Why I think lume is pretty worthless

[burnthesehills]

When I purchased my first Rolex, a Submariner (114060), I was excited to own my first high end watch, but completely underwhelmed by the lume. I had never owned a watch with lume before and thought mine might be defective. It looked great when fully charged, but dimmed fairly quickly. I noticed, for example, that about 20 minutes into my commute home from work, the dial was barely legible in my dark car despite having been charged by the lights in my office.

I have since owned additional nice watches including Rolex and other brands with basically the same results across the board. Surprisingly, the best lume I have encountered has been on my Breitling Superocean 42 (older model) which glows like a torch after even brief exposure to sunlight. But alas, even then it is short lived.

I once chatted with a diver on this forum who explained he actually uses dive watches and lume in dark waters. I asked how this is even possible and he explained that he would hit the watch with an underwater flashlight every so often to keep it charged. Not exactly practical for every day (non diving) use.

So my conclusion is that lume is much ado about nothing. If I walk inside a dim garage from working outside in the daylight it gives me a bit more visibility. However, I really haven’t found many scenarios where it is useful. I suppose it looks cool when charged albeit not for long. And it is fun to photograph.

I did this test using 3 watches fully charged with a bright LED flashlight in a dark closet at night. Photos taken in normal mode 15 minutes apart. You can see the fairly massive decrease in a short period of time (30 minutes). And I can tell you that they actually look much dimmer in person. At around 45 minutes, I could barely tell the time without straining my eyes. And again, this is using a very bright LED flashlight nearly against the dials.

I used the watches I had on hand. But my Rolex watches were basically identical. From left to right: Breitling SO42 (2 years old), Omega Seamaster 300M (brand new), Panerai Luminor 000 (14 years old).






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[Harry-57]

I have a Explorer II Polar (42mm), 12 series BLRO and 11 Series Sub Date. They are all easily legible in the dark, right through the night, once my eyes are dark adapted. I wouldn't want a watch in bed that was glaring in the middle of the night, although the bigger lumes of the Polar can generate a glow under the sheets. It also works well in low light but they all work best in darkness. I guess it comes down to what the individual wants from their lumes. For searchlights that last around the clock you can't go wrong with a Ball.

[burnthesehills]

Originally Posted by Harry-57

I have a Explorer II Polar (42mm), 12 series BLRO and 11 Series Sub Date. They are all easily legible in the dark, right through the night, once my eyes are dark adapted. I wouldn't want a watch in bed that was glaring in the middle of the night, although the bigger lumes of the Polar can generate a glow under the sheets. It also works well in low light but they all work best in darkness. I guess it comes down to what the individual wants from their lumes. For searchlights that last around the clock you can't go wrong with a Ball.

I have definitely not had that experience with any watch I have owned (lume lasting for hours on end). I agree that dark adapted eyes will make a difference.

On a side note, the 42mm Exp II Polar is my favorite Rolex. :)

[AF_Rob]

In my experience, the best lume I have owned is Seiko, followed by Breitling.

[Chewbacca]

I use the 4minutes of lume to read my crib notes. It’s not useless.

[brandrea]

I agree, lume is overrated and not something I pay much attention to

[Meyrin]

I´ve no problems with the lume on my old Submariner because there isn´t any, at least not anymore! The tritium is as dead as a dodo after nearly 27 years, and personally I couldn´t care less! When I´m out and about in the dusk or dark I always have my iPhone with me. But I´m well aware that mediocre/bad lume annoys many owners...

[csaltphoto]

Any of the watches that use "glow in the dark paint" technology are not going to be spectacular. I give my sub a shot from night table lamp before going to sleep and I've noticed if I wake up before sunrise it's still somewhat (barely) legible with full night adapted vision. But it's so much easier to look at my alarm clock. If I really needed to tell the time at night without destroying my night vision I'd pick up a watch suited for it; basically any of the tritium tube watches.

[kieselguhr]

Originally Posted by csaltphoto

I give my sub a shot from night table lamp before going to sleep and I've noticed if I wake up before sunrise it's still somewhat (barely) legible with full dark adapted vision.

There’s the key word op.

In our current information age, the functional value of lume is about equal to the mechanical watch it is painted on. However, in the 1900s it was a very different story.

[burnthesehills]

Originally Posted by kieselguhr

There’s the key word op.

In our current information age, the functional value of lume is about equal to the mechanical watch it is painted on. However, in the 1900s it was a very different story.

True to a point, but those earlier watches used radium followed by tritium, which I believe provided much more usable and long lasting lume than current lume material.

[Calatrava r]

I used to sleep with my Rolex on and the lume was very handy to tell the time at any time during the night. It actually stays charged for a long time which is more evident in no light situations which your eyes have totally adjusted to, such as waking up in the middle of the night. I could always tell the time in a dark movie theater no matter how long into the movie. To me, lume is useful on a watch.

[enjoythemusic]

Lume is a different thing for different people... and uses. I rely on the dial/hand lume of a timepiece to decide if it's waaay too early to get out of bed or chill out for ___ time. Imho lume is very handy.

[tifosi]

You also need to factor in your eyes. Once they adjust to a light level the lume seems to go dimmer. When I turn off the lights and go to bed, I can barely see any lume on my watches on my dresser. If I wake up in the middle of the night and don’t turn on the light, they are all glowing brightly! Since you eyes adapt to the darkness, any light is much brighter.

[minute_man]

Originally Posted by tifosi

You also need to factor in your eyes. Once they adjust to a light level the lume seems to go dimmer. When I turn off the lights and go to bed, I can barely see any lume on my watches on my dresser. If I wake up in the middle of the night and don’t turn on the light, they are all glowing brightly! Since you eyes adapt to the darkness, any light is much brighter.

This. And chromalight lasts all night long, in my experience

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by minute_man

This. And chromalight lasts all night long, in my experience

Agreed.
I have always fully embraced lume as a feature.
I've been playing in this space for decades and I have found my Rolex diver with Chromalite is the best I've ever had and mostly find it to be adequate in most situations so it continues to serve me well since I first acquired it 11 years ago. On my DSSD, it's always been consistent and predictable throughout the night.
That's even when compared with the best of the other main contenders currently in the market including the legendary Seiko divers.
I imagine that Tritium tube lumes will be better, but that's not really what I want in a watch.
One needs to be realistic with expectations and I have found that lume has constantly improved since the passing of the key radioactive offerings which have all but died out now anyway.

Having said all that, the last watch I bought doesn't have lume as it's my dedicated dress watch and I fully anticipate my next watch to not have lume either as that is also a requirement for it's place in my nice little collection.
It's horses for courses stuff IMO.

[CaveDweller]

Having owned Rolex for over 30 years, I kinda gave up on the lume (about as fast as the lume gave up on me) – nice if you can get it, but you learn to do without

This year, I bought an Omega – huge improvement, (Seamaster 300 Titanium), but a bit “fuzzy” trying to make it out in the night. Sure, the Omega lume is great, but too “complicated” to read on the 300 – (works much better on the Speedy)

For visits to the city (London), or when on holiday, I have a couple of G-shocks – the ultimate in useless lume

Even more recently (ever the search continues), fed up with watches that ran out of steam unless playing Polo, watches that had expired lume, or expired batteries, or expired service intervals, I thought about it, and went back to basics

I put three Rolexes and one Omega in the safe, left the two G-shocks out (as a distraction), and committed the ultimate sin – I bought a Seiko – the SNE586P1 to be precise. The problem most people have with Seiko is the accuracy (or should a say lack of it) in the basic automatic movement. No problem, the SNE586P1 is Quartz, and solar

Bonus balls include a watch that you know hasn’t stopped for a few hours a day and then started up again, so the time means the time. No-one in their right mind is going to mug you for the thing, waterproof to 200m, rotating bezel for timing food, what’s not to like - (yes, I know, or I wouldn’t have three Rolexes)

But to bring this back to the thread – the lume. At any point in the night, you can actually read the dial clearly – certainly better than my Omega

There are watches that have effective (uncluttered) lume that lasts, but unfortunately Rolex is still catching up on this aspect

Don’t write of lume simply because you haven’t found one that works – they’re out there – but then the search is half the fun ……

[waterman1]

One word. Pelagos.

[Guppydriver]

Originally Posted by waterman1

One word. Pelagos.

Hmmm

I'll give you that.. Pelagos has show off to friends Lume. I went to matinee a few months ago and when the house lights dimmed, my wife actually said, "Can you turn that thing down bit".

[Guppydriver]

I somewhat agree wit the premise of this thread tbh.

I always think it's funny when I see watch comparisons on line and the "lume" category is graded with the same weight as "bracelet" or "movement accuracy". The only time I charge my lume then shut the lights off is when I am playing Tim Mosso.

[cerendigit]

Lume is just as useful as mechanical movements in this day and age. On the one hand you could say it’s overrated and outdated, on the other hand it’s still can be useful and cool. To each their own.

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by cerendigit

Lume is just as useful as mechanical movements in this day and age. On the one hand you could say it’s overrated and outdated, on the other hand it’s still can be useful and cool. To each their own.

True enough

[Jackie Daytona]

I have to actually agree with you. It never lasts long enough to be truly useful. My only watch it lasts long enough to count for anything is on is my Seiko which is sub $1k.

[RyanJ]

The only place I really use the lume is at the movies :)

[MrGoat]

I use the lume on my sub at least once (read more than) a night. It is still strong enough 8 hrs +/- later that I can read the time and know if I absolutely have to get out of bed.

It’s the best lume I’ve ever had in a watch.


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[G3Z]

Omega 2254 is the watch if you want torch like lume all night. The sword hands are so legible also. Quick glance is all you need, so clear.

[DJH1977]

This is normal. If you are in dark environment, you will be able to read the time after your eyes are adapted to the dark. They aren't meant to be flashlights or glow brightly in dim light really. My Rolex illuminated indices / hands are still visible when I wake up in the morning if it is dark.

[Flintstone]

Just because you have a lume on your watch doesn’t mean you’re bright.

[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by Flintstone

Just because you have a lume on your watch doesn’t mean you’re bright.

You can pay for school but you cannot buy class.


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[Gab27]

I don't think it is worthless but it definitely has some limitations. The current materials used have some benefits over tritium, but also the major drawback of what you listed. As much as I like the color temperature of Chromalight, I think the yellow-green colors are generally more visible as the output starts to decrease.

For someone in a situation where they absolutely need to be able to read a watch in the dark, tritium tubes are probably a better option (although they come with their own drawbacks).

[Loevhagen]

If you wake up in the middle of the night or very, very early in the morning in a dark bedroom - the lume is perfect and pleny bright enough even after 8 hours.

People not seeing the lume in these situations need to improve their night vision. ;)