Re: Depends on the material...
How long does the Luminova retain its ability to glow? Does it diminish with age? What kind of life expectency can I expect from Luminova?
TIA
Adam Rodman
: your Khaki probably has tritium phosphor, as do most Omegas
: made since 1960 or so. Tritium is a radioactive isotope of
: hydrogen, with a half life a little over 12 years. This
: would lead one to expect that the dial should lose half its
: luminosity over 12 years, but there is more to it than
: that. The phosphor itself loses strength over time, and
: there is no telling how long the tritium sat before going
: into the luminous compound, or how long the compound sat
: before being painted onto the dial, or how long the dial
: sat before being installed in the watch, or how long the
: watch sat around before you bought it...Phew! My
: Speedmaster Automatic had a noticable glow in broad
: daylight when I got it; 2.5 years later, I would say it's
: about 1/8th as bright.
: On the other hand, the newest Omega watches are now shipping
: with a luminous compound called Luminova. This is a
: non-radioactive product which is charged by ambient light
: and releases that light over time. It is much better at
: this, though, than previous compounds, and a couple of
: hours in light will last all night long. The upshot of this
: is that you get a bright dial that stays bright. You can
: tell if an Omega dial has the new compound as it will be
: marked just SWISS MADE rather than T SWISS MADE T on the
: bottom.
