Luminous Dial & Hands 16220

[tomred]

Hi,
I have just got my first rolex.
It is a SS 16220 Datejust with Grey Tapestry Dial with Silver Stick Hour markers. Jubilee Braecelet
Its 6/7 years old and is in as new condition apart from one problem.
Around the edge of the dial there are white dots at each hour mark and white markers on the hands, I am presuming these are supposed to be luminous.
I have exposed the dial to daylight and even tried using a high powered torch on the dial to "charge" the luminous markers, when I try it in the dark not a glimmer.
Have I got it completely wrong and the watch is not luminous or is this a common problem.
To be honest I am very disappointed, as I thought Rolex were the ultimate in watches and did not anticipate a problem like this.
I bought the watch from an Approved Dealer, Second Hand with a service Certificate dated June 2007 and they said they would guarantee it for 12 months.
My next step is to return to the AD, but I thought I would try to get some advice from you guys first.
Thanks.

[NitroRacer]

Yes, those are luminous. They may be old? I don't know. Take it back to your AD and have them send it to RSC to replace them.

[Tools]

Tom,

Welcome to TRF.

We need more information.. You say that the watch is 6-7 years old, but I would like to see the serial number to judge.... I suspect the watch is at least 11 years old.

Or, look at the bottom of the dial at the 6 o'clock area and see it if has the T Swiss T or T < 25 markings of a tritium dial as this sounds like what you have..

If you want it to glow again, you need to have the dial and hands replaced. Rolex does not do this for free, but they will, provided your dial is still available and is in Luminova.

Rolex will not just replace the dots because you want them to glow.. You are well past the warranty period..

[tomred]

I dont really like the idea of posting the serial number.
The watch is a SS Datejust 16220 with a Grey Tapestry Dial and has been verified by Rolex UK as being sold by Rolex to the AD in August 2001.
It is not clear when the AD actually sold the watch.
It does not have any markings you describe at the 6 o`clock area.
I was hoping someone out there had the same dial on their watch or knew of the same dial and could advise me.

[Tools]

Well, all we really need is the first couple of numbers/letter of the serial to be able to date it.

If it starts with a Letter, you can get a good idea of when it was manufactured (within a couple of years) with this:

The chart shows about when each prefix was first seen in the market place.

R 1987
L 1988
E 1990
X 1991
N 1991 (Nov)
C 1992
S 1993
W 1994
T 1996
U 1997 (Aug)
A 1998 (Nov)
P 2000 (Jan)
K 2001 (Sep)
Y 2002 (Sep)
F 2003 (Sep)
D 2005 (Apr)
Z 2006 (May)
M 2007 (Aug)

[tomred]

Thanks guys for your input,
Been to the AD today, he confirmed that it should be a luminous dial (i.e. the dots at the hour markers & hands) it is in fact a tritium dial and he has ordered a replacement lumanova dial from Rolex UK which will arrive end of september and will be fitted F.O.C. under the 12mth. Guarantee.
The kind of service I hoped for from Rolex,
Tools
Can see now, where you were going with the age of the watch, i.e tritium or luminova
Still not quite sure what the difference between Tritium & Luminova, I presume the latter must be improved.

[mike]

Originally Posted by tomred

Still not quite sure what the difference between Tritium & Luminova, I presume the latter must be improved.

Tritium is a mildly radioactive substance (beta) that was used as a catalyst to excite the phosphors contained in tritium indices on older watches. It's half life is about 12 1/2 years.

Luminova (superluminova) is a non-radioactive compound that needs a light source to activate.

Tritium was dropped by most manufactures around 1998 due to health concerns for workers though who knows when the last trit. dials made it into the system or were used as service replacements.

Luminova, while initally bright ( and I understand the thing about Rolex lume compared to other brands) dims whereas tritium did not (though it's intensity as I recall wasn't as good as freshly charged luminova.