Everything you need to know about reluming vintage watches!

Reluming is a technique which consists of restoring the luminescent material of a watch, often a vintage watch. This is an important step in its aesthetic restoration.

If the luminescent material of the watch has fallen off , is discolored or has been poorly restored, intervention must be taken.

We can read again:

• The needles
• The dial indexes
• The glasses

Relight a recent watch

Recent watches are often equipped with LumiNova®, Super-LumiNova®, Lumibrite® for Seiko watches.  These materials are known for their powerful luminescence and durability because they can continue to glow for several hours after being exposed to a light source.

To relight a recent watch, we remove the old material and replace it with a new one which we apply to a clean and decontaminated surface with generally a fresh mixture of LumiNova® or Super-LumiNova®.

Relighting an old watch

If you're an antique watch collector, you've probably heard of radium and tritium . These two materials were widely used in old military, diving or aviation watches for their ability to glow in the dark without a light source.

What is radium?

Radium is a radioactive element that was discovered in 1898 by Marie and Pierre Curie. It was widely used in the watch industry in the 1910s until the 1960s to give watch dials a luminescent capability. Watchmakers used paint containing radium to paint the indexes and hands of dials. This paint was often applied by hand, meaning workers were exposed to high levels of radiation.

What is tritium?

Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is produced naturally in the atmosphere. It has been widely used in the watch industry since the 1960s for its ability to produce continuous light without the need to be exposed to an external light source. Watchmakers use a thin layer of tritium to cover the numbers and hands on dials. Tritium is considered less dangerous than radium because it is less radioactive.

Over time, these materials can become friable, blacken or even take on an unwanted color.

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You can also find a selection of vintage watches and accessories here: Vintage Watches & Accessories

Joshua Grillet

Founder of LumeVille and watchmaker