Lume on vintage 1601 datejust

[rodri]

I recently bought my first Rolex last week , a datejust 1601 from 1969 and I noticed last night the lume plots and the lume on the hands still worked. I thought this was strange since the watch is 50 years old. Does this mean that watch was re-lumed at some point? When I bought it the seller claimed it was all original parts. But could this also mean the hands and dial are not original?

[miamiclay]

Either re-lumed or replaced, yes. 1969 tritium should be DOA.

Post pics and the pros here can help. You don’t need ten posts, just use Post Reply (not Quick Reply), make sure the pics meet the size limit, hit the paper clip and upload.

[Sherbie]

Does it work when charged with sunkight, or only with blacklight ( a uv source)?

If the latter, thats ok for these old dials, as the lume was piled on quite deep and thick


Search the ref sections of rolex forums - there is a great thread on rolex lume through the ages


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rodri]

I struggled to capture the lume but this is the best I could get. by the way thank you!! I appreciate the help :)

[rodri]

There isn't much sun out right now so I can't check but thank I you for the information! When I noticed it was when working at my desk my desk lamp shone on it and when I checked the time it was glowing.

[Dan S]

It could be re-lumed and/or service parts, but it's hard to tell just from your description. I have a 1603 from the same era, and I don't get much emission from just ambient light. If I excite with a black light, it will glow for a while. The lume on yours also looks pretty white, which could be consistent with replacements (although not all tritium lume turns yellow).

Nice-looking watch by the way.

[rodri]

Originally Posted by Dan S

It could be re-lumed and/or service parts, but it's hard to tell just from your description. I have a 1603 from the same era, and I don't get much emission from just ambient light. If I excite with a black light, it will glow for a while. The lume on yours also looks pretty white, which could be consistent with replacements (although not all tritium lume turns yellow).

Nice-looking watch by the way.

Thank you Dan! I'm thinking it's probably been re-lumed or replaced but I am not sure. It really isn't too bright and it only really glows when I shine a flashlight or some sort of light directly on it. And even then I can only see it when there's little light. The markers are definitely pretty white. Thank you for the information though I appreciate it, and thank you I really enjoy it!

Also I checked out your Instagram and you have some awesome pictures so I decided to give it a follow :)

[interestedwatcher]

Originally Posted by rodri

Thank you Dan! I'm thinking it's probably been re-lumed or replaced but I am not sure. It really isn't too bright and it only really glows when I shine a flashlight or some sort of light directly on it. And even then I can only see it when there's little light. The markers are definitely pretty white. Thank you for the information though I appreciate it, and thank you I really enjoy it!

Also I checked out your Instagram and you have some awesome pictures so I decided to give it a follow :)

How long does it glow for? I have dials from 1960s that will glow green for about 3 seconds then die.

I also have Tritium dials from the 1970s that will 'spit' one or two granules of lume per plot under direct UV light, and thats it.

[rodri]

Hi! I just tested it and after 10 seconds of shining a flashlight directly on it the lume glows the strongest for about 30 seconds and still visible up until about 2 minutes and half to 3

[rodri]

Originally Posted by interestedwatcher

How long does it glow for? I have dials from 1960s that will glow green for about 3 seconds then die.

I also have Tritium dials from the 1970s that will 'spit' one or two granules of lume per plot under direct UV light, and thats it.

#9
rodri
"TRF" Member

Join Date: May 2020
Location: Canada
Posts: 5
Hi! I just tested it and after 10 seconds of shining a flashlight directly on it the lume glows the strongest for about 30 seconds and still visible up until about 2 minutes and half to 3

[Paul7]

Can't be original to be that bright.