In view of a recent disturbing report on Radon gas radiation from Radium paint on vintage clocks and wrist watches I want to know whether this 1962 Longines Flagship automatic watch has Radium paint on hands and on minutes markers or not. Any information that’s helpful to vintage watch owners with respect to that report is highly appreciated. Link of Hodinkee report is hereunder;

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/new-report-shows-radium-dials-might-pose-serious-danger

 

Probably not, I don't believe radium was used past a certain period in the late 50s/early 60s as tritium (and other variants were developed.

 

The change over for Omega was around 1962. I can’t say when Longines did so but that does indeed look like radium dial lume to me. The risk posed by stable radium lume to the wearer is overblown. You have nothing to worry about unless you inhale lume dust or lick your dial. Try not to do either of those.

ps I just looked at the article. They are using the test case of 30 radium dial watches in a small room. If I had that number or more I may well consider ventilation since Radon is a nasty alpha emitter but a watch like you show above will present a negligible risk in my experience. And yes I do have experience of handling alpha emitters.

 

Especially when you've taken the dial out for photographing. Face masks, ventilation, gloves and a throughough clean required afterwards.

The Promethium dial on left is a lot safer than the flaking radium on the right.

 

carry the watch in your left front pocket for three days.

if the left nut drops off its radium, tritium just causes it to turn a bit black.

if the right nut drops off see your doctor.

 

Humor aside, I understand now that it is perhaps radium dial but the amount of radium is negligible to cause any physical harm to the wearer.

 

If it matters at all I contacted an expert on this matter and if you were to relume the watch it would be good to go. Removing radium paint leaves behind a trace amount of radiation but the Radom gases will not be emitted anymore. Might be something to look at doing? I know I might get a couple watches relumed now and I don't really care if it hurts the value that much.

 

I would kindly ask the experts helping me to identify whether those Omega Seamaster 30 do have radium lume or not. I do think that both of them have radium lume as they don`t show the T for tritium before and after the Swiss Made. Both of them are earlier Seamaster 30 out of 1962. (reference 135.003)
Interested in your opinions as I do not own a geiger counter.
duffy

 

another hopefully better pic

 

Have you received a response?

 

a geiger counter would tell for sure. i am not aware if there are any for sale at affordable prices tho

 

This is radium based lume for sure. I’ll consider reluming when hell freezes over.

 

Try to contact the physics department if your nearest college or university. They will likely have a Geiger counter and would be willing to test your watch.

 

Bit of a late response!

As I say, the change over was around this time. Purely based on the look I would say the first SM30 has Radium lume and the second tritium lume ( or has been relumed with tritium at some point). The T marks were not seen until ~1964, the first year or so of Tritium use was not marked on the dial so the lack of Ts is not a reliable indicator for a '62-63 production Omega. Interestingly some Omega watches made in the 80s and 90s with Tritium lume dials are also missing the Ts, the first 4 years of Bond SMP production for instance. This had Tritium lume but no Ts up until the change to SL in ~1998.