Vintage Seamaster 366.0858 / 166.0251 question...

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gyromiterob

·Jun 23, 2025

Hi all, I've been looking for one of these older Seamasters for a while and have seen more than once where the lume(?) on the hands is gone? Was wondering if anyone has any knowledge of this situation? Does the lume just deteriorate and fall off? Any info is greatly appreciated!

 

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sathomasga

·Jun 23, 2025

gyromiterob

Does the lume just deteriorate and fall off?

Pretty much, yes. It's also a reminder to have the watch serviced. Those lume flakes have to end up somewhere, and some are inevitably going to end up on the movement side of the dial.

 

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Dan S

·Jun 23, 2025

Larger lumed areas are more susceptible to flaking when damaged. And people probably just remove the lume entirely at some point because the skeletonized hands look better than hands with small remnants of lume.

 

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gyromiterob

·Jun 23, 2025

Ah, got it! Thanks for the info. Much appreciated!

 

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Gael.Bx

·Nov 27, 2025

some watchmakers can propose to relume the hands with old tritium paint, the best way imho

 

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Kwijibo

·Nov 27, 2025

This happens. the larger the surface is, the bigger the risk. When I fix this kind of hand i use a mix of pigments, luminova, and thinner.
this often gives good results. the lume is not as bright as if it was alone.
exemples on a vintage Certina diver and a chrono hand.