Interesting Comparison

[mike]

Did a lume shot of the lumi 1680 and the LV. Pretty close.

[roadcarver]

Hey Mike,

So that is comparing super luminova with Tritium?

[watchfan1]

No - those are both Luminova (Super Luminova ?) dials.
The 1680 is now shown with the replacement dial from RSC.
Only the original dials were tritium of which probably none have any lumination left now.

Originally Posted by roadcarver

Hey Mike,

So that is comparing super luminova with Tritium?

[mike]

Originally Posted by roadcarver

Hey Mike,

So that is comparing super luminova with Tritium?

Vernon, Milos and Steve are correct. Tritium hasn't been used since about 1998.
Tritium is a midly radioactive compound that was used in the paint matrix to cause the phosphors in the mix to "glow". Tritium, in and of itself, does not glow, however needs no outside light source to activate.
As tritium has a half-life of roughly 12.5 years it would seem any luminesence seen on older trit. dials (not much) is from the phosphor.
Rolex seems to have historically used a mixture intended to produce white markers. (luminova) While this does provide a luninesencet capability I question whether the "glow" is as intense as other brands whose markers exibit a slighty greenish tint in normal light.(Omega for example)
While not as "collectable" as an orginal tritium dial, as in this example,

The functionally of the watch is greatly enhanced.
Interestingly, for a period of time,98-03, Rolex used luminova dials marked as tritium bearing the legend "Swiss T<25" the normal indication of less than 25 milicuries of radiation--standard for trit dials.
Replacement dials, as Milos said, are marked "SWISS"

[Lol-x]

Right Mike, the lumination is pretty much the same, but I think the 1680 still wins by a thin margin. However, the lumination brightness isn't just governed by surface area, it depends of other factors such as the density of the luminova crystals used, the smaller the crystals thee better, and the background colour underneath the luminova.
The Green Sub would be my pick between the two watches, having owned the 1680 previously I can't criticise it, just my personal preference.

[Rockrolex]

Originally Posted by Lol-x

Right Mike, the lumination is pretty much the same, but I think the 1680 still wins by a thin margin. However, the lumination brightness isn't just governed by surface area, it depends of other factors such as the density of the luminova crystals used, the smaller the crystals thee better, and the background colour underneath the luminova.
The Green Sub would be my pick between the two watches, having owned the 1680 previously I can't criticise it, just my personal preference.

If by that you mean the LV has the better lume, I would agree with you. But my preference in watches would be the 1680. I am not partial to the LV, having seen it on the wrist. A bit too garish for me.

[Lol-x]

Originally Posted by Rockrolex

If by that you mean the LV has the better lume, I would agree with you. But my preference in watches would be the 1680. I am not partial to the LV, having seen it on the wrist. A bit too garish for me.

I don't know if the lume is better on the LV compared to the 1680 going by Mike's photo they look the same or if anything the 1680 looks a little stronger, but I haven't done a side by side. I prefer the feel of the LV on my wrist to the 1680, and although saphire, I prefer the profile of that more to the highly raised plexiglass. On the other hand I have a preference for the 1575 movement and yeah the green bezel can look a little out of place at times.
So maybe my answer is to create a franken watch (not) The green bezel can look great and it can also look a bit average, whereas black is always cool.

[mike]

For those that may be curious, I can offer a 1675 for comparison.

[padi56]

Well Mike a great test and pictures

[mailman]

Excellent pics Mike

[JJ Irani]

Great lume shots, Mike!

[Rodmo]

Great shot.......thanks!

[G&T Master]

Nice picture Mike, love that 1675.

[Ragu]

Mike,
do you use any software for editing you pics?
If so which one as your pics are awesome!

[mike]

Originally Posted by Ragu

Mike,
do you use any software for editing you pics?
If so which one as your pics are awesome!

No, it's pretty much what you see is what you get. LOL! What you don't see are 7,864 shots that I took to get one half way decent.

[Dr Rock]

Great pictures! Great watches as well... :-)

[Prince]

Mike, I have to ask a question here. You always have such great lume shots of vintage watches. Do you have them re-lumed? How do you do it? My watches are all mid to later 1990s vintage, and the lume on ALL of them has gotten up and went long ago. Tell me your secret (but please don't kill me!).

[mike]

Originally Posted by Prince

Mike, I have to ask a question here. You always have such great lume shots of vintage watches. Do you have them re-lumed? How do you do it? My watches are all mid to later 1990s vintage, and the lume on ALL of them has gotten up and went long ago. Tell me your secret (but please don't kill me!).

Allan, those two watches have Rolex luminova replacement dials done duing RSC service.
It's only those two. I wanted an example of each that was fully functional.

As far as getting the lume to glow in a photo, I bast them with a flashlight, and use the ambient light in the room to take the pic inside the lightbox.

[Prince]

Thanks very much for the answer, Mike.

So, you would have to replace the dial completely to get the lume back? I suppose that should include the hands as well? In that case, the watch is really not original any longer. A tradeoff, to be sure.

Thanks again, my friend!

[mike]

Originally Posted by Prince

Thanks very much for the answer, Mike.

So, you would have to replace the dial completely to get the lume back? I suppose that should include the hands as well? In that case, the watch is really not original any longer. A tradeoff, to be sure.

Thanks again, my friend!

Yeah the hands too. Absoultely correct, no longer orginal, but with correct parts.
It is indeed a trade off between orginality and functionality. As a vintage piece the loss in value is the price of a correct dial and hands--could be reinstalled bringing it back to orginal.

[tonelar]

As always, Mike's pics ROCK!

Actually at it's half life tritium's weakened by 50%... so it's probably more than 12.5 years to see a t<25 dial lose it's glow... at 25 years the tritium's down to 25% and I bet somewhere around there is where they give up the ghost.

I guess what we might be dealing with are dials set up with the tritium illumination some time prior to being installed in a watch. I have a number of swiss-t<25 watches and will definitely re-lume the older Sub as well as one of the GMT Masters... however I might go through IWC to keep the swiss-t<25 dial.

[mike]

Originally Posted by tonelar

As always, Mike's pics ROCK!

Actually at it's half life tritium's weakened by 50%... so it's probably more than 12.5 years to see a t<25 dial lose it's glow... at 25 years the tritium's down to 25% and I bet somewhere around there is where they give up the ghost.

I guess what we might be dealing with are dials set up with the tritium illumination some time prior to being installed in a watch. I have a number of swiss-t<25 watches and will definitely re-lume the older Sub as well as one of the GMT Masters... however I might go through IWC to keep the swiss-t<25 dial.

Jack at IWC does some of the best work I've seen. He can re-lume with a "vintage look" if so desired.
Yep, the half-life doesn't mean illumination is gone, but weakened. I've seen pieces older than 12 years with some life left in them.

[tonelar]

does having the orignal hands and face re-lumed professionally have less of an effect to the overall value? or are they worsened as the originals are altered?

[Prince]

Originally Posted by tonelar

does having the orignal hands and face re-lumed professionally have less of an effect to the overall value? or are they worsened as the originals are altered?

Excellent question, Tony. If it has less effect on the overall value, that is indeed what I would do. Mike???

[mike]

Originally Posted by tonelar

does having the orignal hands and face re-lumed professionally have less of an effect to the overall value? or are they worsened as the originals are altered?

Tony, to the purist collector any relume generally has a detrimental effect on the value of a particular reference assuming the dial and hands were not already shot.
Having said that, it really depends on your plans for the watch. If the piece may one day be sold, then a relume job-even a good one-will impact the value of the watch.
Relumes now can only be done with luminova material which obviously detracts from the orginal tritium markings.
If, however, the watch is to be used and resale is not a primary factor then I would opt for one of the best in the business to do the work. A sloppy relume not only kills the value, but will drive you crazy everytime you look at it. I've seen relumes where the luminous material runs over the plots or surrounds and the only option then is a new dial.

[A. Jacobs]

Great pics as always, Mike

[G&T Master]

Which RSC did you use to replace the dial and hands?

[mike]

Originally Posted by G&T Master

Which RSC did you use to replace the dial and hands?

New York did the work, but any RSC can.

[leopardprey]

To be honest, have not seen much in difference of the Lum on the Sub ND and Sub LV I have. The hour markers are of course bigger on the LV, adn the minute hand bigger as well on LV. But really have not noticed any difference in leglibility during darkness between the two.

[Alex Stylianou]

lovely