Vintage Tissot automatic: ++ dark lume/?almost black

Posts

419

Likes

1,169

jshaw083

·Apr 1, 2018

Hi guys,

Just curious what you think of this Tissot...The lume looks very dark. I'd say the hour markers are dark green/orange, whereas the hands look almost black. This might be partly due to the lighting/quality of the pictures. Would you guys guess it is dark green? Original lume? Or is that black paint?

Apologise for the quality of the pictures. There's a crack near 12 o'clock that I had seen.

Thanks again OF,
-J.

 

Posts

7,692

Likes

26,666

Tony C.

·Apr 1, 2018·Ωf Jury member

yes, likely original.

 

Posts

419

Likes

1,169

jshaw083

·Apr 1, 2018

Thank you Tony

 

Posts

419

Likes

1,169

jshaw083

·Apr 1, 2018

Just wondering, do people put more value on "nicely" aged lume? Like a creamy orange over e.g. dark green?

 

Posts

1,109

Likes

2,197

No Mercy

·Apr 1, 2018

IMO yours is with original lume, Radium I think. Nicely aged lume is good, but the more important is evenly aged on dial & hands.

 

Posts

419

Likes

1,169

jshaw083

·Apr 1, 2018

Interesting....So I just bought this watch, but I wasn't aware it might be radium. Is there any way to tell without a geiger counter? There don't seem to be any radium burns on the dial. Reading around the internet, most people seem to indicate that radium dials are safe (unless you lick or inhale the radium dust). Does anyone know if Tissot actually used radium in the 40s/50s?

Would a crack in the crystal be an issue in terms of inhaling the dust?

Thanks again,
-J.

 

Posts

7,692

Likes

26,666

Tony C.

·Apr 1, 2018·Ωf Jury member

There are apps that allow smartphones to test.

The crack would probably need to be gaping to be a danger, but it would be wise to replace it in any case.

 

Posts

419

Likes

1,169

jshaw083

·Apr 1, 2018

kk. Will most watchmakers work on radium dials, or do you need to seek out people willing to do it?

 

Posts

7,692

Likes

26,666

Tony C.

·Apr 1, 2018·Ωf Jury member

Some do, some don't. Case by case.

 

Posts

702

Likes

716

ClarendonVintage

·Apr 1, 2018

Interesting shaped crown, very nice

 

Posts

419

Likes

1,169

jshaw083

·Apr 1, 2018

Thanks guys. I think I'll have to let the fact it's radium sink in lol. I haven't received it yet. Maybe I'll buy one of the smart phone attachments to test it. Then I'll have to hunt down a watchmaker that actually works with radium. I live in Ottawa, doubt anyone around here will do it...