Reluming is probably the acceptable face of refinishing - it doesn't remove material as in polishing a case, nor potentially deface one of the most prominent aspects of the watch as can redialling. Nonetheless, as in the case of this Carrera it can certainly mar and reduce the value of what was otherwise a nice watch, particularly as has been pointed out where the lume is applied directly to the dial.

My personal stance is to value originality and not relume. That resolve wavers slightly when lume has completely fallen through the hands and they have become skeletonised - in that case, my preference would be to source other hands and use those rather than relume the current hands. I have no problem with lume that has become discoloured, as that is all part and parcel of what happened to the watch. I wouldn't have it done to my watches, though for a purchasing decision it can be a different matter; for a watch I like and really want I can perhaps make allowance and let it go, as long as it's not too jarring.

That's also the advice I give when asked, but I always take pains to stress that it is always a personal choice - someone else may be perfectly happy with sympathetic reluming and that's up to them. I don't label that wrong, just not something I would so.

I think Rich's scale of preference is pretty insightful and holds for me too, in order of preference:

1. All original lume dots on dial and hands
2. Some original lume
3. No original lume
4. Relumed hands
5. Relumed dial and hands

Yes, I would rather have a watch where all the lume is lost than one with even a good relume. I really enjoyed reading Peter's response and the parallels he draws with his Lotus though!