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Tritium dials: Anyone with experience?

DoctorEvil
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Hi all. Recently saw the Ball Watch Co Roadmaster Pilot GMT advertised for pre order on the net and was very drawn to it. Looks good, COSC certified movement, ceramic bezel, 300m water resistance... and all at a price point less than half a Rolex GMT Master. My only doubt was the micro gas tubes with tritium gas vs SuperLuminova. My understanding is that Tritium has a half life of 12.5 years and the micro gas tubes are claimed to be 100 times brighter than SuperLuminova with no need to charge up with a light source. So, by my reckoning after 2 half lives (25 years) the gas tubes should still be 25 times brighter than SuperLuminova and after 3 half lives (37.5 years) it should be 12.5 times brighter.

My question is: Does anyone here have real world experience with Tritium dialled watches and does my reasoning hold true? Are they still easily legible at night after 30+ years?

Although Ball Watch Co says on it's website that the dial can be replaced after the Tritium no longer glows, I read in a thread on Reddit that someone was having problems getting a replacement dial for a watch made in 2005-2008. This made me think twice, as a replacement dial after 30+ years could be difficult to source.

Thanks in advance for your responses.
 
Mouse_at_Large
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It's my understanding that it's not quite that simple. Tritium by itself does not glow. It needs to interact with a phosphorescent material to produce visible light. Therefore both the half life of the tritium and the degradation of the phosphorescent material contribute to the diminution of the generation of light over time.

Perhaps ask Ball directly if they have any information they are prepared to release?
 
Larry S
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I think you are way down a bunny hole worrying about this 30 years down the pike, but Tritium is radioactive and interacts with phosphors. +1 on talking to Ball.
 
tikkathree
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I have three Christopher Ward C600 Tritech watches with tritium tubes. These were launched in 2009 and all I can say is that they're still going strong.
Are they easily legible? Yes
Are they brighter than say a current model Seiko? No they almost certainly aren't.
Do they function without needing a sunshine boost? Yes they do. I could keep them in my sock drawer for 6 months and still see the time in the darkest night.
 
Donn Chambers
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I think you are confusing what the 100 means in tritium T100 tubes. It means that the tube has 100mC of radiating tritium (compared to, for say 25mC in T25 paint), not that it is 100 times brighter than luminova. My experience with tritium is paint on a few older watches and on gun sights, which do use tubes. All I can say is that the tritium glow is NOT as bright on a watch just AFTER the Luminova has been excited by a light source for a minute or so, but the tritium will be brighter after a few minutes and last longer. Not 100x brighter, but brighter.

So, in short, your calculation is off because the 100 does not refer to the relative brightness at all, just the amount of radiating tritium. I have seen discussions that this amounts to about 4x brighter lime than 25T tritium (which was the old standard), but that also has to do with the surface area of the tube compared to flat paint, I believe.
 
DoctorEvil
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Donn Chambers Donn Chambers
I think you are confusing what the 100 means in tritium T100 tubes. It means that the tube has 100mC of radiating tritium (compared to, for say 25mC in T25 paint), not that it is 100 times brighter than luminova. My experience with tritium is paint on a few older watches and on gun sights, which do use tubes. All I can say is that the tritium glow is NOT as bright on a watch just AFTER the Luminova has been excited by a light source for a minute or so, but the tritium will be brighter after a few minutes and last longer. Not 100x brighter, but brighter.

So, in short, your calculation is off because the 100 does not refer to the relative brightness at all, just the amount of radiating tritium. I have seen discussions that this amounts to about 4x brighter lime than 25T tritium (which was the old standard), but that also has to do with the surface area of the tube compared to flat paint, I believe.

Thank you for your response re difference between emitted radiation from Tritium and brightness. Understand your reasoning.

I consulted the Ball Watch Co website as well just to check and they're claiming it's 100 times brighter than conventional lume. See link below.

https://shop.ballwatch.ch/en/luminosity
Edited:
 
Dan S
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ExpiredWatchdog ExpiredWatchdog
Sure. One hundred times. Just depends on when you look.

Right, why not say 1,000 times brighter, or 1,000,000 times brighter. Just wait for the luminova to fade and you can make up whatever number you want. Apples and oranges.
 
DoctorEvil
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Thanks for your responses everyone. Much appreciated.

Just want to know also if any owners of vintage watches out there can vouch for how legible Tritium lume is after 30+ years. Is it still bright enough to see easily in the dark?
 
SkunkPrince
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DoctorEvil DoctorEvil
Thanks for your responses everyone. Much appreciated.

Just want to know also if any owners of vintage watches out there can vouch for how legible Tritium lume is after 30+ years. Is it still bright enough to see easily in the dark?
It depends, but generally not unless you see really well in the dark.
 
padders
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DoctorEvil DoctorEvil
Thanks for your responses everyone. Much appreciated.

Just want to know also if any owners of vintage watches out there can vouch for how legible Tritium lume is after 30+ years. Is it still bright enough to see easily in the dark?

I’ve owned maybe 20 tritium dial watches. The lume on all is now nearly completely dead unless stimulated by UV, in which case it fades to nothing after 30secs. Even the youngest, those from the mid 1990s are useless in darkness. The Ball tubes probably are a good use of tritium and may well he much brighter than the usual applied paint but I would still expect them to be similarly dead after 25 years. Does it really matter though? By then you’ll maybe be bored of it.
 
DoctorEvil
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@padders
Thanks for your input. Interesting how the Tritium on your 1990s watches no longer glow. A bit disappointing. Don't think I'll get bored with my watches. I plan to keep them for a long time. Long enough to pass on to my kids.
 
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