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Tritium or radium? Constellation pie pan

C
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hello guys,

Could you confirm if the lume is radium o tritium?
Teglia per torta Omega Constellation 165.005 del 1962.
I know that omega start to mart the swiss Made t from 1964.. so this could be tritium without the t Mark or radium?

Thanks for your help!!

IMG_2589.webp
 
C
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C ciao123
Ciao ragazzi,

Potresti confermare se il lume è radio o trizio?
Teglia per torta Omega Constellation 165.005 del 1962.
So che Omega ha iniziato a commercializzare il modello T di fabbricazione svizzera a partire dal 1964, quindi potrebbe essere al trizio senza il marchio T o al radio?

Grazie per l'aiuto!!

IMG_2589.webp

IMG_2591.webp
 
Davidt
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What makes you say it’s 1962?

It looks like it might be tritium but it’s not possible
To say for sure without testing it with a Geiger.
 
C
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Davidt Davidt
Cosa ti fa dire che siamo nel 1962?

Sembra che possa essere trizio ma non è possibile
Per dirlo con certezza senza provarlo con un Geiger.
The reference number inside the movement
 
C
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Davidt Davidt
Cosa ti fa dire che siamo nel 1962?

Sembra che possa essere trizio ma non è possibile
Per dirlo con certezza senza provarlo con un Geiger.
What values have tritium and radium?
 
Davidt
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It has -62 on the caseback? That doesn’t mean it was made in 1962. It’s the 1962 reference but could have been made in 63 or 64
 
Davidt
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C ciao123
What values have tritium and radium?
Or do you mean what value on a Geiger? Tritium will be no different to background whereas radium will be significantly higher.
If background is say 10-25micro sieverts, radium will be 100 to several thousand
 
C
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Yes, i mean value of geiger. Ok i will buy it and make a test
Davidt Davidt
O intendi il valore su un Geiger? Il trizio non sarà diverso dallo sfondo, mentre il radio sarà significativamente più alto.
Se lo sfondo è di circa 10-25 micro sievert, il radio sarà compreso tra 100 e diverse migliai
 
Peemacgee
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welcome @ciao123

Radium and tritium tend to age differently and from the colour of the hands inserts and the lower lume pips, the lume looks very much like tritium.
The upper lume pips on the other hand look more like radium but it may just be a factor of differential lighting in your pics or the upper area of the dial was exposed to moisture at some point. (you could confirm if the lume pips are all the same colour or not)

In saying that, to my knowledge, I don't think we have ever seen a radium lumed dogleg on OF.

It would help if you could also confirm the reference of the watch (it should be a 167.005 or the earlier 14900) and the actual movt serial number.
167.005s were officially released in 1962 and there are plenty of examples of tritium lumed Constellations around with no T markings on the dial from that period before Omega began applying Ts in around '63.
 
C
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Peemacgee Peemacgee
benvenuto @ciao123

Il radio e il trizio tendono a invecchiare in modo diverso e, a giudicare dal colore degli inserti delle lancette e dai punti luminosi inferiori, il lume assomiglia molto al trizio.
I punti luminosi superiori, d'altro canto, sembrano più simili al radio, ma potrebbe essere solo un fattore di illuminazione differenziale nelle tue foto o la parte superiore del quadrante è stata esposta all'umidità in qualche momento. (Potresti confermare se i punti luminosi sono tutti dello stesso colore o no)

Detto questo, per quanto ne so, non credo che abbiamo mai visto un dogleg radioluminescente su OF.

Sarebbe utile se potessi anche confermare il riferimento dell'orologio (dovrebbe essere un 16 7 .005 o il precedente 14900) e l'effettivo numero di serie del movimento.
I 167.005 furono lanciati ufficialmente nel 1962 e ci sono molti esempi di Constellation illuminati al trizio senza la scritta T sul quadrante risalenti a quel periodo, prima che Omega iniziasse ad applicare le T intorno al '63.
Thanks for your reply! The points seem are the same and the correct reference is 19349467. What do you thinks is the year and confirm this series have tritium?
 
Peemacgee
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C ciao123
Thanks for your reply! The points seem are the same and the correct reference is 19349467. What do you thinks is the year and confirm this series have tritium?
The 19,3xx movt serial (not reference - this will be inside the case back. ) does suggest a 62 production date but:
1. Omega didn’t necessarily use serial numbers sequentially- IIRC they used them in batches
2. The movt could have been put into a watch a year or even two later than when it was produced.
3. The ‘full text’ dial suggests it’s not a very early 6-digit dogleg which sometimes have the ‘missing text’ dial ( but this could be down to the variation in case/dial suppliers. )

I’m afraid there is no hard and fast rule about the dates of use of radium/tritium.
I can only repeat that I don’t think I’ve ever seen a radium lumed dogleg and certainly not on a 167.005/168.005.
 
SOG53
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Put a UV light on it. When you turn it off, if it’s tritium the glow will fade in 10-30 seconds. If it’s radium glow will fade immediately.
 
C
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Davidt Davidt
O intendi il valore su un Geiger? Il trizio non sarà diverso dallo sfondo, mentre il radio sarà significativamente più alto.
Se lo sfondo è di circa 10-25 micro sievert, il radio sarà compreso tra 100 e diverse migliaia
Hello, i buyed a pen geiger. This is the max value and is aroun 0.14usv/h and 0.20

IMG_2727.webp IMG_2726.webp IMG_2723.webp
 
iamvr
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Peemacgee Peemacgee
In saying that, to my knowledge, I don't think we have ever seen a radium lumed dogleg on OF.
Peemacgee Peemacgee
I can only repeat that I don’t think I’ve ever seen a radium lumed dogleg
Very interesting. I always assumed that the lume on my 14900 offered here was radium given the dark color. But it could have been due to the moisture ingress that also caused the patina. I went to check with my Geiger counter, the readings are all over the place but seem to settle around 0.30 µSv/h, similar to the my Seamaster 2577 that almost certainly has radium on it. So radium or tritium I wonder.
 
C
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iamvr iamvr
Very interesting. I always assumed that the lume on my 14900 offered here was radium given the dark color. But it could have been due to the moisture ingress that also caused the patina. I went to check with my Geiger counter, the readings are all over the place but seem to settle around 0.30 µSv/h, similar to the my Seamaster 2577 that almost certainly has radium on it. So radium or tritium I wonder.
could i see the seamaster? It a strange that radium have the same value of hSv/h. Anyway tomorrow i will try it with a uv lamp for the last test
 
Peemacgee
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iamvr iamvr
Very interesting. I always assumed that the lume on my 14900 offered here was radium given the dark color. But it could have been due to the moisture ingress that also caused the patina. I went to check with my Geiger counter, the readings are all over the place but seem to settle around 0.30 µSv/h, similar to the my Seamaster 2577 that almost certainly has radium on it. So radium or tritium I wonder.
It’s entirely possible that an early 14902 from ‘62 had a radium dial but it could also be moisture ingress.

I don’t know if 0.3 is a high or low reading.
(I’m going guess and suggest @Davidt was referring to the equivalent of 0.1-0.25 for tritium -which is pretty close to 0.3)

However, I still can’t see a167.005/168.005 having a radium dial.
 
Davidt
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It depends on your location, local geology, distance from the poles etc but very broadly, background radiation is around 0.10-0.30 µSv/h. Readings do bounce around. Where I live it tends to fluctuate from 0.10 to 0.18, occasionally going as low as 0.5 and as high as 0.25
Tritium shouldn’t alter your reading from background (unless you have a reader that detects gamma). So try and get a baseline just on your kitchen table, or wherever, then introduce your watch. Radium shows a clear, significant increase.
I can’t recall seeing a radium dial with a reading below 100, and they’re generally higher. You do need to have the meter close to or ideally resting on the watch as a few centimetres of air quickly absorbs and reduces the dose.

Caveat - this is my layman’s view. I’m sure @Seaborg or another member much better qualified than me can point out any errors.
 
padders
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It looks like suspiciously pale tritium to me. I wonder if it was redone at some point.
C ciao123
Hello, i buyed a pen geiger. This is the max value and is aroun 0.14usv/h and 0.20

IMG_2727.webp IMG_2726.webp IMG_2723.webp

What is your background reading? With that serial it could indeed be either but I’d want to see a noticeably higher than background reading to be confident it was radium. Tritium won’t be anywhere near as big a difference. If any at all.

ps I know from experience cheap meters are not very accurate at all!
 
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