Swiss Made or Swiss - T<25?

[JuniorPhatFarm]

What exactly is the difference on the dials? I see some champagne submariner dials w/ both... Any rhyme or reason why it's not just one of them?

[alpet]

The Dials tha have the T on them use Tritium for their luminocity."< T25" it means the dial produces less than 25 micro curies of radiation

Around 1998(i think) Rolex stopped using Tritium and started using Luminova.....hence the Swiss Made.Luminova is a non-radioactive, phosporescent material, that requires pre-exposure to light (such as during the day time) to glow.


There are also a few dials tha only have Swiss on them.
They too use Luminova but were produced at a different manufactuer......

Thank goodness that Rolex dosnt out source their movements..

Hope this helps....

Originally Posted by alpet

The Dials tha have the T on them use Tritium for their luminocity."< T25" it means the dial produces less than 25 micro curies of radiation

I actually think it's millicuries, not microcuries......25 microcuries is only 0.025 millicuries, so I don't think you would see it very well in the dark. Maybe after 20 years the glow is more like 25 microcuries...

[JuniorPhatFarm]

Ahhh thanks for the info...

[JuniorPhatFarm]

Anyway I can get the newer dial on my sub from rolex? Any idea on costs?

[Hammer]

I've got the older T<25 and it hardly glows in the dark at all.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Hammer

I've got the older T<25 and it hardly glows in the dark at all.

Tritium has a supposed glow life of 10- 12 years but after around 6 years brightness is only about half of original.

[Clifton]

Originally Posted by padi56

Tritium has a supposed glow life of 10- 12 years but after around 6 years brightness is only about half of original.

Errr?

Tritium has a half life of ~12.262years. At 6 years tritium would only be partially decayed, but there should be plenty of glow/brightness left, i.e., much more than half of original. Even once the tritium is completely decayed the phosphor within the markers will continue to respond to light and glow in the dark.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Clifton

Errr?

Tritium has a half life of ~12.262years. At 6 years tritium would only be partially decayed, but there should be plenty of glow/brightness left, i.e., much more than half of original. Even once the tritium is completely decayed the phosphor within the markers will continue to respond to light and glow in the dark.

Would agree in theory but what I have found with most Rolex dials
that after around six years they just don't glow as good.

Tritium paint on watches is a mixture of tritium and phosphor. Tritium is naturally radio-active and needs no external source of light or charge to work. Tritium does not glow. As it decays, tritium emits beta radiation, which is a bunch of excited electrons that in turns excite the electron in the phosphor atoms making them emit photons, or light, as they return to their ground (non-excited) state: the phosphor GLOWS. Phosphor can also be excited by UV light from the sun or other light sources. Thus, the tritium paint relies on tritium radioactivity to make the phosphor glow in the dark, not any charge from external light source.Most of the Rolex dials
comparing to other manufactures,are quite poor IMO and again IMO the
new type are not the best glow wise either.

Tritium, has a half life of 12.3 years, a half-life is simply the time it takes HALF of the tritium to decay. So, as long as you have enough tritium in your paint, the watch will glow in the dark for years, not hours or days, without any need of charging. If your watch stops glowing after an hour in the dark, it means that the glow came from the light exciting the phosphor atoms, not from the tritium. In other word, most of the tritium in your watch is GONE! This is quite possible even with a fresh coat of tritium paint if that paint has been sitting around in the watchmaker's shop or supplier's shelf for years. The 12.3 years of half-life starts from the second the tritium is born (i.e. freshly produced), not from the time the paint is applied to your watch.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by JuniorPhatFarm

Anyway I can get the newer dial on my sub from rolex? Any idea on costs?

If you are talking about a vintage Sub,I would not advice changing the
dial.A dial replacement from Rolex these are UK prices Dial £224.00 + VAT = £263.20 plus they would most likely insist on a Service (inc VAT) = £215
so total cost £478 = $848 expensive

[Earl]

JPF, I've a 20+ year old 5513 with T<25 only in the darkest of night and with my eyes acclimated to the darkness can I see a very dull luminescent glow on the dial. Would I change it for a newer and brighter Luminova, NO way Jose I'm leaving it original. Look at it this way if you have it redialed or have the dial upgraded you no longer have an authentic 5513 or what ever it is. Guess what I'm saying is it's personal preference.

my two cents

[JuniorPhatFarm]

Originally Posted by Earl

JPF, I've a 20+ year old 5513 with T<25 only in the darkest of night and with my eyes acclimated to the darkness can I see a very dull luminescent glow on the dial. Would I change it for a newer and brighter Luminova, NO way Jose I'm leaving it original. Look at it this way if you have it redialed or have the dial upgraded you no longer have an authentic 5513 or what ever it is. Guess what I'm saying is it's personal preference.

my two cents

Thanks for your 2 cents...Very much appreciated as well as the other comments. Looks like I'll stick w/ the vintage look.

[padi56]

Agree Earl anything vintage keep original if possible,and if not only
gentle restoration. Its not supposed to look brand new,unless you
are very fortunate and find a NOS 5513.

I agree 100%.

Originally Posted by Atomic

A proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It's a proof. A proof is a proof. And when you have a good proof, it's because it's proven.
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien (on finding no Iraqi weapons of mass destruction)

John - you bugger! That was going to be my next tag line after I got tired of the Monet joke (seriously). You beat me to it you hoser!!

[dman]

Originally Posted by Avalon

You beat me to it you hoser!!

Take off eh!

Originally Posted by Avalon

John - you bugger! That was going to be my next tag line after I got tired of the Monet joke (seriously). You beat me to it you hoser!!

Are you kidding me???? I thought it was a pretty obscure quote.

[dman]

I tried to love the vintage, but I just am a fan of a watch that I can see through the night.

[padi56]

I would never even think of touching this dial, even if it does not glow after 33 years. =) maverick

Thats a cracking Red Sub one of the best I have seen nice even
patina on dial.I am envious, keep it save and now very hard to find
and will always keep its premium price.