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18 January 2007, 02:32 PM | #1 |
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Advice needed about dials
Dear members,
Can someone enlighten me as to what is the difference on the marking of "Swiss - T <25" as compared to "Swiss Made" on some dials of the rolex watches? Does it mean it's a lower end version of the Swiss made? For your advise, please.
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18 January 2007, 03:15 PM | #2 |
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SWISS T<25 the marking before the SWISS MADE markings.. it meant that the watch dial and hands were Tritium Lumed (their glow was derived fromthe radiation emitted by the tritium in the markers and hands). The current crop of watches use Luminova or Superluminova (as Rolex calls it) so there isn't Tritium in them anymore but they need an external light source to "charge" them...
As the T<25 watches are all pretty much beyond their first half life(s) there aren't anymore T<25 dials that glow nearly as bright as the newer non-tritium dials. Before the SWISS T<25dials there were T SWISS T dials. Hope this helped...
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18 January 2007, 03:18 PM | #3 |
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Yup, Tony's spot on. It's a question of manufacturing specifications, but it doesn't necessarily mean that one is better than the other.
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18 January 2007, 03:38 PM | #4 |
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Well.. the guys that want the newest Rolex on their wrists will look for the SWISS MADE models. Some of us who have older watches are proud to show off a Swiss T<25 cause it holds some veteran like status.
My favorite watch says SWISS MADE on it, while 2nd and 3rd places are definitely two of my SWISS T<25 watches.
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18 January 2007, 04:40 PM | #5 |
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Ok thanks guys.... I'm intending to get a pre-owned explorer II.... can I say that those dials with T<25 marked models should be lower priced compared to those swiss made marked models?
Or does such marking will have any bearing on the value of the watch? Thank you again bros....
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Rolex TT Submariner Date Blue Dial (Ref#116613LB) Rolex Deep Sea Sea Dweller (Ref#116660) Rolex 18K/SS Oyster Perpetual Datejust (Ref#16233) Omega Seamaster 300M Chrono (Ref#2920.80.91) |
18 January 2007, 08:28 PM | #6 | |
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Quote:
As tritium is a radioactive substance it has a half-life of about 12.5 years. Tritium by itself does not glow. Rather tritium excits the phosphors contained in the paint matrix to glow. What you see on the dial consists of three parts; 1-tritium 2-phposphors 3-the binding agent that holds the matrix together--about 90% of what you see. The yellowing and cracking sometimes associated with vintage dials is this bonding agent drying out. Superluminova came along circa 1998 as an answer to new regulations reguarding the outlawing of tritium on watch dials. (I know some still do-another story). Luminova or superluminova is a non-radioactive substance that needs an outside light source to excite. Because of that the "glow" from superluminova will weaken over time. Luminova is said to not yellow with age and does not have a specific "life". It's probably a bit early yet to know. These dials are normally marked "swiss made" or sometimes "swiss" . About the last thing it means is a lower quality dial. Tritium dials are sought by collectors depending on overall condition. |
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18 January 2007, 08:45 PM | #7 | |
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Quote:
Guess I think I shall stick to the normal non-tritium one.... Thanks again, mike... really appreciate it...
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Rolex TT Submariner Date Blue Dial (Ref#116613LB) Rolex Deep Sea Sea Dweller (Ref#116660) Rolex 18K/SS Oyster Perpetual Datejust (Ref#16233) Omega Seamaster 300M Chrono (Ref#2920.80.91) |
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18 January 2007, 10:04 PM | #8 |
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Great anawer Mike.
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18 January 2007, 10:16 PM | #9 |
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Could you start over from the paint matrix part, Mike? My pencil broke and I missed taking notes on the rest.
Seriously, great answer!
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19 January 2007, 01:51 AM | #10 |
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Are we going to be tested on this?
I didn't know there was gonna be any quizzes or testing...
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