Came across a nice and honest Stainless Steel 992B on ebay closing out and just had to have it. Put in a quick bid and won.
Then I realized it was being sold by our own David Abbe so I know I'm getting a good'un

As it is, the watch is in it's original configuration but as I am thinking of making this my daily carry (as so many seem to have done here before me) I would like to swap out the melamine dial for a very nice 080 I have which I think would be more resilient.

I can here the gasps from here but what I actually want to do in a round about way is to protect the Melamine dial so the real question is how would be the best way to store it so it can be reunited if I sell in the future.

I beleive that Light and temperature changes have been the main contributing factors in the degredation of these dials so I'm thinking in a black plastic bag sandwiched with polystyrene or similar insulator in a room with a fairly stable environment (definiteley not Kitchen or Bathroom )

All suggestions gratefully received.

I guess we can debate the exact causes but melamine is a type of plastic and probably the UV radiation in sunlight inflicts the most damage. If you want to protect it probably putting it in a black bag, protects from sunlight and such, probably include an activated charcoal packet and pack it away in one of your sock drawers.

Hello Gareth:

one thing I do know about melamine dials, it is to keep them away from extreme cold. I bought one a couple of years ago from a dealer in Chicago the photos he took showed the dial in perfect condition, he shipped it to Canada in the coldest time during our winter that year, when the dial arrived there with several cracks spider web out from the center. The dial in its plastic shipping container was not changed you could see the tape was untampered with, and the dealer was totally reliable.

Larry

same happened to me in shipping during extreme cold, what the watch arrived there were cracks from the center hole out.... and I know the respectable person who send it did not send it that way. so be sure to keep it away from ICE....lol

Gareth, The watch you bought has a disctinctly double sunk dial which differs some from Melamine. Better check it out before changing it.

On the other hand, for carry, I would recommend the watch have a COA.

Thanks for the advice David. I was making the assumption of Melamine from the date of the watch and the clipped 5 on the dial. A full COA is definitely on the cards before regular use.