Patina Question

[Neil.tf001]

Hi All,
sorry for what might seem a daft Question but.... how does an air tight watch dial, like a sub, age so much creating the patina?

[capote]

I guess the tritium is deteriorating anyway.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Neil.tf001

Hi All,
sorry for what might seem a daft Question but.... how does an air tight watch dial, like a sub, age so much creating the patina?

Tritium half live is around 12 years and things like exposer to sunlight all age the tritium dials.Now some dials more than others mainly because of different lume paint mixes over the years.

[gwalker]

Originally Posted by padi56

tritium half live is around 12 years and things like exposer to sunlight all age the tritium dials.now some dials more than others mainly because of different lume paint mixes over the years.

x2

[azguy]

I've done some searches in the past and many say sunlight, while others say darkenss....

[Neil.tf001]

Thanks everyone.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by Neil.tf001

Hi All,
sorry for what might seem a daft Question but.... how does an air tight watch dial, like a sub, age so much creating the patina?

A watch may be air-tight, but it is not a sterile and clean environment..

The watch is filled with oils that have volatiles (thinners) that keep them liquid, paint-matrices also have off-gasses and there are several different metals that interact..

Temperatures inside a watch case can get up over 100 degrees in the summer with ease..

All that, and tritium is radioactive. It is constantly bombarding the paint-matrix, generating heat and degrading the paints just to keep them glowing.

My personal feeling though, is that the dark patina is caused by moisture. Tritium has an affinity for water, so I believe that it bonds with it, heats it, and physically burns the paints. It has always seemed to me that the watches in more humid climates have much more patind than those in arid climates.. just like rust on cars..