Has anyone ever seen a white dial with a black date window? Very unusual looking.....

I saw this on James list and I don't think I've ever seen anything like it..

?????

Well.....I'll bypass the obvious mismatch. I guess even the occasional watchmaker may be color blind.

I used to know the ref number these autos, which I believe have the highly esteemed Pellaton 8541s ticking inside, so please someone else chime in.

I'm a big fan of these double logo'ed pieces from the 60s. Can't tell much about this one from one picture. I know for a large American grocery chain (A&P), these were the proverbial gold watch given to loyal employees who punched their last time clock. I've seen several of these that were personalized. And usually they were in remarkable condition, probably spending 99.9% of their life tucked in a sock drawer.

If it were mine, I'd be looking for a new date wheel.

Good luck,
Larry

Yes, it's bizarre...so (reassure me here) IWC would NEVER have done this, correct?

thanks,
Todd

They have done it with BPs recently so why not in the past?

I see nothing wrong with that. Here is the opposite - a black dial with a white date window.

And the BP 5002 is the same....black dial, white date window.

Here is another one. Golden dial with a black date window.

Interesting, thanks for the education..the versions you guys posted seem more appropriate than the example I found. Today I'm wearing an early 60's Constellation black pie pan with white date wheel and it looks fine..

O/P.....never seen an originial ref 810 auto devoid of double quarter baton (regardless of disc clouring)....i say 'never' lightly cause the seller appears to host the obtuse monthly. If somebody can correct me then i'd be delighted.

The white lettering on Tonys example seems a lot brighter than the crown and bezel wear, when compaired to all other early (original) '60's variants of the same ilk.

OK, thanks.

I hope you are not suggesting this dial is repainted. This is a Ref 802A sold to Kabul in 1970, where I bought it from a Tadjik trader in 2005, in a bazaar in Chicken Street.
As far as I know, there were no dial restorers in Afghanistan, and I certainly did not have it done. The dial in this watch is the dial IWC installed in 1970, and so is everything else, except the strap.

These watches were highly prized by Afghans because they had been gifts from their late king Mohammed Zahir Shah, and have his signature in Diwani Arabic Script engraved in the case back.

'a bizarre on chicken street'

That's a word play I never heard before. :-)