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Old 4 July 2019, 10:37 AM   #1
ravenhome777
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How did Rolex apply their lume?

I was just trying apply superluminova to an old Swiss Army dial, and I found that this is quite tricky and not easy to apply.

Does anyone know how Rolex applied their lume? Was it done with an oiler and a steady hand, or did they have a special tool to do it? Maybe a fine paint brush?
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Old 11 July 2019, 11:11 AM   #2
jlovda
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As an engineer with absolutely no experience servicing watches, I would assume with the volume of watches they make, the material is probably silk screened or vapor deposited in some way. They could never do it by hand.
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Old 11 July 2019, 06:33 PM   #3
watchmaker
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Aren't some things better left a secret?
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Old 11 July 2019, 08:13 PM   #4
Andad
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You don’t know Scott?
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Old 11 July 2019, 08:34 PM   #5
watchmaker
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Quote:
Originally Posted by directioneng View Post
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Reality is rarely as interesting as the imagination.

There’s a video on YouTube I’m trying to find again. Shows a pipette like dispenser being used by a dial assembly technician. Blob..blob..blob..blob..all day every day.

Older dials were hand painted, and we know that ended badly for the factory girls (not specific to Rolex, was just industry standard in the beginning with radium).
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Old 14 July 2019, 10:35 PM   #6
antrolexsub
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Older dials were lumed with a pad printer. Nowadays it’s done by machine.
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