How long should lume last ?

[colpol]

The lume on my Omega SMP is still ok even after 20 years + & on my Seiko SKX007 (10 years +) - it’s really bright at night

However - noticed this morning in a dark room that I seem to only have 1 bright lume spot at the no 10 position on my Rolex SD. Watch is 16 years old. Surprised that the lume gone so quick or that wasn’t mentioned at last service which was about 4 years ago

This is the best picture I could get with the iPhone but it’s really just that one bright lume spot now on the dial. Is this about right or is there a lifespan on lume ?

[OrangeSport]

Mine’s as good as new after 10 years

[telesquire]

Silly question but was it charged before checking? My 18 yr old YM is 100%.

[amphr1]

This is after you charged it? What model is it? I assume it's not tritium.

[dpt.calvin]

I assume based on age that it is equipped with SuperLuminova unless the dial is not original.

[colpol]

Watch was bought in 2005 by myself - brand new. No dial change

I pull my seiko or omega out & there ready to go

Until today never knew the SD had to be charged especially as been wearing past 2 weeks with short sleeves - I’ll see if can get a spot tomorrow in direct sun light on a window ledge in the office & leave it for a few hours. How longs that going to last ? Is this going to be a regular occurrence going forward due to age of dial ?

[dpt.calvin]

Are you saying the Omega and Seiko don’t need to be charged? That suggests tritium. To my knowledge, the skx007 never came with tritium.

[colpol]

My skx007 hasn’t been worn for a while
Just pulled it out & this is how it looks

Never consciously ‘charged’ it ever - it’s just ready to go

surprised earlier that the SD lume was dead earlier

[SDREW22]

Superluminova should not degrade like tritium. That picture surprises me. There something not right.

[amphr1]

You just need to take a bright flashlight and shine on it for a few seconds and it should light up.

[Gab27]

Assuming this is a picture taken after UV exposure, Super Luminova should not degrade that quickly. There is still some discussion as to exactly how long it should last, but it definitely should last longer than 16 years, and at the 16 year mark, generally the output difference should not be drastically different from when brand new. It's stability and longevity are some of its major advantages.

What do the markers look like in bright? Have they changed considerably in their tint? Is there any chance the watch's water resistance has been compromised? To my understanding, humidity is one of the things that can cause issues.

[Sothy]

I know it’s not the point of the thread - but wow, Seikos have great lume!

[inadeje]

I’ve noticed that Rolex has poor lume compared to much cheaper watches (like the seiko)

[Rollieo]

UV is what does it, yes you need to charge it.

Get a UV flashlight, you can get an awesome glow with even 5 seconds under the flashlight. I forgot which one I got on Amazon, but it doesn’t really matter. Any one will work. They cost like $10. A normal flashlight really won’t brighten it much.

[Rori]

Originally Posted by Rollieo

UV is what does it, yes you need to charge it.

Get a UV flashlight, you can get an awesome glow with even 5 seconds under the flashlight. I forgot which one I got on Amazon, but it doesn’t really matter. Any one will work. They cost like $10. A normal flashlight really won’t brighten it much.

Does exposing the watch to the sun give the same result as the UV flashlight or still the flashlight wins?


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[padi56]

Originally Posted by inadeje

I’ve noticed that Rolex has poor lume compared to much cheaper watches (like the seiko)

In the past few years the lume on most all Rolex watches is now a little better depending on the persons eyes and viewing conditions.But in general Rolex watches have quite a small lume area on hands and hour markers compared to other watches,the more lume surface area the brighter the lume will seem.And since Luminover was first introduced no reports of lume fading like the Tritium lume. Luminover is made by Nemoto a Japanese luminous paint maker they moved a part of its factory to Switzerland in 1998 in Joint-ventured with RC-Tritec AG.This was to establish Luminova AG Switzerland for supplying Luminova to all the Swiss watch industry including Rolex and most all of the major brands.Later around 2001/2 the name was changed to super-luminover and many other names for basically the same product under the various brand made up names. But its mostly all basically the same paint with a slightly different colour pigments.And now we have Chromolight which is more of a blue/green colour again depending on persons eyes and viewing condition, Chromolight is a Rolex trademark name now, but again this could be a special colour blend of luminous paint by Nemoto for Rolex, I would doubt if Rolex themselves would make the lume paint.

[PhilippeD]

Originally Posted by Rori

Does exposing the watch to the sun give the same result as the UV flashlight or still the flashlight wins?


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Well, the sun is a big UV flashlight so...

[Dirt]

Comparing Luminova of any description on a circa 2005 Rolex diver, to that which is found on Seiko divers and Omega divers is futile.
For a start, the Rolex has a fraction of the lume compared to the other two watches.
A better comparison would be a Kermit, but the lume on that is disappointing as well.

Anyway, Luminova is not supposed to degrade so it's hard to say what's going on with your watch.
I would recommend simply having the dial and hands changed at the next service and re-evaluate

[waterman1]

Something seems off with that picture. 16 year old SD would at least be mostly uniform in its lume presentation. Not only one hour marker working. All of them should look about like the one glowing there.

[willywatch]

Rolex lume has never been great,the Japanese are miles ahead in
this field.

[Paka]

Something's not right. Super luminova should last almost forever (50+ years easily). Take that watch to service center. And you don't need any UV flashlight to test it. Just put it under the normal lamp for 2 seconds and it should shine like a star.

[stark1]

Unsure if true, but I've read that inconsistent or poor lume could be an indication that moisture has made its way into the case. I don't know how moisture would affect the lume material, though.

On a separate note, I've yet to send any of my watches into RSC for regular servicing. Still a few years out from this. Assuming later down the road the lume on my pieces become weaker, dial replacement isn't a standard servicing step, but can be done if requested by customer without jumping through hoops and extra steps, etc., correct?

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by padi56

In the past few years the lume on most all Rolex watches is now a little better depending on the persons eyes and viewing conditions.But in general Rolex watches have quite a small lume area on hands and hour markers compared to other watches,the more lume surface area the brighter the lume will seem.And since Luminover was first introduced no reports of lume fading like the Tritium lume. Luminover is made by Nemoto a Japanese luminous paint maker they moved a part of its factory to Switzerland in 1998 in Joint-ventured with RC-Tritec AG.This was to establish Luminova AG Switzerland for supplying Luminova to all the Swiss watch industry including Rolex and most all of the major brands.Later around 2001/2 the name was changed to super-luminover and many other names for basically the same product under the various brand made up names. But its mostly all basically the same paint with a slightly different colour pigments.And now we have Chromolight which is more of a blue/green colour again depending on persons eyes and viewing condition, Chromolight is a Rolex trademark name now, but again this could be a special colour blend of luminous paint by Nemoto for Rolex, I would doubt if Rolex themselves would make the lume paint.

Good information Peter, thank you

[samson66]

Originally Posted by padi56

In the past few years the lume on most all Rolex watches is now a little better depending on the persons eyes and viewing conditions.But in general Rolex watches have quite a small lume area on hands and hour markers compared to other watches,the more lume surface area the brighter the lume will seem.And since Luminover was first introduced no reports of lume fading like the Tritium lume. Luminover is made by Nemoto a Japanese luminous paint maker they moved a part of its factory to Switzerland in 1998 in Joint-ventured with RC-Tritec AG.This was to establish Luminova AG Switzerland for supplying Luminova to all the Swiss watch industry including Rolex and most all of the major brands.Later around 2001/2 the name was changed to super-luminover and many other names for basically the same product under the various brand made up names. But its mostly all basically the same paint with a slightly different colour pigments.And now we have Chromolight which is more of a blue/green colour again depending on persons eyes and viewing condition, Chromolight is a Rolex trademark name now, but again this could be a special colour blend of luminous paint by Nemoto for Rolex, I would doubt if Rolex themselves would make the lume paint.

Thanks Peter. Great information as always. I learned something new today

[Pw92676]

Originally Posted by padi56

In the past few years the lume on most all Rolex watches is now a little better depending on the persons eyes and viewing conditions.But in general Rolex watches have quite a small lume area on hands and hour markers compared to other watches,the more lume surface area the brighter the lume will seem.And since Luminover was first introduced no reports of lume fading like the Tritium lume. Luminover is made by Nemoto a Japanese luminous paint maker they moved a part of its factory to Switzerland in 1998 in Joint-ventured with RC-Tritec AG.This was to establish Luminova AG Switzerland for supplying Luminova to all the Swiss watch industry including Rolex and most all of the major brands.Later around 2001/2 the name was changed to super-luminover and many other names for basically the same product under the various brand made up names. But its mostly all basically the same paint with a slightly different colour pigments.And now we have Chromolight which is more of a blue/green colour again depending on persons eyes and viewing condition, Chromolight is a Rolex trademark name now, but again this could be a special colour blend of luminous paint by Nemoto for Rolex, I would doubt if Rolex themselves would make the lume paint.

Excellent information. I learned something new.

I once wore my Sub to a surprise birthday party. Lights went out and someone quickly said “hey your watch glows in the dark!” I still chuckle about that.

[Rori]

Originally Posted by PhilippeD

Well, the sun is a big UV flashlight so...

Maybe it becomes useful when used before going to sleep. This way the watch will maintain its lume brightness during the night.


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[Gab27]

Originally Posted by padi56

In the past few years the lume on most all Rolex watches is now a little better depending on the persons eyes and viewing conditions.But in general Rolex watches have quite a small lume area on hands and hour markers compared to other watches,the more lume surface area the brighter the lume will seem.And since Luminover was first introduced no reports of lume fading like the Tritium lume. Luminover is made by Nemoto a Japanese luminous paint maker they moved a part of its factory to Switzerland in 1998 in Joint-ventured with RC-Tritec AG.This was to establish Luminova AG Switzerland for supplying Luminova to all the Swiss watch industry including Rolex and most all of the major brands.Later around 2001/2 the name was changed to super-luminover and many other names for basically the same product under the various brand made up names. But its mostly all basically the same paint with a slightly different colour pigments.And now we have Chromolight which is more of a blue/green colour again depending on persons eyes and viewing condition, Chromolight is a Rolex trademark name now, but again this could be a special colour blend of luminous paint by Nemoto for Rolex, I would doubt if Rolex themselves would make the lume paint.

How bright was the tritium when you were wearing a tritium Rolex for dives? I assume is was notably dimmer than current Chromalight (SL/L) output immediately following very bright UV exposure, but probably brighter than Chromalight after 5-10 minutes post UV-exposure?

[TunaTuna]

You need to expose the watch to a direct light source to charge the lume. Then you should be fine, and it should be very bright for a while, then get dimmer over time

[SkyJuice]

No issues with my Circa 2000 lume. Although it does not appear as long as before.