When one replaces a dial, it it proper form to keep the old dial with the watch? I recently acquired a perfect enamel 18 size Elgin wind indicator dial to replace the age painted metal dial on my Elgin Father Time free sprung. Is it ethical or sensible for me to sell the old dial (picutre attached), which might be original to the watch. If so, how much would I be likely to get for it.

If you think that the dial on the watch is original, why replace it? It looks ok to me. If you do replace it, I would keep the old dial with the watch.

"Etiquette" is a good term. Let me, first, register my strong belief in the rights of property ownership. Nobody has a "right" to tell you what to do with your watch, but you.

That said, your qustion was, in my opinion, a matter of record keeping. I can well understand your desire to be able to reverse your decisions, in the future. As a student-watchmaker, I service nearly all my watches and try my best to restore them to their original condition. Sometimes, my decisions prove wrong. Sometimes my philosophy changes.

Having collected other things, in the past, I realized that watch-collecting might become complex and unwieldy. So... at the very beginning, I bought some good software that allowed me to record and catagorize everything I do in my collection. The software is called "Omnifile" by Brian Plexico (plexico@yahoo.com).

The software comes as generic collector software and you can change the fields to record the specific information that watches present. There are also fields that track purchase and sales price and a large area for writing a narrative on each item. There is an area where photos are stored. You can put the photos anywhere on your computer and the software will then cross-reference them to the proper item (I open a file of photos on each watch). There is another "notes" section, where I detail (on a daily basis) whatever I do to the watch in the watch-shop. There are even areas that allow you to email watch-information or put it up for auction on eBay.

I photograph every watch, when purchased. I also maintain a database of all my watches, as they currently appear in my collection. And my "notes" reflect exactly what I do. IF I change dials, it is likely that the old dial might wind-up on another watch. The software will record all this (I'm 60 an my memory is shot).

I have two homes so I transport photos, between the homes, on a zip-drive. I can "synch" the software, at both home-computers with a single file.

In the collection, each watch needs just a tiny "barbell" label that has it's reference number. I don't have to worry about stickers and those string-tags that tangle and break when you lift a watch by it! The label might also have a short title, I.E "H-974" on the reverse. But it's the software that tells me its number and it's the software that tells me its complete history.

Cost... I think Brian Plexico charges all of $20.00 for his software. And... he's a nice guy who will personally answer your questions and help you with download and setup. I've seen older collectors, with their tags and reams of lists, trying to accomplish the same thing.

This is probably more information than you wanted but... since this IS the Internet Chapter, we all have the knowledge and ability to use technology for these tasks.

Thanks, Jerry and Peter. I will keep the old dial. As for Omnifile, if I hadn't already established a similar database in another program, Omnifile sounds ideal.

Ethan, I do exactly what you're doing now when I've had another dial placed on a watch. I also keep the old dial WITH the watch, even if I sell it or trade it. The old dial GOES with the watch.

I just can't bring myself to separate them, even though the old dial may be completely trashed, somehow knowing they started out together, though separated, they need to stay together.

Sounds odd, but that's how MY brain works on this subject.

Regards! Mark