Vintage tritium question?

[panchoskywalker]

Hello,

I would like to know if all vintage tritium glows under UV light or is it possible that the tritium is so old that it doesn't glow under UV anymore.

Thank you.

[Dan S]

Most of the phosphor in tritium lume is pretty dead. The exception is ZnS fro the 60s.

[panchoskywalker]

Originally Posted by Dan S

Most of the phosphor in tritium lume is pretty dead. The exception is ZnS fro the 60s.

So a tritium lume from the 70's might not glow al all under UV?

[TuRo]

1960/70/80 TRITIUM Rolex Daytona 37 and 37.5 mm eg 6263/6265 and many Day Dates still lume up very strongly for 12-15 secs then decline, there may be one or two other like particular Datejust dials....

[springer]

A quick primer on tritium for most of the sport models (except the Daytona) - not intended to be all encompassing.

Pre 1967 tritium normally glows green under UV and continues to glow green for a few seconds or longer once the UV light is shut off. After 1967 and continuing with some 1968 models, there was a transition to another type of tritium which would glow in darkness for about 25 years. After that, these later tritium dials would not glow in the dark and normally glow white under the UV light, or a slight violet color depending on the type of UV light that you are using on them. Normally these later tritium dials do not glow at all once the UV light is turned off.

[panchoskywalker]

Could a tudor snowflake from 75 tritium not glow at all under UV and still be original lume? Or would it be an indicative of relume/repair without tritium?

[springer]

Originally Posted by panchoskywalker

Could a tudor snowflake from 75 tritium not glow at all under UV and still be original lume? Or would it be an indicative of relume/repair without tritium?

For a proper response, place some good, clear photos here - both with and without the UV light.

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by panchoskywalker

Could a tudor snowflake from 75 tritium not glow at all under UV and still be original lume? Or would it be an indicative of relume/repair without tritium?

Sometimes it's difficult to distinguish between not glowing at all or the faint whitish glow that is sometimes seen. Honestly I think that it depends on the UV source and maybe on who is looking at it. But FWIW, 70s lume generally won't glow very much. Beyond that, you really need firsthand experience. If the lume is dirty or moldy, that can also affect the response in my experience.