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Wearing Radium.

Dgercp
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Hi all, I know there have been numerous posts here and elsewhere about risks of owning/wearing radium watches.
My take from this literature is that there is some small but definite risk involved.

The purpose of this post is not to rehash the science of radium watch risk, but rather to canvas the community
about their personal behavior towards wearing radium pieces. I would like to know how many out there refuse to own or wear radium watches, and how many would wear them every day without a second thought?
How many of you maybe limit the amount of time wearing them, and if so, how often do you feel comfortable wearing one? Have you sold off radium watches because of anxiety? Will you not buy a radium piece because of anxiety.

Personally, I own 9 radium watches. They are among my most beautiful watches. I no longer keep them in a safe with my other watches because of radon buildup and keep them out in ventilated areas in various places. I also tend to wear radium watches only about once/week. This is totally arbitrary but just fits my comfort zone at this time.

Thanks for your thoughts.
 
SkunkPrince
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I pay zero attention to it. Most of the damaging radiation never gets past the case and the crystal.

So what if I lose three months of my lifespan? Not like I have anything to lose, really....
 
Marsimaxam
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No problem... I feel fine after wearing my 1961 Rolex GMT, absolutely fine
6gv765o1ot831.jpg


In all seriousness, the radium in the lume is still radioactive, however, it is far more dangerous if inhaled or ingested. The metal casing and the crystal of the watch provide some degree of protection as the alpha particles are blocked and only the gamma rays penetrate the watch.

"The watches are likely to emit as much radiation today as they did when they were first manufactured, but experts say that in reality, the risk to wearers is probably low.
One study by the Public Health Service many years ago found that a person who wears a radium watch for 24 hours a day over the course of a year could conceivably be exposed to 65 to 130 millirems of radiation.
By way of comparison, the average person is exposed to about 300 millirems of background radiation in a typical year, and a single chest X-ray exposes a patient to about 5 to 10 millirems of radiation.
That means a person who owns a radium watch (and presumably isn't wearing it 24 hours a day), has little to worry about, said Dr. M. Donald Blaufox, the chairman of the department of nuclear medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. A radium watch becomes hazardous only when someone opens one and tinkers with the dials, inhaling radioactive dust particles."
Rolex1675.JPG



Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/11/health/really.html
 
Canuck
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I wear antique and vintage watches, some possibly with radium dials. I have a stash of hundreds of parts watches and project watches in a cabinet within 3 feet of my workbench many with radium. I use petroleum solvents, labels of some cautioning me to use adequate ventilation. I use asbestos pads in my workshop when I hard solder items. I drink wine from crystal stemware which uses lead oxide! My house emits traces of radon gas. I am beyond worrying if my profligate lifestyle will shorten my life. (Donning my brown helmet in case I get called a senile old fart, or a geriatric clockmaker.). ::stirthepot::
 
asrnj77
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On another note I’ve been looking at vintage Citizen’s from the late ‘70s that used Promethium-147. The ones that have “P Japan P” on the dials. Although it sounds scary I believe Promethium-147 was pretty safe with a half-life of just 2.5 years. Safer for the wearer but crappy life for the lume.
 
Dgercp
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Canuck Canuck
I wear antique and vintage watches, some possibly with radium dials. I have a stash of hundreds of parts watches and project watches in a cabinet within 3 feet of my workbench many with radium. I use petroleum solvents, labels of some cautioning me to use adequate ventilation. I use asbestos pads in my workshop when I hard solder items. I drink wine from crystal stemware which uses lead oxide! My house emits traces of radon gas. I am beyond worrying if my profligate lifestyle will shorten my life. (Donning my brown helmet in case I get called a senile old fart, or a geriatric clockmaker.). ::stirthepot::

Yes, but do you eat hot dogs?
 
mzinski
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Canuck Canuck
I wear antique and vintage watches, some possibly with radium dials. I have a stash of hundreds of parts watches and project watches in a cabinet within 3 feet of my workbench many with radium. I use petroleum solvents, labels of some cautioning me to use adequate ventilation. I use asbestos pads in my workshop when I hard solder items. I drink wine from crystal stemware which uses lead oxide! My house emits traces of radon gas. I am beyond worrying if my profligate lifestyle will shorten my life. (Donning my brown helmet in case I get called a senile old fart, or a geriatric clockmaker.). ::stirthepot::

You forgot to mention your age, 23, and post a picture... 😉
upload_2021-1-14_19-6-58.jpeg


PS. To be clear, this is making light of the perceived effects and concerns for radium, NOT anyone’s age.
Edited:
 
Tony C.
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No worries at all, though I do occasionally wince at my watchmaker's cavalier attitude.
 
Caliber561
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When I first started out with vintage watches, I purchased lots of cheap project watches with radium dials, and would tinker with them because I was fascinated, and didn't know enough about vintage watches and radium to have any concern about the lume. I even relumed one of them for fun, and I didn't take any precautions when I did. Ultimately, if you're aware of the risk, and if you have the correct knowledge regarding the proper treatment of radium watches, I feel that owning them, wearing them, etc is not really a significant issue. Radium is probably at its most dangerous when the person who owns it doesn't know about it.

Personally, I purged my collection of radium watches a while ago, as I wasn't confident in many of their capabilities to retain an adequate seal to keep in the radioactive dust. That, radon buildup, and residual radiation concerns just convinced me it wasn't worth the risk. And I won't lie, the shock from realizing the implications of putting a naked dial and handset inches from my face was also a contributing factor to that decision.

That said, I am not a nuclear physicist, and I am really young, so to my understanding radiation exposure is more of a concern, which is why I have decided to err on the side of caution.
 
gbesq
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Well, let’s see. A highly radioactive element with a half life of 1,600 years that emits radon gas as it decays. What could go wrong? 😲 Seriously, it’s only dangerous if inhaled or ingested. As others have said here, it’s fine as long as you don’t open the case and the crystal is intact. Servicing the watch, however, should be left to a professional.
 
Vintagewtchzilla
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... didn't someone complain about WUS thread topics ? .... here we go again


and btw i don't give a if radium oder original panda fur on my dial.

raduimglow.jpg
 
Professor
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I've never heard of any cancer being traced to wearing a watch with a radium dial.
The only reason the "Radium Girls" became victims was because they developed the habit of licking the tiny brushes to fine up the point. It was direct contact with the residues of still liquid paint with some minor ingestion.

Contact with uranium ore including cases in Iraq where drinking water was stored in plastic drums that had contained Yellow Cake resulted in no radiation sickness. Uranium is expelled by the gastro intestinal tract. Only in cases of dust becoming lodged in the lungs did the ore cause serious illnesses.
A water resistant watch is unlikely to allow any radon gas to escape.

If watches with radium dials were on today's market I would not hesitate to wear one.

Modern lumes are all but worthless. Duration of the luminescence is too short lived.

Having a large collection of dials and hands could result in a many fold exposure which might prove to be a problem.
 
amfalconer
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I don't have any radium watches, but it doesn't bother me

Here I am on my holidays....
 
DSC_0015 crop.jpg
Snooz
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Don't own a radium watch myself, but my Father used to - an Explorer 5500, which he traded in 30 years ago due to radium anxiety....😲
 
M'Bob
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When I asked a nuclear scientist this question years ago, he said if you’re not strapping the watch over your eyeball, or to your balls, you should be fine...
 
cvalue13
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M'Bob M'Bob
When I asked a nuclear scientist this question years ago, he said if you’re not strapping the watch over your eyeball, or to your balls, you should be fine...

Could I have a minute? I need to go, uh, check the oven...
 
jhross98
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i will only own a watch under 20 usv/hr (arbitrary cutoff) and wear them once a month

i am quite certain i have "saved" 100x the radiation exposure by not flying during the pandemic than i will ever be exposed wearing (not opening) these watches
 
iamvr
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Thanks @Dgercp for this thread. I was asking myself the same questions when pondering whether to buy my first vintage with a radium dial. Particularly as my decision may not only affect me personally but potentially my entire household incl. two toddlers. But I read every single thread on OF on this topic and put confidence in the experts such as Seaborg, Dan S and many others. Hence, I decided to go for the radium watch, but will keep it separated from my other watches in a well ventilated space and far away from my kids and will only wear it occasionally.
 
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