I just bought this dial for an Inge 666, please take a look.

The seller said that it was from a 60's 666 and that it was original. Communication was a bit difficult and he was unable to tell me if it was a re-dial.
The photos however, show that it probably is (a redial that is)...the minute markers are flat, gold dots (painted) and are rather inconsistent both in size and shape. I don't know how easy it will be to see this in the enclosed pics but it's easily seen under the loupe.
A friend pointed out that the lume looks a bit too fresh for a 50+ watch. The lettering however, looks perfect under the loupe. The back is a zinc/steel color and not the gold tone seen in the pics.

I am deeply unimpressed by the irregular minute markers, everything else looks OK to me.

Can anyone else offer an opinion?

thanks
Todd

That would have been the find of the century, if it were NOS. I was under the impression that NOS dials for the Ref 666AD were long gone.

Great find. Though I think it's a later date ref 666 dial because the lettering t Swiss t

But what do you make of the irregularly sized and shaped minute markers? They won't look bad on the wrist, but they do look pretty bad under the loupe.
Is this typical of aftermarket redials?

I can't tell for sure, but I suspect it's not a redial but a fake dial, and a "good" one at that.

Ingenieurs were amagnetic and used a Faraday cage to encapsulate the movement. To do this, they used "soft iron" dials. To me the back of your dial looks like brass. Brass is generally slightly non-magnetic, but often has a small amount of iron that makes it slightly magnetic. So I first would see if there is even the slightest magnetic attraction with the back of your dial.

Even if there isn't, it looks like the back has been manipulated a few times, while the front is uncommonly pristine. But, in addition to the dots, there seems to be some very slight irregularities in the printing of Schaffhausen --I can't tell without a giant close-up.

But, given the probability of find something like this, which would be extraordinarily rare, plus the little issues, I would vote that it's 90% a non-OEM, non-factory manufactured dial. But a good one ;)

Thanks Mike,

The back of the dial is not gold (as pictured) but a dull steel/zinc color. I will get a better( more accurate) picture and check for magnetization later tonight. I will also try to post a jumbo picture of the dial so maybe the lettering can be analyzed in greater detail..

thanks as always,
Todd

T

redial TMW

I'm having a tough time getting decent macro shots but perhaps these will help.

The dial is totally amagnetic; no attraction at all even with a few powerful magnets. The more I see the minute markers the more disgusted I become....the producers of this dial-- were they joking with these markers?

Otherwise it is a nice dial. I wonder if someone can perhaps clean up the minute markers without touching the rest of the dial.

Mark and Shing, I'll probably call some of the referrals you gave me.

thanks
Todd

Hi Todd,

Sorry to hear about your situation, although with time and patience I am sure, the restorers will get your ref 666 into authentic, working condition. Nice pics by the way.

comparing your pics with another ref 666 here: www.iwc.com/forum/en/discussion/30351/ , I tend to think your dial is a fake one: principally because the space between 'International' and 'Watch' is too much, and the Ingenieur script with the zig-zag significantly differs.

Would u be able to return it and get your money back ?

My opinion only - corrections welcome.

Also when looking very closely at the font of INGENIEUR I think yours has a different font. ESP the R

And as a lesson : if it looks too good to be true it usually is:( I had that more then once...

Great to see some vintage discussion!

'Oh no, oh no Yoko oh no'

Wow...thanks for your analysis. The seller is on chrono24 and is a private individual with good references here in the U.S. There was a bit of a language barrier and I have no idea if he will entertain a refund. He did however, mention that this was a genuine IWC dial in writing so perhaps I have some recourse?

Hi,
This dial was expensive!, and therefore did not look "too good to be true"...I'm hoping that if enough people on this forum weigh in I may have a shot at a refund when I show the seller this discussion. I do not think it was his intent to deceive me.
thanks

Hi,
Is there an obvious flaw in this picture that I am missing?
thanks
Todd

Hi

Well I didn't mean that you got it as a bargai
But to find a dial from the 50ies in this condition would be too good to be true.

If the seller is honest he will refund either way!

I believe I know the dealer who are talking about. If we are talking about the same person, I attempted a couple of deals with him I got the impression is economical with the truth and was attempting to deceive me. He appears to hide behind the language barrier, and out-of-focus images, to overstate the quality of his product. He has a very personal definition of NOS. :-)
Good luck getting your money back.

The little v cut into the circumference Todd...re-diallers fingerprint.

Don't rely too heavilly on signatures, folk out there can do a lot better than the lot you have highlighted, however this (and the flatter variant) calatrava baton type were produced in stages that re-diallers are not keen (expensive route) to follow and even if they get the signatures correct and the v cannot readilly be viewed...the dial holds a great big 'tell' when repainted.

Perhaps you should have shouted up before you purchased it, don't get too drunk on black ing dials, they're not all that, did they ever make a black/date/ing with that style minute marker (coned)????

Your description sounds very much like the dial-seller. And no, I can't imagine I will have any luck getting a refund.
In this case I behaved like an overly eager child, and not an educated 55 yo man.
An expensive mistake which won't be repeated. Once again, I want to thank everyone who has replied to this thread. I enjoy the education.

best
Todd

Hi,
And thanks very much for sharing this info re: re-diallers signature. I also have wondered if IWC ever made a black/date/ing with this style minute marker.
I've only seen this style of dial with the tiny painted slash style minute markers.
I greatly enjoyed your post and promise to never again get "drunk" on black 666 dials, which is exactly what happened!
I will also use the collective wisdom of this board before I attempt another similar purchase.

best regards,
Todd

Thanks Guys for the discussion. Much appreciated.

I will try to find pictures from a black 666 Inge I once
owned.

I bought it with a nice faded dial and send it back to Schaffhausen. I never thought of a fake dial but in SH they found it out and ave the watch it's proper dial. Not cheap but trey did a great job.

We all learn along the way and I bought many things with adrenaline in my body... not the best to make the right choice.

Oops! Missed this interesting post.

Repainted and wicked! :(

An interesting and very educational thread for me.
I wish to thank all of you for your generosity and wisdom.
These are the things which make this forum such a delightful respite from the outside world!
cheers
Todd