Rolex GMT vs Omega GMT lume — a night in the park.

[shedlock2000]

I popped outside tonight to let Jyp have his evening constitutional, and I looked at my watch to check the time. I was rather surprised that I couldn’t (without difficulty) actually tell the time!

The Rolex had been worn all day outside on the deck, but the omega had been on my desk in the office (which is very shaded). I compared the two outside after running in to get the Omega. I thought a few of you might be interested to see the results:



The photo is a very accurate representation of the lume, but there was some reflected light from the park light some way off (you can see it pick up the 2 on the Omega’s bezel).

The plots on the gmt are bright enough, but the hands are almost indistinguishable. In contrast, the sword hands of the 2234.50 show up against the dial more clearly. I have never noticed this before either, but the aluminium bezel of the omega seems to pick up the light slightly better than the glossy bezel of the Rolex. Additionally, the flat crystal causes the dial to glare out on the Rolex when trying to bounce the light off the hands — an issue not seen on the Omega.

With a short increase in exposure, the lume appears more evenly balanced, but the relative size differential on the minute hand of the Rolex explains why it’s much harder to see in the dark:


A disappointing showing from the Rolex considering it had been in direct sunlight all day and the Omega had spent all day in a one-window basement office.


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[minute_man]

Steve, I have never had a problem reading the time off my Rolex. Not with my 116710, not even with the old Superluminova 16710 I've recently acquired.
But I have to admit there are far too many complaints out there about the subject matter which cannot be discounted. It would appear that the Omega has objectively brighter lume.

[Mr Ben]

I assume this was an experiment when you got home? Otherwise I’ll be wondering all day why you were wearing two watches to take the dog for a dump…

I love the lume on my Exp II - it wasn’t great in winter but now it gets some sun during the day, it’s superb at night.

[ducatiti]

On a similar topic on both new sub and gmt I recently acquired new, sub’s lume tends to last longer after both lit with a uv flashlight.

OP, have one as well to test both?

[NachoNeal]

Compared to Hamilton Field watch, Rolex lume is fantastic.

[shedlock2000]

Originally Posted by ducatiti

On a similar topic on both new sub and gmt I recently acquired new, sub’s lume tends to last longer after both lit with a uv flashlight.

OP, have one as well to test both?

That’s interesting! You’d think they’d be the same.

Yes, I’ve a Uv light. I haven’t tried them side by side, but the GMT stays visible all night as does the Omega. The GMT fades to a bluish green, and the Omega stays the same colour throughout the night. Due to the lack of AR coating and flat crystal, though, my GMT is pretty hard to read in a morning when it’s light out but the curtains are still drawn — the omega doesn’t suffer with that.

I’ll do a side by side UV comparison tonight.


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[shedlock2000]

Originally Posted by NachoNeal

Compared to Hamilton Field watch, Rolex lume is fantastic.

That surprises me too — I thought the field watch would be good! My Intra-Matic is bobbins too.


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[shedlock2000]

Originally Posted by Mr Ben

I assume this was an experiment when you got home? Otherwise I’ll be wondering all day why you were wearing two watches to take the dog for a dump…

I love the lume on my Exp II - it wasn’t great in winter but now it gets some sun during the day, it’s superb at night.

Hmm, my 226570 was ok in winter — probably the reflected light from the snow. The hands are a lot thicker on the EXPII though, so this problem doesn’t occur.

This was taken with a slightly increased exposure at 2am!




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[worldofoyster]

we don't buy rolex for its lume. if you are interested in lume, try a seiko

[zjdgfu]

Sub's lume lasts longer

[brandrea]

My 321 has much better more legible lume than any of my 6 digit Rolex

[jon_jon]

Historically the Explorer was supposed to be worn by people on a expedition into caves, etc.

Anyone know if lume on the Explorer is brighter than GMT, Sub, etc?

[samson66]

My Tudor BB Ceramic lume is better than any other watch I own currently or prior. Tudor's lume across the entire Black Bay lineup is terrific. Rolex is decent but nothing spectacular. A good Seiko will top most other brands.

[shedlock2000]

Originally Posted by worldofoyster

we don't buy rolex for its lume. if you are interested in lume, try a seiko

I buy Rolex because they are supposed to be amongst the best watches.

Best is subjective — and I need good lume. I also need other qualities from a watch which are not present in Seikos.

It is not unreasonable to point out that there are ways in which Rolex could improve.


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[shedlock2000]

Originally Posted by jon_jon

Historically the Explorer was supposed to be worn by people on a expedition into caves, etc.

Anyone know if lume on the Explorer is brighter than GMT, Sub, etc?

Interesting question — I don’t have them side by side, but I suspect the Explorer II 226570 is better than my GMT, but the hands on the GMT are smaller and so it’s not really a fair fight. Additionally, the Chromalite on the 226570s is meant to be improved compared to the 116710 — I am not sure how.


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[Mr Ben]

Originally Posted by shedlock2000

Hmm, my 226570 was ok in winter — probably the reflected light from the snow. The hands are a lot thicker on the EXPII though, so this problem doesn’t occur.

This was taken with a slightly increased exposure at 2am!




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Love it! In winter, my watch sits in the dark overnight and spends the day under layers of clothes so it hardly ever sees any light.

The caving question is interesting - I thought the Exp II was the same type of lume as other watches at any given time but was historically meant to have had bigger areas of lume, particularly on the GMT hand to help with this.

[wilsonpepper]

Originally Posted by worldofoyster

we don't buy rolex for its lume. if you are interested in lume, try a seiko

Interesting comment, because that is exactly what I did. I contacted NHLABS in Toronto and they built me a custom Seiko GMT, specifically because my GMT(s) do not serve a useful purpose during night flight operations.

The lack of a lumed bezel on the Rolex really defeats the purpose if the watch is supposed to be a "tool" watch. More like a piece of jewelery than a useful GMT watch - at night.

I am not saying that I don't like Rolex GMT models, just saying that I have owned most of them since the 16700 (still own them), and when I started flying night, long haul trips they became mostly useless.

On my Seiko GMT custom build:

The bezel is a lumed sapphire black 24 hour GMT
24 hour GMT chapter ring -silver x black
Ultraclear AR clear - double dome sapphire with bevel edge
Seiko Thailand LE King Samurai white dial
Seiko NH34A 24 Jewel Automatic movement with GMT functionality
Handset with Swiss superluminova C3 + Milgauss second + GMT C3 pointer
Sandblasted, coin edge 120 Click rotating bezel

You may or may not like my build, but I can tell you that it works at night, and that is what I need, so that is what I wear when flying the 787.

https://nhorologylab.com

photos at:

https://www.instagram.com/nhorology_lab/?hl=en

Top row of photos.

I replaced the rubber strap with an Uncle Seiko "President" bracelet.

[Kreyzhorse]

Seiko / Tudor lume > All others

[shedlock2000]

Originally Posted by wilsonpepper

Interesting comment, because that is exactly what I did. I contacted NHLABS in Toronto and they built me a custom Seiko GMT, specifically because my GMT(s) do not serve a useful purpose during night flight operations.

The lack of a lumed bezel on the Rolex really defeats the purpose if the watch is supposed to be a "tool" watch. More like a piece of jewelery than a useful GMT watch - at night.

I am not saying that I don't like Rolex GMT models, just saying that I have owned most of them since the 16700 (still own them), and when I started flying night, long haul trips they became mostly useless.

On my Seiko GMT custom build:

The bezel is a lumed sapphire black 24 hour GMT
24 hour GMT chapter ring -silver x black
Ultraclear AR clear - double dome sapphire with bevel edge
Seiko Thailand LE King Samurai white dial
Seiko NH34A 24 Jewel Automatic movement with GMT functionality
Handset with Swiss superluminova C3 + Milgauss second + GMT C3 pointer
Sandblasted, coin edge 120 Click rotating bezel

You may or may not like my build, but I can tell you that it works at night, and that is what I need, so that is what I wear when flying the 787.

https://nhorologylab.com

photos at:

https://www.instagram.com/nhorology_lab/?hl=en

Top row of photos.

I replaced the rubber strap with an Uncle Seiko "President" bracelet.

That’s quite the watch! It’s not quite the kind of think I would go for, but I definitely appreciate the design and thought gone in to it — the fail works really well with the lumed bezel.

I share your thoughts on night use and Rolex lume — the 6542 had pretty much everything right (save what they couldn’t develop in terms of complication until the 3185), so I very much appreciate a lumed bezel.

You nailed the chapter ring — something I’ve been talking about for some time (lumed chapter rings are also possible, and there are a number of watches out there with some variation of chapter ring lume.

I’ve toyed with a Seiko build, but until the NH34 became available, modding a gmt watch was a lot harder. My challenge now is that the NH34 isn’t accurate enough for me (which is why I wear the 116710 — my Omega is excellent and an improvement in many ways on the 116710, but it lacks the sophistication of the movement and runs anywhere from -3 to +3spd depending on use).

The new San Martin black bezel comes close to being an excellent gmt too, but a 13mm Seiko with COSC rated movement would be preferable.


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[nickscaps]

I love my Datejust 126200 but if I had to knock it for one thing it's the lume. The green tint of my fifteen year old Hamilton and Seiko blow it out of the water, at least to my broken, colorblind eyeballs (not joking). Something about the Rolex Chromalight isn't as bright or striking. Can't win em all!

[shedlock2000]

Originally Posted by ducatiti

On a similar topic on both new sub and gmt I recently acquired new, sub’s lume tends to last longer after both lit with a uv flashlight.

OP, have one as well to test both?

Here you go. This is no long exposure with 10 seconds exposure to the UV light.




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[shedlock2000]

Originally Posted by nickscaps

I love my Datejust 126200 but if I had to knock it for one thing it's the lume. The green tint of my fifteen year old Hamilton and Seiko blow it out of the water, at least to my broken, colorblind eyeballs (not joking). Something about the Rolex Chromalight isn't as bright or striking. Can't win em all!

Hahah! I’m not colour blind, but I do have really bad eyesight (short sighted) so the lume really has to be good for me to be able to see anything at all!


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[jon_jon]

Does the lume on modern GMTs fade over time? I have an older V or M serial GMT for which the lume doesn't seem to last overnight, whereas 10+ yrs ago, it seemed relatively bright throughout the night.

[shedlock2000]

Originally Posted by jon_jon

Does the lume on modern GMTs fade over time? I have an older V or M serial GMT for which the lume doesn't seem to last overnight, whereas 10+ yrs ago, it seemed relatively bright throughout the night.

I did have an M serial some years back, but I do t recall what the lume was like on it.

The lume on mine (2014) is Chromalite and does last through the night. The Chromalite on my EXPII was brighter for longer, though it was also dimmer once the initial charge had worn off (though it went dimmer quickly, it remained the same brightness all the way through the night rather than progressively dimming until it was hardly visible as does my GMT).


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[Chopper87]

I hate to break it to you, but your eyes need more light than 10+ yrs ago to see as well :

[77T]

One thing that comes to mind in the last set of SxS pics.

Both brands need to work on a contrasting lume color (maybe orange) for the 24-hr hand…

Not very user friendly as is.


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[brandrea]

Originally Posted by 77T

One thing that comes to mind in the last set of SxS pics.

Both brands need to work on a contrasting lume color (maybe orange) for the 24-hr hand…

Not very user friendly as is.


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That’s a really good point Paul.

I believe Seiko does this, but I could be wrong.

[77T]

Ball had a different approach since they use H3 tubes. The hands are orange like the local time hour track. The 24hr hand is green like the GMT bezel.

I’d say Ball World Timer makes it a bit busy with so many tubes, but the paradigm is what I liked when I had one.

Not my own photo but gives you an idea.




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[shedlock2000]

Originally Posted by Chopper87

I hate to break it to you, but your eyes need more light than 10+ yrs ago to see as well :

Hahah! True story!


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[shedlock2000]

Originally Posted by brandrea

That’s a really good point Paul.

I believe Seiko does this, but I could be wrong.

That’s certainly the case on their drifted smokeflake (or whatever GS’s new titanium GMT is called):



I’d consider buying one if the bracelets weren’t garbage and it had a quick-adjust clasp.


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