Tritium or Radium

sah · Jul 16, 2022

When I first got this, I used the serial number to date this around 1959 (I no longer have the serial number). The dial appears to be tritium but a 1959 Omega should have had radium. All sources I find, seem to say Omega started tritium in 1962 or 1963. When I use an iPhone geiger counter , it reads no radiation. My older lumed watches like a 1954 Eternamatic light up the Geiger counter so I know it is working on those radium watches.

Question: is this a radium watch but I am not measuring it with my Geiger counter, or could this be a replacement tritium dial from the 1960s? Or maybe I am off on the serial number…

Nepomuceño · Jul 17, 2022

It’s neither. It’s been relumed and redialed it seems.

norb1967 · Jul 17, 2022

Yup, 100% redialled. Compare, for one, the text on ‘Automatic’ with other examples (the font and spacing etc.). Also the lume looks pretty new.

Davidt · Jul 17, 2022

Yes it been redialled so it could well be the original dial plate but it had the original paint and radium removed, replaced with new dial print and non radioactive compound.

JimInOz · Jul 17, 2022

Sparkly sunburst dial with "mint" lume = a redial.

As do a number of other clues.

sah · Jul 17, 2022

Thank you all. Im good with the redial. Just wanted to avoid passing down a radium watch to my grandchildren. I know the radiation is small, but even a little is too much for them.

Anyway, this one stays in the family as it was from my uncle, and will be passed on from me.

DON · Jul 17, 2022

sah
Thank you all. Im good with the redial. Just wanted to avoid passing down a radium watch to my grandchildren. I know the radiation is small, but even a little is too much for them.

Anyway, this one stays in the family as it was from my uncle, and will be passed on from me.

Even if radium. Not enough on the dial to affect anyone. Radiation all around you from the sun, the microwave and even your cell phone

DON

Vintage Lemania · Jul 17, 2022

Definitely neither, so no need to worry on that front. In all honesty, at least in my opinion, the dial looks pretty good for being a refinish.

norb1967 · Jul 17, 2022

sah
Thank you all. Im good with the redial. Just wanted to avoid passing down a radium watch to my grandchildren. I know the radiation is small, but even a little is too much for them.

Anyway, this one stays in the family as it was from my uncle, and will be passed on from me.

There will be trace amounts of radiation, likely no more than background. However, as you rightly say, a dial with radium in it can be a lot more radioactive than would otherwise appear, and when there’s plenty of great non lumed/relumed watches out there (as yours is), why the risk?

Tritium or Radium

sah

Nepomuceño

norb1967

Davidt

JimInOz

sah

DON

Vintage Lemania

norb1967

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