ich bin im Rolex Forums über einen interessanten Beitrag gestolpert.
Jetzt weiß ich, dass ich mit den greenisch Markern bei meine Sub 5513 von 01/67 und meiner Speedy -65 nicht so falsch liege.
Tritium lume markers-CREDIT JEDLY1
before
it gets lost in the bevel thread..and it is another thing that quite a few myths
exist around. to summarise the discussion to date from years of study and debate
over on VRF and elsewhere... a quick précis.
On Rolex watches tritium was
introduced as a safe alternative to the previously used radium circa 1962, and
is most commonly identified on the dial with swiss < 25t until it was
discarded for the safer luminova in the 90's - i wont digress into the whole
underline thing.
Although we simply call it tritium it is actually a
compound containing a phosphorous substance and within that overall compound
there is some tritium which acts as the power source for the phosphorous
material ((like the battery).
From the introduction onwards it appears
that various different 'recipes' were used for this compound, as well as
different physical applications to the dial.
If you line up a whole load
of watches in consectutive years you can actually see the pattern of how these
mixtures/applications changed, even more so if you use an ultraviolet loupe and
can see the make up of the marker and its response to light.
what you
tend to see - not as an exact science :
1. up until about 64/5/6. the
gilt dials... markers tend to be quite domed and textured in their appearance
and when exposed to a strong light source the luminous material will glow green
for a short time. Put a UV loupe on them and it is a uniform green
finish.
2. 67/68 first of the matt dials.. this seems to have been a
cross over period in the manufacturing approach, two extremes along side.. very
domed markers like half maltesers for those who know what they are, glow green
for a short time if exposed to a strong light source. I guess this is why there
are often so many posts requersting opinion from watches in this period as they
seemt o create the most confusion.
OR
very flat very thin layer
completely dead to light exposure.
3. 68-74/5 - greatly reduced amount of
compound applied ,flatish application of the mixture nearly always dead to any
light stimulation. you get used to see-ing how the application was made on
different models in this time period, some with a very weaved texture., some
dead flat. Usually greenish/bluish crystals present as the only glow under a UV
loupe. tends to yellow over time.
4. mid 70's back to a more textured
appearance with a bit more dome to the markers, often orangey crystals are the
only things stimulated as visible under UV loupe. Does not tend to respond to
light stimulous but there appears to be some small amount of power left in the
tritium and often in a dark room in the middle of the night the markers/hands
can be read/seen. Examples often tends to orange/brown as well as just yellow as
they age.
5. early 80's - new mix again flat, glossier, no repsonse to
light stimulous but often some power left in the tritium that will give some
luninous in darkened conditions once the eyes have become
accustomed.
thats pretty much where we leave vintage.
the
tricky bit is the 60's stuff that still glows green, if you pick up a watch and
it does , then it doesnt neccessarily mean its relumed, neither does it mean its
OK, the relume question tends to be the trickiest (unless its just a crap job of
physical application), is often virtually impossible to address over the net,
and even in hand can leave a room split down the middle.
what we do know
for the late 60's/70/870's stuff is that it appears from all the long term
stored examples discussed, is that left to its own devices the tritium based
compound will age, and gain patina. From what we have seen and a few experiments
conducted we see that light has a bleaching effect on the mixture which slows
the development of patina and keeps it light.
the tricky bit with this is
that the mixture can also gain patina through moisture ingress ( especially for
example in a humid climate). The trick here is to look for any other seconday
signs of mositure.. staining, corrosion etc ..
Ok, not an authorative
guide, and off course there will be examples that maybe buck this, it is after
all Rolex.
VG, Günter