Relumed tritium hands?

[jpmurphy1933]

I recently acquired a 16760 from a reputable seller here on TRF. The deal was flawless and the seller was terrific - I am in no way complaining about the watch or how the transaction was handled. I tried to do my research before committing to this purchase, however, after receiving the piece I noticed that the 24 hour, hour, and minute hands were rough looking and a different shade (grayish/greenish) than the dial markers and the second hand (creamy light brown). The dial has no lume, the 24 hour, hour, and minute hands have some lume after sun exposure, and the second hand has more lume than the other hands after sun. The lume on all hands dissipates quickly so I think all are tritium. My question is whether the hands, particularly the 24 hour, hour, and minute hands were relumed at some point. Thank you for your time. image.jpg

[jpmurphy1933]

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[jpmurphy1933]

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[springer]

Based on your description of what is going on and how they react to light, it sounds like the hands are tritium. I don't see anything unusual with the hands based on your photos.

If the hands do not glow in a darkened room, but glow slightly when charged with a light, that would be a good indication they are tritium. I believe tritium has a life of 25 years so your hands are at the end of their usefulness.

As far as the color, not all hands age to the same color.

[jpmurphy1933]

Originally Posted by springer

Based on your description of what is going on and how they react to light, it sounds like the hands are tritium. I don't see anything unusual with the hands based on your photos.

If the hands do not glow in a darkened room, but glow slightly when charged with a light, that would be a good indication they are tritium. I believe tritium has a life of 25 years so your hands are at the end of their usefulness.

As far as the color, not all hands age to the same color.

Thank you, Spinger, for the response. While looking into this your name came up often so I appreciate your expertise. I did see that the hands may age differently, but, because of their color, wasn't sure if this situation was normal. Thanks again.

[linesiders]

Tritium has a half life of approximately 12.5 years so each 12.5 years after originally produced / mixed will loose significant brightness.

A test which I use even on mid - late 70s tritium watches:

Put watch inside a dark box for a day so no light can get inside to potentially charge / influence the markers. Take unopened box into extremely dark room (no light leaking under door for example) and allow your eyes to fully adjust - 10 minutes or so. Open box without light and see if you can get even the faintest glow off the markers. You might be surprised

This is a slightly less than scientific test that will help determine if later tritium dial / hands have marginal residual glow.

Afterward you can try different tests with UV light and a loupe - careful not to shine UV LED into your eyes.

[jpmurphy1933]

Originally Posted by linesiders

Tritium has a half life of approximately 12.5 years so each 12.5 years after originally produced / mixed will loose significant brightness.

A test which I use even on mid - late 70s tritium watches:

Put watch inside a dark box for a day so no light can get inside to potentially charge / influence the markers. Take unopened box into extremely dark room (no light leaking under door for example) and allow your eyes to fully adjust - 10 minutes or so. Open box without light and see if you can get even the faintest glow off the markers. You might be surprised

This is a slightly less than scientific test that will help determine if later tritium dial / hands have marginal residual glow.

Afterward you can try different tests with UV light and a loupe - careful not to shine UV LED into your eyes.

I will try that. Thanks.