave the dial the same. I can assure you that legibility will increase dramatically.
The lume will need stripping to paint the hands, and then re-applying. I can recommend James to do this work, he is excellent.
Dave

I too think you need to keep the dial original
And find black / dark hands to replace the hands on there currently
Do not ruin the original dial, it will not be the same watch as given to you by your wife if you do. (IMO)