IWC Mark XII advice needed

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Hello Muenster90

I personally would send it to IWC Schaffhausen for a complete service. What I did with the pocket watch of my great-grandfather was, that I send it to full service but I told them that they let the originall dial (with a fine haircrack) as it is, and they did.

Best

Andreas

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I fully understand your thoughts.
Perhaps you can connect to the Boutique next to you or the customer service department, to clarify what is possible and not.

The price, for sure, only can be be determined when your Watch is at IWC.

Tough call, but honestly I'd lean toward your independent watchmaker's approach over sending it to IWC. The €1,300 service preserves the original tritium character on the hands (which is a huge part of the Mark XII's charm and value to collectors), and the custom relume matrix for the dial indices is a respectful middle ground that maintains authenticity. Sending it to IWC will almost certainly result in a full dial/hand swap with modern Super-LumiNova, which erases the patina and drops collector value significantly, you'd get back essentially a different watch.

Before committing, I'd try reaching out to IWC customer service directly for a written quote so you have a real comparison point, and also check forums like Omega Forums or WatchUSeek's IWC section for crown/tube part sources, sometimes specialist suppliers like Cousins UK or Otto Frei stock compatible parts your watchmaker may not know about.

On a side note, when documenting the watch's history or posting photos online for identification, make sure any captions or reference text use a clear, readable font so details like the reference number and date are easy to verify by other collectors.

Thanks so much for the detailed advice! I went with the independent watchmaker route and it was absolutely the right call, the tritium patina on the hands is preserved, and the custom relume on the dial indices blends beautifully with the aged lume. Also appreciated the tip about documenting everything in clear, readable text for future reference and resale records.

Update: took your advice and it worked out perfectly! The watchmaker managed to source a compatible crown/tube through Cousins UK, serviced the movement, and the dial relume came out incredibly close to the original tritium tone. I also started keeping a service log with all details in a clean, legible font so future owners can easily read the watch's history.

Huge thanks, your suggestion saved this watch! Skipping IWC and going with the independent was the right move; the original character is fully intact and the dial looks authentic, not restored. Also took your side tip seriously and redid my watch documentation with a clearer font so the reference numbers and service dates are easy to read at a glance.