Tritium watch dial repair

tlawler · Oct 22, 2018

I asked this question in an ongoing Casio watch discussion, but didn’t get any response.

Has anyone gotten the tritium tubes on a watch dial replaced? I bought this Luminox new back in 2004 and 14 years later, the tritium has dimmed to the point it is only visible in a darkened room after your eyes have adjusted to the darkness. I contacted Luminox, and they use a third party service/warranty center that won’t do it. It seems like a shame to relegate a $500+ watch to daytime use only.

Texas Star · Oct 22, 2018

I saw your other post and the lack of response.

I can't help, but you've put me off ever buying a Luminox!

Good luck. Luminous hands are a must for me on a watch.

tlawler · Oct 22, 2018

Texas Star said:
I saw your other post and the lack of response.

I can't help, but you've put me off ever buying a Luminox!

Good luck. Luminous hands are a must for me on a watch.

Not the fault of Luminox. I’ve heard that other tritium faced watches have had even shorter lives. I’d buy another Luminox in a heartbeat. This watch has been absolutely bulletproof! It’s been down to 250+ feet and back when I used to cave dive, it was so bright that I could turn off my main light and let my eyes adjust to the darkness and use it to read my gauges by. It would even cast slight shadows! It was so bright that if I checked the time when I woke up in a dark room, it would almost hurt your eyes and I would see the ghost image of the dial for several minutes after. One time at church during an Easter service when the lights were dimmed way down, I had my left arm draped over the back of the pew and around my wife. The guy behind me asked me if I could turn off my watch because it was bothering him and his wife.

Rule3 · Oct 22, 2018

Texas Star said:
I saw your other post and the lack of response.

I can't help, but you've put me off ever buying a Luminox!

Good luck. Luminous hands are a must for me on a watch.

Tritium doen't last forever (almost) but not quite. Same as night sights on a gun, they will fade at over 10-12 years.

tlawler said:
Not the fault of Luminox. I’ve heard that other tritium faced watches have had even shorter lives. I’d buy another Luminox in a heartbeat. This watch has been absolutely bulletproof! It’s been down to 250+ feet and back when I used to cave dive, it was so bright that I could turn off my main light and let my eyes adjust to the darkness and use it to read my gauges by. It would even cast slight shadows! It was so bright that if I checked the time when I woke up in a dark room, it would almost hurt your eyes and I would see the ghost image of the dial for several minutes after. One time at church during an Easter service when the lights were dimmed way down, I had my left arm draped over the back of the pew and around my wife. The guy behind me asked me if I could turn off my watch because it was bothering him and his wife.

Perhaps take it out to Nevada bury in the sands of test areas and it will regenerate

I have a Citizen (not as expensive or nice) but has been through hell and back, salt water and it is dim. Been wearing it daily for many many years.

zombie66 · Oct 23, 2018

OP, I tried to send you a PM on your issue and you exceeded your number of PMs..

Anyways the short answer is “NO”.

Im not sure if you have the T-100 or T-25 tubes in that model which doesnt help the matter, you may be able to get done through a 3rd party but it is gonna be spendy.

Luminox Watches are pretty good watches but like ANY watch with Tritium is has a shelf life that will dim out to the point that it will look like weak lume paint.

I have a Marathon GSAR that is a tough watch but like your Luminox it has Tritium that is slowly losing its “Glow” if you want a great dive style watch without breaking the bank please look at the Seiko SKX007 they can be had for as little as 175$ on Amazon and are tough to kill, it you want another Luminox dont hesitate to get another one.

If you want to spend some more coin I would look at the Fortis Marine Master

Tritium is great when its new but kinda suck when its old.

shouldazagged · Oct 23, 2018

I've worn Timex Expedition watches for years. No prestige factor, not beautiful, just good, durable, inexpensive, accurate working watches I can afford.

They have the Indiglo feature--press the crown, a soft blue internal light illuminates the dial. Release the crown and it goes dark. As long as the battery has juice, the light works.

I'm a simple man with simple tastes. I'm also very broke.

Rock185 · Oct 23, 2018

I feel your pain, but it's not a Luminox issue, it's that physics thing. Half life of tritium is just over 12 years, so it's inevitable. When my 30+ year old Rolex Sub was overhauled, I had the hands replaced. But in a few years, I'll be in the same boat.

BTW, I have a Timex Expedition too. That Indiglow feature is pretty neat. $41.00 at Wal Mart a few years ago

tlawler · Oct 23, 2018

Found something!

I’ve been doing some web research and found some info on a forum called watchuseek. It’s a company out of Hong Kong and for around $200 give or take, they will relume your tritium watch. There was a guy that had it done and he was very happy with the results. I think it will be worth it. Used versions of my 8100 series are going for almost $600 on ebay with a new one up over $800, plus this watch and me, we’ve been through a lot together, so it has a lot of sentimental value.

Here is the post with the information and a pic of his finished watch:

The company was great to work with, a few people hit me up on Bladeforums asking for a referral and Raymond graciously agreed. They did ask me to make sure you were aware of the cost, it will be $150-$200 with return shipping. The company name is Bonding Co Ltd, my contact has been with Raymond Li (I believe he is the owner). The email address for him is bondingemail at Gmail.

VictorLouis · Oct 24, 2018

tlaw, here is my answer to you from the Casio thread.....

VictorLouis said:
As mundane as it may seem to us, tritium is a regulated gas which gives off nuclear radiation. Luminox, as with other OEMs, no doubt buys their tubes from the tritium manufacturer. Loops and hurdles nearly impossible to clear, I am sure. You might consider finding a good watch tech who could overlay the vials/indices with Super Luminova compound. That's the absorbent, glow-in-the-dark stuff that has nearly universally replaced tritium in the watch industry now. Your watch vials may still have enough 'juice' to stimulate the compound from below, as well as what it will absorb through the watch crystal.

I had tritium paint on a watch that this dealer treated in just such a way. Granted, it didn't have vials implanted like your Luminox, but the result was outstanding to my eyes. ..

Donaldson Watches and Watch Repair | New Watch Sales And Watch Repair Services

tlawler · Nov 18, 2018

I found another alternative:

Tom,
Thank-you for the inquiry. I cannot actually replace the tubes on the tritium watches. I have in the past, added lume to borders of the hands and the indices. Let me know if you’re still interesting that procedure.
I sent some photos. In the black dial, I lumed the arabics, and added lume to the hands. On the white dial, I lumed over the dead tubes and added lume to the sides of the tubes like the black dial.
Prices would be $114 for the dial and $38 for the hands.
Regards,
Kent

This is from Kent Parks of Everest Watch Works out of Flagstaff, Arizona. He doesn’t mention it by name, but I’m guessing it’s the Super Luminova compound mentioned by VictorLouis. I’m going to contact Donaldson and get a quote from them as well.
Here is a picture of the finished product from Everest on a Luminox nearly identical to mine.

Leonard · Nov 19, 2018

Yes the Hong Kong company just refurbished my old titanium Luminox. If you need more contact info let me know Raymond is indeed the contact. I believe I spent a bit over $200.00 make sure the watch is worth it.

tlawler · Nov 22, 2018

Leonard said:
Yes the Hong Kong company just refurbished my old titanium Luminox. If you need more contact info let me know Raymond is indeed the contact. I believe I spent a bit over $200.00 make sure the watch is worth it.

I just came back and looked at this thread and saw your post. Are you happy with the craftsmanship? The picture of the watch I posted when I first mentioned Bonding Co. looks very professionally done, but you just don’t know until you see it close up. Is it hard to ship to HK? Do you just use international priority mail and insure it? I’ve never shipped anything out of the US before. I’m definitely going to have it done if you’re happy with the work and service you received. Can you post some pictures of it? Thanks!

Leonard · Nov 23, 2018

Yes the work was very well done, shipping was easy, your post office should walk you thru the export form.
This is the third movement and the first tritium replacement. It is NOT as bright as it was when new,which was the reason I bought it.
Its been on many safaris with me and I wear it daily so I went for the repair. There is nothing they can do for the titanium case so it still shows its age.
In hind sight I for a little less than a another 200 dollars I could have purchased a new NITE watch which seems to be very bright and has good reviews.

Tritium watch dial repair

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