Still alive, after all these years

[JoJo35]

While going over some equipment today with a group, we began to check out a new digital Geiger counter. Just by chance I was wearing my great white today, so I decided to see if there was any life left in it. It may not glow that well anymore, but sure enough the digital readout on the Geiger counter started climbing soon after I held my arm under the meter!

You wouldn't guess the look of shock on everyones face, and when I stepped back into the crowd, someone took a few steps back! I had some fun explaining the realities of radiation, and the difference between the stuff on the watch dial vs the stuff that you need a lead shield to hide behind!

[jfreeman420]

Funny story. It's not every day that someone with a vintage Rolex has access to a geiger counter.

[dieselpower]

That reminds me of a terrible story.

My stepfather started getting into watches and asked me if I could find him a vintage triple calendar piece. I asked around and my friend (then a watch dealer) sold him a triple calendar watch with moonphase (can't remember the make). This piece was beautiful, in superb condition with lovely patina - I think the watch was circa 1960's. Anyway, my stepdad wore it and enjoyed it for many months, all was good. However, one day he was at work (in a hospital) and he had access to a Geiger counter so he took a reading from his watch because he knew that the old luminous paint was radioactive. Needless to say he got a reading and being the paranoid type (and not too clever) he could not wear the watch any more for fear of dying of some hideous radiation induced disease so the watch sat in a drawer. Then, still into watches he met a man who repaired and re-finished old watches and - you guessed it - he gave the watch to him for a complete dial re-finishing ( ) which the man duly did. I saw the watch afterwards and what can I say, although the work was of excellent quality the watch had been killed, murdered, in cold blood! My stepdad was very pleased with the results and continued to wear the watch but over time he got bored of having to reset such a complicated piece and the watch now sits in the drawer again. Mutilated and unworn .

So, JoJo, if you are the paranoid type and feel a little uneasy about wearing that beauty just pop it in the mail to me and you will be safe as houses. I'll even pay the postage - you can't say fairer than that .

[ubiquitous]

I believe it! My orig. Snowflake dial and my Omega 165.024 have old trit dials/hands and both still glow, albeit without any strong intensity. If I sleep with them on, I can read the time in the middle of the night if I happen to wake up. Given that they still glow, there's gotta be some radioactive life left in the lume, I'd think...?

[trailboss]

Actualy what kills the glow is usualy the Zinc Sulphide (the stuff that glows when bombarded with the radiation) breaks down from being bombarded. The dose recived from a watch (between .06 and 1 millirem a year) is recived thru leakege of tritium from the watch being absorbed thru the skin as the radition is too week to make it thru the watch case.

The giger should have recorded a reading somwhere arouind 2mCi if a a paint lumed dial and between 25 and 100mCi if of the GLTS (gas light tube source) type.

Col.