: Older models had the letter "T" on
: either side of the SWISS MADE lettering to
: indicate that tritium was used in the
: markers. While long term exposure to tritium
: by watchmakers may be dangerous, the
: following link describes why tritium used in
: older Swatch watches is not dangerous to the
: wearer.
: Superluminova has many benefits over tritium.
: One is that tritium is a radioactive isotope
: of hydrogen, and its gradual decay is what
: causes it to glow. It has a theoretical half
: life of 12 years, but the other chemicals
: the tritium is typically mixed with to make
: watch parts can reduce its life span to as
: little as 10 years. Though tritium will glow
: without requiring periodic
: "recharging" from a light source
: (as superluminova does), it won't last the
: life of a high quality watch. By contrast,
: superluminova does not lose its luminescence
: with age, since it is simply a luminescent
: pigment that can be recharged again and
: again by sunlight or artificial light. So,
: superluminova is a much better choice from
: both a safety and a longevity standpoint.
I live near the original Hamilton plant... Many of the older workers there that painted lume on things twirled their brushes in their lips to make them pointier. In later years, it was found that many of the workers developed cancer there.