I am learning that some things I can fix, some things I can't. I am fast learning that there is no point in me buying a project watch with marginal hands or dials.

Which brings me to the LaRose vs Original dial question.

All the discussions I read on this topic take a dim view on the LaRose replacement dials.

I get that from a hard core collector point of view.

But isn't a watch technically correct and perfectly acceptable sporting a LaRose aftermarket dial?

Weren't these dials made and marketed to replace dials that were damaged or no longer serviceable after many years in the field?

I'm not convinced LaRose dials were marketed to deceive or defraud... I get the impression these dials were marketed to keep a distressed time piece in service... making them perfectly legitimate after market replacements.

Opinions??? Party Line???

At some point collectors will have to deal with reality even if they don't like it. Hamilton melamine dials are dying fast and trying to find one in excellent condition is very slim, and one in good condition, chances are not much better.

I have two Hamilton 992Bs, one that had a bad dial (not as bad as some you see) but I was able to find a near mint double sunk melamine dial but I was lucky. The other 992B has a double sunk metal dial, probably a S LaRose replacement and I am fine with that since it looks better than a badly cracked, chunks falling off or missing melamine dial.

It is hard to find a good 18s double sunk Veritas style dials at times and some South Bend dials are difficult to find in good condition. In regards to the LaRose dials they are hard to come by now so that option is fading away also.

Not an issue for me having one on the watch if it saves the looks of the watch.

A watch with an authentic dial consistent with factory production will always be worth more. Some collectors may accept other, depending on the watch. A big problem with aftermarket dials is sellers who sell them as original, either through ignorance or dishonesty. Slightly fuzzy pictures on eBay, "careful" wording by seller (e.g., "...original hands with slight blueing loss, great looking dial..."), and a buyer can pay original-dial price for a watch with a reproduction dial.

I agree with you Michael.As long as it is disclosed as it being a repo.you can make an educated bid or not.Some of the sellers may not know,but I am pretty sure the big boys know and if not disclosed then I believe it to be deceitful on their part.I wouldn't buy from them because of that.
Regards
Roger

The difference Roger is explaining is between what I call "Column A" and "Column B" sellers.

Column A sellers I trust, with Column B sellers I'm much more careful. There's also a Column C in my system, but I wouldn't buy a $5 bill priced at $1 from one of those.

Getting back to the dials, here is an example of an uncommon melamine variant I had to pass on because it is too cracked up and repro's are not available:

I agree with Paul in that these LaRose repro dials were made to fill the need for a decent quality dial to replace badly damaged or missing originals,not to deceive anyone.Let's face it, some original dials are near impossible to find nowadays,so you sometimes have no choice.You just have to watch out for them, because some sellers who should know better will still try to get full value for a repro-dialed watch when they know the price should be less because or the dial.The real crime now is those real garbage printed paper fake dials that are being made,they aren't worth the paper they're printed on!At least a LaRose one is a real dial.The other thing I don't get is, the LaRose dials came from Switzerland, aren't they still being made over there? Doesn't anyone import them anymore? Regards, Ted.

I will take a picture of my 992B with the metal dial and some might be able to note the differences but it looks very close to what you see in the picture that Edward posted (not 23j ver)but compared to split and chunky melamine dials it wins hands down in my book. The sn on this one put is in the 1963/64 time frame.