Question on tritium and patina

mk2rick · May 25, 2021

hi OF folks!

I have a question that I am hoping you guys can help me with! I am looking at a vintage watch purchase and noticed that the indices have not patinaed. Its a 30 year old watch btw.

My question is .. if the tritium indices have not patinaed yet, does it mean that it will likely not change colour in the future?

To me, the yellow tint to the hour markets are attractive and thats what I am going for. I am happy to wait for it to age slowly. But just curious if at this 30 year mark, if there isnt signs , does it mean that it will never age in colour?

thank you in advance!

jeppe888 · May 25, 2021

i think a picture might help a bit

jeppe888 · May 25, 2021

i am not sure whether you can predict patina but there might be some more experienced guys who knows that

gbesq · May 25, 2021

Not all tritium patinates equally. Some goes greenish, some yellowish, some brownish, some gets fungus, some doesn’t, etc. Tritium on the hands and tritium on the hour markers can age differently on the same watch! 😲 If you want a vintage Omega with tritium that takes on a yellowish tint, your best bet it probably a Speedmaster Professional reference 3590.50. These were produced from the late 1980s through about 1996 and are well regarded for their tritium dials and hands which tend to go yellow as they age. Here’s mine. To illustrate my earlier point, note how the tritium on the chronograph hand is much darker than the tritium on the hour markers.

DON · May 25, 2021

My Panerai has tritium and hasn't aged at all. Number from the previous year aged nicely on the ones I've seen.

Sometimes it ages well. Sometimes not so much

DON

Dan S · May 25, 2021

If it hasn't changed in the first 30 years, I wouldn't bet on it changing very much in the near future.

mk2rick · May 26, 2021

thanks for the feedback guys! its a rolex 5513 that i am considering actually.

@gbesq, yeah i also have a 3590.50 from 1996 that has aged beautifully. love that yellow patina.

https://pduggan.com/collections/vintage-1/products/35877-rolex-vintage-1988-submariner-ref-5513

Burr · May 26, 2021

I’d also say that if it hasn’t patina’d after 30 years, it probably won’t. I certainly wouldn’t want to wait another 30 years to find out if what I wanted was a patina watch now — 5513s look so good with patina, you have good taste sir!

JwRosenthal · May 26, 2021

My 14060 has just started to turn- pale cream in some light, white in others- bezel is starting to go deep blue in some light.

My 16750 remained very bright cream for the first 30 years and has noticeably started to turn towards yellow in just the last 5 years. I attribute this to more time in the dark and less in the sun (I have heard darkness ages lume faster than sun- which I find odd, but everything on the internet is true- right??). It was my daily since ‘02 and became an occasional wear within the last 5 years- hence more dark drawer time. I actually don’t like the color shift on that watch for the simple reason that it reminds that I have owned it long enough to watch the lume change color, and the bezel from bright red/blue to pale magenta/blue.
I think if it’s not an SLN service dial or hasn’t been relumed with SLN, it will shift at some point- but slowly and dependent on environment.

JwRosenthal · May 26, 2021

And of course everyone likes pics
30 years to this point

40 years to this point

Burr · May 26, 2021

JwRosenthal
And of course everyone likes pics
30 years to this point

40 years to this point

Happen to have pics from 20 or 30 years ago? Would be interesting to see a side by side comparison

sirtaifun · May 27, 2021

Burr
Happen to have pics from 20 or 30 years ago

Sure, but they are black and white 😁😁😁
Just kidding sorry!

JwRosenthal · May 27, 2021

Burr
Happen to have pics from 20 or 30 years ago? Would be interesting to see a side by side comparison

Unfortunately, I don’t.

Albe100 · May 27, 2021

I wonder if it hasn't aged in the last 30 years if it's an indication that the watch wasn't worn much? If it was an everyday wear, would the sun help promote the aging of both the tritium, bezel and dial? I have a 1990 16700 GMT, and similarly, the tritium hasn't changed much, whereas some examples have very creamy tritium and faded bezels.

mk2rick · May 27, 2021

t

Burr
I’d also say that if it hasn’t patina’d after 30 years, it probably won’t. I certainly wouldn’t want to wait another 30 years to find out if what I wanted was a patina watch now — 5513s look so good with patina, you have good taste sir!

thanks buddy.. yeah a 5513 has been on my radar for a long time now, havent found one in immaculate condition that would tempt me to pull the trigger. Moreover, im looking for a specific serial too

Dan S · May 27, 2021

JwRosenthal
I have heard darkness ages lume faster than sun ...

Albe100
If it was an everyday wear, would the sun help promote the aging of both the tritium, bezel and dial?

I hope you're taking notes, OP.

gbesq · May 27, 2021

I guess that Omega correctly anticipated the attractiveness of patinated lume to a certain segment of buyers since we're seeing "aged lume" introduced on a number of new models. Why wait 30 years for the appearance of aged tritium when you can have it now? 😎

jaguar11 · May 27, 2021

JwRosenthal
And of course everyone likes pics
30 years to this point

40 years to this point

I like the 14060 with the plastic crystal!

mk2rick · May 27, 2021

yeah i noticed the superdome! i didnt know it fits with a 14060!

JwRosenthal · May 27, 2021

M mk2rick
yeah i noticed the superdome! i didnt know it fits with a 14060!

https://omegaforums.net/threads/bubble-dome-on-a-14060.129811/

Question on tritium and patina

mk2rick

jeppe888

jeppe888

gbesq

DON

Dan S

mk2rick

Burr

JwRosenthal

JwRosenthal

Burr

sirtaifun

JwRosenthal

Albe100

mk2rick

Dan S

gbesq

jaguar11

mk2rick

JwRosenthal

Similar threads

Another OMBAS, another OMEGA, but with a question on the clasp

Question on an old (?) looking new dial

Thoughts on Tritium dials

Moonwatch with Tritium and Sapphire sandwich?

Help with a Tudor ID and Patina question

Thoughts on Omega 2576-3C (purchase and patina assestment)