Vintage Watches And Super Lume

[TJGladeRaider]

On vintage watches, I guess the dead lume look is realistic, but if I had a 1665 I wore everyday, it would be re-lumed.

What do you guys think - would you rather have your vintage show up with dead lume or super lume

Bill

[Craytonic]

Ideally I would like 3 hours worth on every one of my watches (enough to make it through a movie).

[dcrooz]

Ideally I would like 3 hours worth on every one of my watches (enough to make it through a movie).

Get a casio digital for the movies!!!

Back to the lume, I guess that with vintage watches it would look out of place wouldn't it? You guys probably know better than me but would re-luming a gen vintage watch have an effect on the value?

[Watchmeister]

Ahhh, let the hands glow a little. Now what do you do with Tritium?

[panerai153]

Some of the folks that are doing mods have come up with a vintage lume that has just a little glow, not like super lume. i have it on my 1665 and it will glow for a couple of hours very faintly.

I have a couple of Doxas from the 1970's that when exposed to very bright light will still glow a little, however my gen. GMT 16750 from 1988's lume is dead as a door[censored]

that is my preference for vintage Reps, just a little glow. Firefly vs Q-beam!!

[ubiquitous]

Dead to almost dead for me...

By the way... I know a recipe for tritium using a rather simple and unsuspecting item as the basis, but due to the way it's produced, I ain't gonna touch it

[Watchmeister]

What the tritium or the "simple and unsuspecting item"?

[ubiquitous]

The work needed to convert the unsuspecting item into tritium! It's not a friendly process...

[linkukbora]

What the tritium or the "simple and unsuspecting item"?

Tritium is made of radioactive substance and Ubi's "simple and unsuspecting item" really send my mind boggling

[ubiquitous]

I'm very hesitant to say.... But the 'media' is bonded with tritium...

[ubiquitous]

Are you talking about tthe bit of Radium you got hold of?

Oh no... Completely different. That radium is long gone... Sold to someone else. One of my suppliers had it, and offered to me. I declined as that stuff just creeps me out...

[iwc3]

Maybe The Zigmeister and others have been doing this as well. I don't know, but I've been able to come up with a blend of Superluminova the resembles vintage tritium and vintage radium and yet glows almost as well as C3. I've been luming with superluminova for quite awhile. Its great stuff, but you can ruin a dial if you so much as blink at the wrong time.

I posted some pictures of two original Tudor subs that have the vintage "Tritium" look and a 60s Certina that I relumed with the vintage "Radium" look.

iwc3

If anyone is interested you can PM me. I have to tell you though, that I am pretty busy, and the turnaround time is about 4 weeks.

[vlaletom]

Does rolex even use superluminova ?

i was on the impression gen weren't glowing "that" much.

I olny have a vintage T swiss T oysterdate, that of course only has a very little glow (eyes gotta be used to the dark to see it)

But looking at somes of my friends newer model (mid 90's) it don't glow like a torch.

[Linder]

would re-luming a gen vintage watch have an effect on the value?

RSC standard is to replace hands with modern ones during service.

As for the dial, no idea but I have seen several genuine DRSDs who had the dial replaced during service and were repainted red..

[iwc3]

As I understand it, Rolex moved from Tritium to Superluminova sometime in the 90s. They use white C0 or C1 Superluminova. Though it glows all night expecially in the big round and trianglular indices... though it does glow all night, it glows weaker than most of the other SL colors. Of course C3 is the champ.

iwc3

[KB]

I'm afraid we are all missing Bills point, dead lume is fine for a collectors vintage watch but if this is your everyday wearer.......in other words probably purchased new and always serviced by an AD, wouldn't they have relumed it every time it was needed?

Ken

[vlaletom]

To stick to the subject i would like my reps to look like aged ones, after all we try very much to be as clause as possibl with every other little detail.

For my old Oysterdate that i will have to get serviced one day, i dunno what i will do, it's not like if it was a rolex that can take values among colector in aging.

I Have a friends who have an early GMT 1 the lume on the hands are really aged, like almost cracking, he had to get the watch serviced once 3 years ago.

Rolex whanted to change the hands an corect the dial, but he was able to say no, and they ony did the movement, he was still pisseded because they changed the clasp on the riveted bracelet though, and it wasn't the same model than the old one.

[TJGladeRaider]

I'm afraid we are all missing Bills point, dead lume is fine for a collectors vintage watch but if this is your everyday wearer.......in other words probably purchased new and always serviced by an AD, wouldn't they have relumed it every time it was needed?

Ken

My point exactly.

Does someone make a lume kit where an old drunk with shakey hands can get the relume done while avoiding the snakes, and ignoring the spyders on the walls?

I want my vintages to GLOW.

As for the watch vintagizers, I simply cannot relate. To see you what some of you guys do to nice looking watches strikes me as, well . . . since I like so many of you, let's just say, "peculiar."

Would you take my 1866 Henry lever action rifle, scratch up the beautiful brass receiver and beat up that perfect walnut burl stock - no, don't tell me, I don't wanna know.

Bill