This is the final article in a three-part series on bronze watches by contributing writer Justin Mastine-Frost. This column addresses the various aspects of owning and caring for a bronze watch that extend beyond the obvious passion for patina. Today?s topic focuses on how to best clean your bronze timepiece.
For those looking to maintain a factory-fresh look on their bronze watches, and also for those who?ve accidentally overshot their target with forced patina (read more here), a good number of household tricks exist for cleaning bronze that are relatively painless. While off-the-shelf products exist to clean brass, bronze and other metals (Bar Keepers Friend, among others), we?ve found success using household concoctions as well. The most simple often entails a fair bit of elbow grease, but it is also the one that shouldn?t require any additional shopping: toothpaste. That?s right, applying a healthy coating of toothpaste to a bronze case, allowing it to sit for a handful of minutes (maybe five to ten), followed by some vigorous scrubbing with a toothbrush, will often bring a bronze watch back to a healthy shine. Unlike many other new bronze offerings on the market, this Zenith Pilot Cronometro Tipo CP-2 Flyback arrives slightly aged directly from the Zenith manufacture. Credit: David Rosin
As an alternative, creating a paste out of baking soda and lemon juice has also proven to be quite effective in bringing a proper shine back to bronze. Simply adding a few squeeze...