Calling on rolex lume specialists

[rafteur]

Hi guys,

Wondering if someone can help me figuring this one out:

As you know, I bought a 1998 U4xxx Explorer 2 polar dial;

It came with SEL link stamped Z ( I believe Z = 1997 from what I could recoup from my search), and with a tritium dial.

The dial does not glow, but when I am in extreme darkness, there is a faint greenish glow to it. Under blacklight, all the lume parts react in a uniform manner.

Now under the sun, the dots and arrows remain white. A friend of mine who has an A series swiss dial with luminova, the lume immediately shows a strong green on the dots and arrow.

So I am wondering, can it be that mine has a tritium in a final stages of dying? I read here and there that the latter U series had a tritium dial but luminova lume, yet the reaction is different from the A swiss model I seen.

Can anyone help me shade some light (no pun intended)?

Thanks for helping me out putting this puzzle together

Best- Rafteur

[Thatguy]

A 20 year old tritium dial would not glow brightly if at all.
Half life is about 12 years.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Justinmg]

My 14060 from 1996 doesn’t glow at all with the tritium dial. Sounds like it’s just about dead, then comes the best part... patina!

[BristolCavendish]

Trying to compare Luminova with fading tritium is like comparing apples to bananas (or rather oranges).

For outstanding tritium lume, some folks opt for Luminox watches. For the best all-around lume, Seiko LumiBrite can't be beat (though some Omega owners will beg to differ).

[rafteur]

Thanks guys; sorry if my post was not clear.
I understand that tritium should not or would not glow on a 1998 explorer. I also read that it could be one of those watch with luminova applied on a tritium dial; however, when comparing it with A series 1999 swiss dial's luminova, it does not react or look the same...

[Beelzy]

Nope, Tritium dials are marked as such "Swiss" dials are Luminova.