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Old 3 May 2020, 10:25 AM   #1
Montremoi
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Why no lume on the date wheel ?

This thought has bothered me for some time : why don't watch companies, including Rolex, make date wheels covered in lume ?

Indeed, given the wheels are often white, covering them in lume would allow for them to glow in the dark, which would balance an otherwise asymmetrical dial.

A white wheel not covered in lume is basically a waste of space once the ambient light falls off.

Thus I'm wondering why don't we see watches shipping with lumed weels - at least on current models that I know of

Is it for technical reasons ? Could the lumed be grinded by the dial, and end up damaging the movement ?
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Old 3 May 2020, 10:36 AM   #2
winst
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Don’t know if you’ve seen the latest special edition Panerai’s but I asked the same question recently - absolutely everything on those watches was lumped up even the stitching on the straps - the only thing not lumped was the date wheel - why?
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Old 3 May 2020, 11:23 AM   #3
Andad
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How do you expose the date wheel to light.

One number at a time?
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Old 3 May 2020, 01:01 PM   #4
Montremoi
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The visible part of the wheel is exposed during the day, just like the other lumed parts of the watch. And will glow until it's midnight.

I don't see the issue here
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Old 3 May 2020, 01:35 PM   #5
77T
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Why no lume on the date wheel ?

The date wheel is recessed enough that the small amount of light that would fall on it would likely be from angles that would not evenly activate the LumiNova.

So you’d have only partial illumination on some parts of the date wheel.

But I certainly get the idea you asked. Maybe the best answer is if it was possible and practical, at least one watch company would have succeeded providing it.

So you know of any who have added lume to the date?


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Old 3 May 2020, 02:02 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Montremoi View Post
The visible part of the wheel is exposed during the day, just like the other lumed parts of the watch. And will glow until it's midnight.

I don't see the issue here

Until midnight? - yes, I don't see the issue either.

So if the date window is black you know it’s after midnight.

That’s genius.

Now had you stuck on those pesky tritium tubes.
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Old 3 May 2020, 05:56 PM   #7
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A. Lange & Söhne’s lumen watches.


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