Lume (mini rant)

[watch watcher]

Am I the only one who thinks that lume does not belong on a Rolex and other high-end watches? It is completely useless after a short while in the darkness. If I want to see the time in the dark I either lean over and look at my clock-radio, or look at my cell phone (during the day in a dark situation), which is always with me.

Worse, it cheapens the look and distracts from the beauty of the watch. If the watch has gold hands, I want to see that, not some lume splashed on it. Lume is appropriate and desirable on a $100 watch, but not an expensive one.

I was at the AD looking at the DD II. It has much more lume than my DD. Also the sport models have a lot of lume (which sort of looks appropriate for that type of watch, though). She said Rolex did that because "the prior models were hard to see"; that is in the daylight. Well, I see my other watches sans lume very well, so I'm not sure how credible her statement was.

Also, is it possible to have a watch de-lumed? I'm sure Rolex won't do it, but is it even possible to do it without ruining the hands or dial? I love the watch anyway no matter what, so I'm just wondering more than anything.

I will admit that playing with the lume is a fun thing, and there are some impressive lume shots posted here. But, on a classy watch, is just dosen't seem right, IMO.