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j.a.l
716
Jun 5, 2016
For those skeptical about the photos of tritium, it is tricky. It is a problem shared with taking pictures of anything luminescent - interior lighting, flashlights, fire, etc. Think about how a camera works - there is no such thing as a "natural" shot. One can try to approximate human vision, but even that is variable between people.
I have several tritium vials. In general, in normal daylight or office conditions, you will see no glow normally. Cup your hand over it, and it will be very faint, because your eyes are daylight-adjusted. On the other hand, walking around at night outdoors in a non-urban environment, they will be clearly, easily visible from ~10 feet. At the same time, don't expect them to "throw" any illumination - you won't be reading by these. (There used to be tritium spheres for sale that were large enough to read a map by, but those are no longer being produced.)
And remember tritium has a half-life of about 12 years; around 2028, they will be half as bright as they are now. If you are comfortable disassembling things, you can source your own tritium vials (mixglow.com is one reliable vendor whom I've used, no idea if they'll be around then) and use Norland 61 optical adhesive to replace them. But I'm not sure I'd try that myself. The preferred solvent for Norland is methylene chloride (think paint stripper) and I don't know what the watch face is made from, but it would be a delicate operation. A competent watch repair shop should be able to handle it.
I'm still deciding on this, but if I do go for it, that orange trit will be replaced - I don' know why, but I really dislike orange trits. They are visibly dimmer than green (the brightest), but perhaps work better with the blue (which are also dimmer than green).
j.a.lHi j.a.l., the orange marker at the 12:00 position is so that the user can easily tell where the 12:00 position is in total darkness. It creates a visual reference to read the time.
j.a.l
716
Jun 5, 2016
ArmourLiteThanks, Armourlite.
I'm aware of the design function the orange trit serves. I just personally dislike the choice of color. Just an extremely first-world, personal aesthetic problem.
j.a.lCompletely understand! 😃