David,

In my opinion, for whatever it is worth, an original, undamaged, un-faded, mint dial is always preferable. You will rarely get any argument from anyone about a perfect dial that looks like it just came from the factory. How many times have you ever heard a collector say, "Oh, that dial is too mint...I wish it had some patina."

There is a subset of people who like dials which have faded to "tropical" or which have become patinated in an aesthetically pleasing way. However you can always find another person for whom the same dial is not their cup of tea.

JohnCote