Hi! I found this watch for sale in a closed FB-group. The seller says the dial has been relumed by Roberto Tarabella in Italy and that "new old stock tritium" has been applied. Does anyone know this name? What is "new old stock tritium"? Is it OK to re-apply lume if the old one is a basket case? Does this new tritium lume glow in the dark? I am asking for general advice, and am not looking for a Seamaster at the time being.
Multiple threads on this issue but in this case it seems to be what the name says. Old (as in 20-30-40 years) tritium was used which will not glow anymore.
still good looking. i think they use old tritium paint that has been scraped off or flaked off of other dials, then make a "new" paint out of it to relume.
I dont know if that is ever done, but I do know michael young was advertising on the rolex forum last month that he had found un-used tritium paint when an old watch shop closed and was using it in rolex dial repairs. It would not glow anymore, but would be the right color and would register on a Geiger counter.
For those who don't know, tritium emits alpha particles. They are so large that they can't escape the watch case. You won't be radiated. Tom
Just for clarity, I hope you don't mind the correction. Tiritum decays mostly by beta decay. You will always have emission from any tritium source. However the level of emission in tritium based lume (even when new) delivers a negligible dose to the wearer. After years of decay, even less so.
This is one of the best relumes i have seen. I generally do not like relume jobs, but i'd have no problem wearing this watch!
Is it ok to apply new lume? You will have to decide for yourself how you feel about restoration vs originality; it's a personal decision and also depends a lot on the condition of the watch before restoration. But based on the photo, it looks like he did an excellent job.
Beautiful relume work! Specially because it keeps the vintage look of the hour markers. In my opinion relume is fine as long as the surface of the Dial is not repainted at all. Very good work!
Weird thing is that OP has the same name as the seller of this Omega SM300 But I guess it`s just a coincidence. https://www.tidssonen.no/forum/threads/omega-sm300-165-024.58100/
He does excellent work and conservative restorations. I'm usually not a fan of any restoration work but he is a rare exception. https://www.instagram.com/roberto.tarabella_watchmaker/?hl=en
We have the same first name, but different surname. There are 2593 men whose first name is "Amund", according to Statistics Norway, the national statistical institute of Norway. The population of Norway is 5345599, and the population of Oslo, in which me and the other Amund live, is 685811 (most recent numbers). It's important to be accurate in both statistics and horology! He had the same watch on a Facebook forum auction a while ago, where it sold at November 8th for a bit less than what he asked for at "Tidssonen". I was interested in the lume job in case I find a vintage Speedmaster within my budget .