Understanding Matching Lume Aging

[Styles Bitchley]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking to better understand how to understand the way lume ages. Basically, I'm wondering if mismatched dial/hands lume always indicates something that is not original. My 1680 below, for example, has hands that are lighter than the lume plots. I assume that this indicates that the hands were replaced at some point, which isn't unusual. Where I'm confused though is that I've had this example since 1993 and the lume has never glowed during my ownership. It makes sense that the tritium wouldn't hold a charge after 23 years (it's from '70), but I would assume that if the hands were replaced, say in the '80s sometime, they would have still been luminescent in the '90s.

Are these replacement hands for sure or do hands and lume plots sometimes age differently?

[onthedial]

@Styles Bitchley
It's often the case that vintage watches parts, i.e. handsets and hour plots, don't always age in chromatic harmony. So, color/hue variation is not always a surefire indicator that a watch has been relumed.
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Instagram: @onthedial

[springer]

I would agree the hands have been replaced - they do look new.

[Styles Bitchley]

Thanks guys. So how long would replacement hands remain luminescent typically? Just trying to determine when this handset would have been added, given that they wouldn’t hold a charge even in the early 90s.

[toxicavenger]

Lume on hands and dial don't age the same way. But those hands do look like replacement hands.

[southtexas]

Originally Posted by Styles Bitchley

Thanks guys. So how long would replacement hands remain luminescent typically? Just trying to determine when this handset would have been added, given that they wouldn’t hold a charge even in the early 90s.

There’s no way to tell when the handset had been swapped, actually. They do look especially clean, so maybe they’re newer than the watch, or maybe not. I’m not sure how you’d know other than to assume.

Edit to add: I personally wonder if/how much different variables contribute to nonmatching dial/handsets, ie the thickness of the lume in hands vs dial plots, or the lume used in the hand factory vs that of dial factory, etc.


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