Congratulations and welcome to the club!! I tell friends that I like a little bit of the sea in my Seafarers, and your watch certainly checks that box.

Without any doubt, I wold leave the dial exactly as it is. The one exception might be in the hands of an expert and trusted watchmaker, who can do some sort of light, non-damaging cleaning . . . whatever that actually means.

Regarding the possibility of refinishing the dial "to its original state", to my way of thinking, this would be a huge mistake. If this dial were to be refinished, I expect that half the value of the watch would go with it.

The only "cosmetic" step I might take would be to have the lume in the hands replaced. But once again, you will want someone who knows how to do that, to give you the best look.

I like your watch a lot . . . exactly as it is, with room for restoration of the lume in the hands, if you like.

Jeff

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: Hello,
: I finally found and bought my 1st Abercrombie and Fitch Seafarer
: watch. This is the ref. 2444 1st generation. The dial has water
: damage throughout the patina, the yacht regatta has lost its
: color, and the hand lumes have eroded. From a naked eye, one
: cannot read the lettering and some numbers at all due to
: discoloration. The questions I have is it worth restoring the
: dial to its original state and does this affect the value of the
: watch. Thoughts or comments will be greatly appreciated. I'm
: leaning toward restoring the dial. Thanks for your time.