To start at the beginning -- many Heuer chronographs and dashboard timers from the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s did have radium, on the hands and dials. And a lot of it. You will find lots of postings here, about the readings on a Geiger counter, from the old Autavias, etc. Of course, many other brands of watches used the same materials during these decades.

That being said, of the hundreds or thousands of old watches that are shipped in the community of collectors, I have never heard of a package being returned / not delivered, because of the radium content. I wonder whether this is a new policy of the US Postal Service, as they get more aggressive about the bad guys shipping nuclear material?

Let me contact some of the usual suspects and see whether anyone else has heard of this. In the meanwhile, we will have to see whether this becomes more common and whether the private shippers (UPS and FedEx) are subject to the same inspections.

Jeff

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

: I have just bought a near 70 year old early Rallymaster from the
: United States through Ebay.
: U.S, Customs have returned to the seller who has replied to me,
: saying

: on the box is a stick-on label that reads "your item was
: reviewed in our processing center and was
: determined to be ineligible to be shipped forward by air to the
: buyer because of an unacceptable level
: of radiation". Really?, it's a watch. That's just nuts. I have
: a meter that would detect radiation, there was none.

: Has anyone come across this idiocy before?