Reply With QuoteSlightly doubt that the figure markings were originally lume-filled, but it looks good, and what a nice change for the hands - a good job done no doubt
br
Many re-dialers are offering lume that looks like aged radium, or their version thereof.
Just had my old Elgin done, more because of the existing horrible job on the hands than anything else.
The hands, apparently SuperLuminova, glowed brightly but the numerals remained dark for some reason ;-)
Before.
After.
Anyone contemplated having the "antique" lume done should note that the initial brightness is quite low and fades away in an hour or so. This drawback is a function of the paint mix used and came as no great surprise.
forewarned is 4-armed!
Slightly doubt that the figure markings were originally lume-filled, but it looks good, and what a nice change for the hands - a good job done no doubt
br
Ted a very impressive before and after view.... 8)
I love the patina on old lumes! Where did you get it done? :P
It depends on how the lume pigment is tinted. Some add coloured tinting liquid to the powder, some mix a range of pigment colours to darken the daylight colour.
It is possible to get lume performance that is at least as good as C1 from an "aged tritium" coloured modern lume if done properly.
Ted, I'm curious about the use of aged lume because I thought I've read about other people having it done with good results. I thought I've read about Bry doing an exceptional job as well.
Also, in regards to John from Denmark's quote about never being lumed to begin, I'd believe to be false. Having the original radium lume removed from the dial wouldn't your dial be a good representative of such. I've seen other's de-lumed and this is a good representative. I couldn't see a vintage Elgin with this style of font without the Radium so I'd have to go with a de-lumed dial from factory original.
That's a lovely watch. Really starting to admire older watches with cathedral hands for some unknown reason.
Is the idea to use a resin dye instead of a pigment?Originally Posted by GeoffD
Best wishes,
Bob
liquid tints are best added to the dry powder and mixed thoroughly before adding the binder and so just dye the natural colour of the luminous pigment powder. Depending on the substance used for the tinting, this often has a significant detrimental effect on performance.
Adding extremely small amounts of say orange lume pigment to C3 type natural coloured pigments can produce a daylight colour similar to a rich tea biscuit that performs quite well.
My personal favourite mixes 3 colours of lume pigment along with a small amount of a fairly benign UV clear tinting liquid and can create a range from pale coffee through to a toffee colour and still produce reasonable glow.
Ted, I have to agree with JK and the others who report that it depends on how the lume is colored. This custom dive watch (based on the alpha-time Sawfish) was done by Kent Parks with vintage-look lume and it's as bright as any of my watches in the dark:
Nice Nalu,
Very good lume and watch. :D
Nice :D the lume does look good and I think some glow is much better than none.
+1
Bear in mind that the altrernatives are a dial & hands of correct appearance & no lume, or this sympathetic restoration with a little lume.
However, as I've said previously, I do wonder why we can't have radium lume back now.
:shock:
Bear with me. We all know about the Radium Watch Dial Girls, but wasn't that an exapmle of poor health & safety practise and ignorance of the materials properties, rather than the innate danger of the material? Given that such dials would now be machine printed rather than hand painted with the brush pointed between the painters' lips, is there still a risk? I'm imagining a suitably modified inkjet printer here - something that comes with lead-lined ink cartridges, etc...
Thoughts?
Mike.
Tritium is used in nuclear fission and therefore any use is subject to restrictions that control the possession, resale, disposal, and use of radioactive compounds for consumer devices. Devices that contain even small amounts of tritium now come under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (if you are really interested, Google the NRC info at "10 CFR" particularly Parts, 30, 32 and 110).
Import and resale of any Tritium consumer device in the US requires special licensing and I believe is only now granted for GTLS (Tritium tube) devices. It's totally banned in Belgium, but use is not generally restricted in the UK, Asia or Australia.
Tritium is still available from Tritec for example, but with very strict restrictions. Getting a consumer use licence is long winded and difficult for the watch industry, certainly not generally worth the hassle when the newer Alkaline Earth Metal Aluminate (Luminova etc) compounds are considered better in almost every way.
Yes. In fact, Tritium is a product of nuclear fission reactors and is an artificial isotope of Helium. It has a half-life of 12.3 years, meaning that it's very much a short term answer to watch lume. The advantages is that it's a Beta-emitter so is easily shielded.
Tritium is also bloody expensive, I believe it is the most expensive substance in the world!
Radium, on the other hand is naturally occurring with a half-life of 1602 years (decaying into radon gas), making it a long-term solution for watch lume. The disadvantage is that it's a Gamma-emitter, making shielding somewhat trickier. Also, it readily oxidises and turns black. But, it is a lot cheaper than Tritium and more available.
Alkaline Earth Metal Aluminate acts as a short-term energy store, rather than being self generating like Radium or Tritium Phosphor paints.
My point was that with more modern working practises, knowledge, and equipment, could the dangers of Raduim Paint ("Undark") be surmounted?
See: http://www.damninteresting.com/undark-a ... dium-girls
And: http://www.wisegeek.com/who-were-the-radium-girls.htm
Mike.
nice, looks like new.
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