Dial print and index alignment
Whether the dial print stays legible and whether every applied marker points at the dial centre.
The reading sequence
4 steps, starting at structural defects and running to read the dial edge and the aperture cut. Evidence on this point is read at E1, and 2 of the 4 steps carries a condition that ends the assessment outright.
Get one frame taken down the dial axis
Obtain a photograph taken straight down the centre of the dial, so alignment can be measured rather than guessed from a three-quarter view.
Evidence: E1 — one frame per watch with the dial filling the image and the crown at three o'clock, camera centred on the hand pivot, plus one raking frame of the same dial lit from about thirty degrees
- The dial reads as a circle rather than an ellipse, and the hand pivot sits at the centre of the frame.
- Two frames arrive: one straight on and one lit from the side.
- One frame arrives and the dial is slightly elliptical, which tilts every measurement taken from it.
- A single frame arrives under light from directly above, which flattens the markers into the dial surface.
- Only three-quarter frames arrive, where the dial circle cannot be measured at all.
- The frames are cropped to the logo, leaving the markers and the minutes track out of shot.
Read the smallest line of print on the dial
Decide whether the smallest text is printed as separate characters with clean edges, or filled in and merged.
Evidence: E1 — a macro frame of the smallest text block on the dial, taken close enough that single characters fill the frame and the dial surface beside them stays in focus
- Every character in the smallest line is open and separately readable, including the counters inside letters such as e, a and o.
- Stroke width holds steady across the line, and a word printed twice carries the same weight both times.
- One character looks filled at arm's length but opens up in the macro frame.
- The smallest line is readable but sits a shade heavier than the same word printed elsewhere on the dial.
- Characters merge into a solid mark that stays unreadable in the macro frame.
- A word is misspelt, or one numeral differs from the same numeral printed elsewhere on the watch.
Check every marker against the hand pivot
Test whether the applied markers lie on the radius from the hand pivot, which is what makes a dial read correctly from every angle.
Evidence: E1 — the straight-on frame from step 1, with the hand pivot located and the distance from each marker tip to the minutes track compared around the dial
- The gap between each marker tip and the minutes track varies by no more than one printed outline width.
- A line drawn from any marker through the hand pivot meets the marker opposite without stepping aside.
- One marker sits closer to the track than its neighbours, with the rest even.
- The markers are evenly spaced, but the twelve o'clock marker sits slightly off the crown axis.
- Two or more markers lean away from the radius instead of pointing at the pivot.
- The minutes track is not concentric with the pivot, so the gap changes by a visible amount around the dial.
Read the dial edge and the aperture cut
Check the boundary between dial and rehaut, and the date aperture cut, where a reprinted dial shows itself.
Evidence: E1 — a low-angle frame along the dial edge at four positions around the dial, plus the raking frame from step 1 examined at the aperture edge
- The dial edge sits level against the rehaut, with an even shadow line around the circle.
- Aperture edges are cut square, with no white edge showing and no print running into the cut.
- A step under a millimetre at one point on the dial edge, with the rest sitting level.
- The aperture is clean, but its frame sits slightly off parallel with the window beside it.
- The dial lifts away from the rehaut at any point, or the print stops short of the edge and leaves a raw band.
- The aperture has been cut by hand and the window is not square to the markers around it.
Why the thresholds sit where they do
A dial is read at arm's length in daylight, so print that survives a macro frame survives the wrist, and print that needs magnification to fail is not a reason to send a watch back. The marker tolerance is set at one outline width because that is the smallest difference a reader notices without instruments, and it scales with the dial instead of fixing a figure that suits one case size. Alignment is measured against the minutes track rather than the hands, since the hands sit above the dial and introduce parallax in any frame not taken on axis. One thing photographs cannot settle is whether the dial belongs to the case: a reprinted dial and a factory one look identical under even light, which is why step 1 asks for a raking frame.
Common misreads
2 pairs recorded for this point. Each runs in both directions: 1 finding that looks worse than it is, and 1 that looks better.
- looks like Return actually Pass
A dial that reads crowded and heavy in a flash frame. Point-source light bleeds between close characters, and the same dial opens up once the raking frame is examined.
- looks like Pass actually Query
A dial shot from a slight angle where every marker looks true. A few degrees of tilt move the outer markers further than the tolerance allows.
Check this point against what you were sent
Insufficient evidence
Nothing decided on dial print and index alignment yet: 0 of 4 steps have been read.
0 of 4 steps judged
| Step | Reading | Evidence | Stop met |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Get one frame taken down the dial axisneeds E1 | — | ||
| 2. Read the smallest line of print on the dialneeds E1 | A word on the dial is misspelt, or a character stays filled into an unreadable mark in the macro frame. This is a printing master error, and nothing done at home reopens a merged character. | ||
| 3. Check every marker against the hand pivotneeds E1 | — | ||
| 4. Read the dial edge and the aperture cutneeds E1 | The dial lifts away from the rehaut at any point. A dial that is not seated cannot be pressed back without opening the case, and the gap widens with every change of temperature. |
Sources and checks
- Public community thread — Photo sets where dial print or marker centring was the disputed pointn=38
- Editor analysis — Marker tolerance expressed as one outline width so it scales with case sizeno sample
Last checked · next review due · status current.
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