Another A385

[John Chris]

You forgot about the WoC dials - white on cappuccino. I've never seen a silver on fume. The two cappuccino dials I've owned, one with white subdials, the other with silver, are both clearly original in the sense of being 1969-1970ish, not service dials. Nor are they faded fumes. The tropical effect is quite different. Without confirming data from Zenith, I wonder whether trying to match runs is productive given how often dials are switched in and out of cases (I plead guilty). Sometimes you just gotta trust your eyes is what I feel. I think I can tell faded fume from unfaded cappuccino. If fading were the explanation, the ones I've seen would not be so uniform. In fact they are identical. And the only way white would change to silver would be by removing white paint to reveal a metal base, but that would eliminate the numerals, and would show up all over the place. Logic says - three different versions, all original. Plenty of other examples, particularly with the different combos found on the Fernsehers, and the De Lucas.

 

[LouS]

John Chris

If fading were the explanation, the ones I've seen would not be so uniform.

These are pretty uniform (thank you Mssrs. Avantnoire & MMMD)

John Chris

And the only way white would change to silver would be by removing white paint to reveal a metal base, but that would eliminate the numerals, and would show up all over the place.

Agree with this bit

John Chris

Logic says - three different versions, all original. Plenty of other examples, particularly with the different combos found on the Fernsehers, and the De Lucas.

Respectfully (always!) disagree. Please show me another of the early El Primeros references that has as much dial variation, despite a rainbow of dials. And the Fernseher variations are due to differential aging in my opinion, apart from the black and blue.

 

[John Chris]

Um, avantnoire's was black originally. Not the same as a purported shift from graduated grey-to-white to graduated browns. My art school-trained eye says it left the factory that same shade. My dear Lou, there's only one way to be sure. When you head off to Urp, leave your fume A385 exposed to heavy UV rays. If, on your return, it looks like mine, I will happily concede the point! All in the name of science!

Btw surely aging doesn't explain all the variations among the blue Fernsehers, with sub- dials and tachy rings varying from blue to grey to black in different combinations - and the date wheels varying between blue and white. No?

 

[MMMD]

Wow, I had presumed that the brown dials were original non-tropical dials, but this thread has pushed me onto the fence. Still leaning that way with Chris, but... let's throw my Mocha-vado into the mix, just for fun.