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Is this a radium dial seamaster?

Brett2444
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Hi all,

This is a 1956 Seamaster 2846/2848. Just judging by the year, my assumption is that it has to be a radium dial.
My research on this forum indicated that it was not until ~1962 when tritium was widely phased in to the seamaster range.

Is there any other tell tale signs this one is radium? Otherwise i'll end up buying a Geigercounter.
Thank you for your time and expertise!
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Thanks!
 
X350 XJR
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Yes, radium, no you don't need to worry about it.
 
wagudc
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Brett2444 Brett2444
Perfect, thank you so much for the help.

Yep as long as you are not opening it, or storing it in a confined space with 20 others like it there is not much to worry about.
 
Brett2444
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This particular one I will be wearing every once in a while, not opening it up for any servicing so should be good on that end.
 
watchyouwant
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You will be fine, unless you fall in Love with your dial and hands and start licking them ...
 
M'Bob
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Also, I’m not sure I would sleep with the watch on with it directly next to my head for many hours.
 
Brett2444
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I was planning on servicing it, I guess i should take a lot of precautions when I do it (respirator/ventillation) and throw out any consumables used in the process (dial / hand storage).
I only need to work on the movement but I am aware there would be dust in the movement.
Maybe at this point its just worth leaving it at -50s/d 2.5ms beat error or find a specialist watchmaker for a service I could usually do myself
 
X350 XJR
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Brett2444 Brett2444
I was planning on servicing it, I guess i should take a lot of precautions when I do it (respirator/ventillation) and throw out any consumables used in the process (dial / hand storage).
I only need to work on the movement but I am aware there would be dust in the movement.
Maybe at this point its just worth leaving it at -50s/d 2.5ms beat error or find a specialist watchmaker for a service I could usually do myself

You are way overthinking this.
 
Brett2444
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Oh thats good to know.
Thanks everyone for the helpful advice, I really appreciate it.
 
Bruce235
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Not very much radium either, tiny pips and thin bit in the hands.
 
kalin91
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Just a general question - how can one recognise radium on the dial?
Thanks!
 
padders
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kalin91 kalin91
Just a general question - how can one recognise radium on the dial?
Thanks!
Because they used nothing else until 1962 or so. If there is lume on the dial and hands of watch prior to this and that lume is original and untouched then the lume is Radium. Simple as that. It often appears dark and degraded as seen there, though can be a pleasant pumpkin colour also. You do see dials & hands where it has been removed or replaced later with tritium or even SL, but that is pretty obvious to spot as it is often white or pale green and usually looks like it was applied with a cake icing bag. Reluming wasn't often done well back in the day.
Edited:
 
Dan S
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kalin91 kalin91
Just a general question - how can one recognise radium on the dial?
Thanks!
@padders already gave the basic answer. First one needs to know how to date the watch, and if it is before a certain year, lume is likely to be radium.

There are subtleties. For example, there's a transitional period and one can look for the presence or absence of "T" on the small text at the bottom of the dial. One also needs to be able to identify an original dial vs a service replacement. These are all relevant to Swiss watches, BTW, Japanese watches did not use anything radioactive AFAIK.

Ultimately, a Geiger counter reading will tell the difference. Radium dials vary a lot in their emission, but they're always well above background, by a minimum of 5x-10x if you hold the sensor close to the crystal (and sometimes much more!). Tritium dials are never much above background.
 
noelekal
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The radium is of small concern, however you will grow a prehensile tail if you don't change out that crown for a proper Omega one.

Nice watch! It has an appealing vintage look.
 
Brett2444
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noelekal noelekal
The radium is of small concern, however you will grow a prehensile tail if you don't change out that crown for a proper Omega one.
@noelekal If you can point me in the direction of the correct one i'm happy to purchase one to fix it 😜
 
padders
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Dan S Dan S
@padders already gave the basic answer. First one needs to know how to date the watch, and if it is before a certain year, lume is likely to be radium.

There are subtleties. For example, there's a transitional period and one can look for the presence or absence of "T" on the small text at the bottom of the dial. One also needs to be able to identify an original dial vs a service replacement. These are all relevant to Swiss watches, BTW, Japanese watches did not use anything radioactive AFAIK.

Ultimately, a Geiger counter reading will tell the difference. Radium dials vary a lot in their emission, but they're always well above background, by a minimum of 5x-10x if you hold the sensor close to the crystal (and sometimes much more!). Tritium dials are never much above background.

It may have been more use to the questioner I admit if I’d added that the lume change over seems to be roughly around the 20m serial mark. Before that it’s best to assume radium lume is present, after that care is needed to be sure what exactly was used. The change over wasn’t instant, some models changed later than others, presumably as dial stocks ran out, and some models like Speedmasters run in their own serial ranges but 20m is a good a cut off as any and prob the closest round figure.
Edited:
 
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