Lousy Lume (SMP300)

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scapa

·Oct 8, 2020

steelfish

Mine is still easily visible at 5 or 6 am when I wake up. Yeah it’s not blinding like a PO, but easily visible. Have you tried giving it a quick blast with an LED torch before bed to see how well it lasts?

Same here. Mine is still going strong after 8-9 hours, though not quite as bright, obviously. Maybe try a high-lumen LED like Nitecore or equivalent just to be sure.

 

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Drb477

·Oct 8, 2020

I've always been underwhelmed by how long I perceive my lume lasting at a functuonal brightness compared to what other people state they get with their (sometimes identical) watches. Ultimately I think a lot of it is perception.

 

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gbesq

·Oct 8, 2020

I own the previous generation of the SMPc. No complaints.

 

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SkunkPrince

·Oct 8, 2020

Foo2rama

It would be very dim and your eyes would need to be dark adapted.

Right.

 

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savio.79

·Oct 9, 2020

I'm ok with it!

 

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PRW

·Oct 9, 2020

Just walked into work shop and took this, almost in daylight, just a dimmer part of the shop.

 

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Thunder Dump

·Oct 9, 2020

mjb

If you want good lume, buy a Ball. You can land a plane by those suckers.

I'm spoiled by my Ball watches with the lume. I had the same reaction with my 300M Diver, thinking there was something wrong with the lume because of how quickly it dissipated. However, after some research I realized the behavior is normal and I was just used to the Tritium lume of the Balls. They make it hard to appreciate any other lume on my other watches.

 

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SkunkPrince

·Oct 9, 2020

Tritium is remarkable the first ten years, about. After that, it's time for new tubes.

 

P

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Poppydog

·Oct 9, 2020

I have two of the previous versions, as well as a diver chrono' gmt and have no issues. If I wake in the middle of the night, I can easily see the time via the lume on any of them.

 

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jcmartinez98

·Oct 9, 2020

The lume-beast

 

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keisuke_z

·Oct 12, 2020

I’m a total sucker for lume. I wear my watch to sleep and before bed I give it about a 5-10 second blast with a UV torch. If I wake up throughout the night, and even if it’s 7 hours later in the morning, as long as my eyes are adjusted to darkness, I can still see the lume, albeit faintly. My wife has mentioned that when she’s woken up middle of the night, she can clearly see my watch glowing if my hands on top of the covers.

That ultra bright glow only ever lasts for a short while - the rest of the visibility isn’t discernible unless you’re in the dark and eyes adjusted. Just curious - did you get your watch from the OB or an AD? Or elsewhere online?

 

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DystopianUtopia

·Jun 8, 2022

mjb

If you want good lume, buy a Ball. You can land a plane by those suckers.

I've never owned any watch that I could see in the dark after a few hours.

I am having the same issue with the lume on the minute hand and the dot on the bezel of my 210.30.42.20.06.001.
Regarding a watch that can be seen a few hours after dark, Traser watches (taken over now by use Tritium night light. That being my previous watch before “smart” watches was incredible.
All that being said, my wife has a Rolex Oyster Perpetual that has diamonds instead of lume, which is glorious in direct light, useless in low light obviously.

 

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Tekashi_145.022

·Jun 8, 2022

I have the latest version of the Seamaster 300m and its lume is the best I’ve ever owned, no contest. I’ve owned a Speedy, Christopher Ward C60, TAG Heuer Aquaracer, Swiss Army/Victorinox, etc. and the 300m blows them out of the water in both strength and duration. It seems to last twice as long as my Aquaracer.

I didn’t know non-radioactive lume could be this good!

 

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Donn Chambers

·Jun 8, 2022

I find that a lot of people don’t fully understand how superluminova works and The level at which it fades over time. First of all, it is charged primarily by UV rays. Depending on your light source (e.g., a household LED lamp), you won’t get sufficient excitation. Sunlight or a UV flashlight are the best tools to charge it. Next, it will not glow at the same brightness all night. There is a continual decrease in the intensity. This is natural. If you charge it then look at it 30-40 minutes later in a fairly bright room, you will think the lume isn’t working. But do the same thing in a darkened room AND wait for your eyes to adjust to the dark and it will be bright enough to do what it is designed to do - tell the time. It won’t be blinding, but it is bright enough.

if the OP does all this and puts it by his bed before he goes to sleep and can still tell the time at 6:30 am, it’s okay. If he can’t, the. He can complain there’s a problem.

just my 3 cents worth (adjusting for inflation).

 

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Foo2rama

·Jun 8, 2022·Nowhere near as grumpy as he used to be...

Tekashi_145.022

I have the latest version of the Seamaster 300m and its lume is the best I’ve ever owned, no contest. I’ve owned a Speedy, Christopher Ward C60, TAG Heuer Aquaracer, Swiss Army/Victorinox, etc. and the 300m blows them out of the water in both strength and duration. It seems to last twice as long as my Aquaracer.

I didn’t know non-radioactive lume could be this good!

still not as good as Seikos…

 

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Leviathan

·Jun 8, 2022

OP, I totally understand. I was underwhelmed with the 8800 SM Diver’s lume. It leaves a lot to be desired.

Starts fading away almost instantly, and the hands are barely visible in the dark.

The best lume I’ve ever seen is on my Seiko SRPA75. The thing is always shining bright green. It’s almost like it’s radioactive. Amazing piece at less than 1/40th the price of the SM Diver!