Myth debunked No2 ? - Rolex Lume

[Devildog]

2nd posting in my (lightheartedly said) "debunking" series - That new Rolex watches have “poor” luminous properties.

Here’s a pic of my collection of automatic watches, taken immediately after a quick charge with a UV light.

Shouldn’t be too hard to spot the Rolex Chromalight. You can see it isn’t glowing quite as brightly as the rest but there is very little in it. Perhaps more importantly, it was glowing just as (if not slightly more so ) brightly and as readable as the rest some 8 hours later.

No “later” pic I’m afraid as the iPhone camera was struggling to focus. (Or perhaps it was me this morning ) I’ll try and get one tomorrow.

[For the Lulz]

I take it the bottom two are Seikos? Did they last too?

[el-heffe]

The lume duration on my BLNR and LVc is simply terrible. There's no comparison vs. my Omega Speedmaster.

[Jhowton23]

from my experiences, the best lume goes to omega, tudor, seiko, and breitling.

Rolex is fine and works. but doesnt hold a candle to the rest. I also have an explorer which doesnt have the massive plots as a diver so weigh that however youd like

-afterthought- nothing has had better lume that ive had than the pelagos though

[VicLeChic]

When I compare blue chromalight (presumably rebranded BGW9 super-luminova) to green C3 super-luminova, the latter glows significantly stronger. I've used my YM116622 and SD43 against my PO2500.

[1William]

I think it works fine.

[18078]

On my deep sea blue if i give it a quick hit from my led flashlight 10 hors latter in total darkness I'm able to read the time without my glasses..Key word total darkness ! Im happy with rolex's newest lume.

[korneevy]

On my GMT II Batman the lume is pretty average - nothing compared to Panerai or Blancpain FF...not as bright, lasts only 2-3 hours. Not something that bothers me much, but Rolex is far from being the best in this area 100%

[Finslayer83]

Seiko is the king of lume.

No contest.

[Etschell]

Originally Posted by Finslayer83

Seiko is the king of lume.

No contest.

panerai, tudor get my vote.

[herts9]

Originally Posted by Finslayer83

Seiko is the king of lume.

No contest.

Agree.

On my winder stand, my samurai SRPC93 glows brightest in the middle of the night in the dark bedroom. My Rolexes are barely even visible

[samson66]

Originally Posted by Jhowton23

from my experiences, the best lume goes to omega, tudor, seiko, and breitling.

It is strange how Tudor lume tends to be superior to parent-company Rolex. My Black Bay is as good or better in the lume department than my SD43 which cost 3x the price.

[Carondelet]

I always hear vast and wondrous tales about Seiko's legendary lume.

With a blast of light at full charge, my Alpinist glows brighter than a Kryptonite outcrop, much brighter than my Air King.

However, as the night progresses, my Air King is substantially more legible than my Alpinist. This may be an Alpinist issue and not a Seiko issue though, so methinks I need to pick up an SKX just for a proper comparison

[ahlee00023]

Originally Posted by el-heffe

The lume duration on my BLNR and LVc is simply terrible. There's no comparison vs. my Omega Speedmaster.

Same here

[Mystro]

Originally Posted by Etschell

panerai, tudor get my vote.

I have owned a lot of them and Panerai gets my vote for lume and night time legibility. That said, I can read a Sub/GMT at 4am so it completes the task.

[Sarosh]

My BB58 is light years (pun not intended) ahead of my BLNR with regards to the lume. Tudor lasts all night and even though it fades it’s still a lot of legible than my Rolex.

[R!$]

Why did you sell the 6239?

[gt0279a]

Originally Posted by samson66

It is strange how Tudor lume tends to be superior to parent-company Rolex. My Black Bay is as good or better in the lume department than my SD43 which cost 3x the price.

C3 is brighter than BGW9 (chromalight) plus Tudor uses a gel application vs traditional paint (presumably what Rolex still uses)

[Psmith]

Hard to beat the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms...

[scurfa]

I use super luminova BGW9 on my quartz Watches and side by side with my submariner it’s the same brightness and consistent throughout the night, my auto models use Grade A BGW9 and this glows much brighter and I find this exactly the same as my Pelagos, i also find the best way to measure this is by leaving the watches in sunlight for five minutes then put them in a dark cupboard, check after five minutes, then fifteen, then one hour for the most accurate results.
C3 is the brightest but is green all the time so cannot match all watches, I think the Kermit would be much better if it used Grade A C3

[THC]

I am asleep by 9pm every night anyway... no need for Lume in my world

[DoctorA]

I don’t think I’ve ever been in a situation where I wished my lume would’ve lasted 20 more seconds

[TimeRookie]

I charge mine with an LED flashlight for 30 seconds or so every night. I have no trouble reading it at 6 am in the dark after 8 hours. Mine BLNR is better than my Omega PO which I can also see at 6 am after 8 hours.
I think you folks need to turn off your night lights so you can read your watch.

[dubins930]

If your in it for the lume... buy a seiko

[Pmt2]

My blnr lume is terrible. It shines bright for a few seconds then it fades quickly. Beautiful watch though.

[jnkay]

My 6 digit rolexes are not initially as bright as some other watches, but outlasts the others. Even with maxi dials, Rolex uses smaller indices and narrower hands than many other brands. With less luminous real estate, it has to have good staying power to be legible hours after charging vs. other watches.

[AK DeepSea]

My Omega far surpasses the DSSD lume. I can easily read the Omega all night. The Rolex fades to nothingness in a few hours.

[andyxxx]

I also can’t compare to competitors watches but the lume on my new LV and DaytonaC is amazing - for about three minutes. Anything much after 20 minutes and it’s fairly useless. I must have faulty watches.

Love them both and would have them even if they had no lume.

[Art 1]

Rolex should be ashamed of their lume.

[WJGESQ]

Originally Posted by el-heffe

The lume duration on my BLNR and LVc is simply terrible. There's no comparison vs. my Omega Speedmaster.

Completely correct.