Thank you for producing this. There aren’t enough videos on this admittedly difficult topic. Some people are outright dismissive of the risks Radium poses, using anecdotes to support their views. I think it is smarter to start from the POV of caution and let research guide you towards how far you are willing to relax your attitude towards Radium. I do appreciate videos like yours that use both scientific and anecdotal evidence to draw conclusions. Personally, I will under no circumstances, open a Radium watch, but I can be convinced to own and wear one occasionally.
You're very welcome. Content creators can sometimes cause many issues with their videos, especially for an account with a large audience. So providing truthful information is crucial. This is why whatever I try to prove or educate my viewers; I have my sources and experience to back up my oration.
Bought a 100 usd Geiger counter specifically the GQ GMC 800 recently and I just checked Amazon and it detects the same types of radiation the one you used in the video does which would be beta gamma and X ray and NOT APLHA and measured my antique clocks and watches for several minutes each and got little to no readings at all on top of my research I’ve done online I feel very safe now knowing I more than likely was not exposed at all THANK YOU FOR THE CALMING INFORMATION
I don't know about watches, but I have a vintage compass with radium that gives me 500,000 CPM on my dosimeter (not a typo, half a million counts per minute. I also have a vintage radium alarm clock that gives over 20,000 CPM. I can be 8 feet away from the compass and it delivers up to 600 CPM. Radium is no joke, I wouldn't wear one on my wrist or in my pocket. My scintillation detector is more sensitive than a geiger counter.
What kind of watch is it? The radon release amount is what people are afraid of. But usually when the watch is kept inside the case, you should have no issue wearing it.
It is commonly reported that the transition from Radium to Tritium occured in the early 1960s, including Omega. But when did they first start with Tritium? When was the first Omega watch produced with Tritium luminous paint? If an Omega from 1954 has tritium lume, is it a Frankenwatch?
Two models between 1943-1946 came with this dial. They are CK 2383 and CK 2400. 2400 is a Swedish Suveran model and 2383 is the international version. Same case design except that 2400 has Suveran inscription on the back and 2383 has a blank back.
What is your email address? I am interested in the black dial Seamaster 600 featured on the home page of your website. I just tried calling, got no answer so I left a detailed message. Thanks!
@@danburbach498 Hi, website email is info@Omegaenthusiast.com The Seamaster 600 featured on the homepage is not available. All available pieces will have a price on the shop section. Due to the mass amount of special request for watches, I no longer provide this service either.
@@danburbach498 To learn more about vintage Seamaster 600, you can always watch this episode: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zdTJ_TobhFw.html
Yes, some repair shop still use old radium to relume. I’ve made a post on my IG account in the past to show the difference between original radium applied luminous paste vs newly applied radium luminous paste. You can see their difference.
These watches are safe just wear gloves and a good mask to avoid spreading dust and the watch will not put you in danger as it is sealed and because the radiation is very low. And an x ray or any other medical radiation dose would be hundreds of times more.
Thank you for the comment. I would say Mask and gloves on is optional. But I haven’t been to a watch repair shop and see a watchmaker with mask or gloves on working on watches before. Many of these retired watchmakers would laugh at me if I suggest them to wear a mask when working on a watch.
Thanks for talking about radium. I was indeed of the viewers reaching out to you about my concerns when opening radium watches. Some of your tests are interesting, in particular the longer one with the service dial/watches. However I have to disagree with the « safety » aspect of owning any radium watch. It really depends from timepiece to timepiece. You can have a very well maintained vintage watch that actually leaks radon gaz and some radium decay! I may be dangerous. Or, the concern to me is to accidentally « crashing » the watch on a door jam, a wall and whatever else, in such a situation in which to crystal could fall off or break the radium decay and radon gazes released could be very concerning. People, please be conscious and meticulous about these vintage radium-containing watches. If well cared for and properly handled this can be all fine. But there are conditions for that to happen, it’s important not to forget about that.
My friend. It is absolutely fine to be concerned or cautious about owning a radioactive watch. This video's purpose is to educate people about the danger of radium and what it can cause. But one also has to understand that it takes a ton of radium to release a potent amount of radon gas. As mentioned, if one is afraid to wear a radioactive watch, one should also be alert of having the wifi in the house. That said, it is almost impossible for radon dust to just find its way out of the watch unless you own a broken watch. AND, even if you accidentally cracked the crystal, the minimum amount of radium falling off can be easily cleaned away. Some remaining dust you may miss will not cause any harm either, as the amount is minimal. Get yourself a radon gas detector; you might be in for a surprise to find out that your basement has radon gas as well. Also, you do not need to jump for cover or put on a gas mask the moment a watch crystal is fallen off. I think you are being way too vulnerable and sensitive about this topic. But, we live in a free world, so you can follow what you believe and what makes you happy. :-)
@@TimelessHistoryChannel my wifi doesn’t have a radioactive half-life of 1600 years my friend ;) It’s ok not to agree on that subject but please stop comparing radium watches to WiFi there’s nothing in common between the two things
@@nathanwabre well, I mean, you are comparing a tiny amount of radium to as if it was a bomb that will blow up and take your life the moment the crystal is cracked. In life, there are many things to be cautious about. But know their logic and theory, and you might better understand before spreading the wrong information to everyone else. Not saying that you are doing so, but some people have been doing that. This is why I made this video. If you are offended by my previous respond, please accept my apologize. Have a wonderful weekend.
Timeless History. I totally agree with your view and comments. One has to be sensible about these issues. If you consider things on a forensic level, then we are potentially damaging our health on a daily basis by purely existing. Polution from Wi Fi, ambient levels of lead, mercury, microfibres, pesticides, herbacides etc. Considering these risks, wearing a radium watch in good condition, surely ranks very low on the health risk table. @@TimelessHistoryChannel
Smartwatches are most likely more harmful than the vintage radium dialed watches. They emit Electromagnetic Field radiation and the wearers are exposed to it. Wearing an electronic device on your body all day long is not a good idea if you want to reduce your exposure to EMF radiation.
I deal with radioactive isotopes quite a bit and it is quite scary how unaware most people are about radium clocks, even some clock repair professionals.
Or someone like me, who has always loved watches but recently started tinkering with some old watches to get them running again. Luckily it only took me a few days to discover that one that had "ra SWISS MADE ra" on the dial and what that meant. Still, I wish I could have known about it two days ago before I started opening up these things. Hopefully I didn't just give myself cancer down the road 😭
The main issue with radium is the fact that it lashes to the bones when ingested as its molecular structure is too close to calcium, and the body thinks it is, absorbing it and fusing it to the bones, thus creating a long term exposure and bone cancers. Also, radon gas is not very radioactive, and by itself is not very dangerous as it decays after around 3.78 days. The problem is the daughter particles from the radon decay, if radon gas decays inside the lungs the daughter particles (polonium, bismuth, lead) will be left there directly in contact with lung cells, thus creating a very high risk of lung cancers.
Dont need to inhale radon gas to get them daughter products into your lungs, just breathing air in the same area with decaying radon gas guarantees you will inhale airborne daughter products.
Very informative. I heard, but cannot recall the source, that many vintage watches were destroyed during the 1970s because they believed then that Radium watches were unsafe and there was no remedy.
Well, thank goodness they left some for us to own and collect. But I believe you're referring to the military pieces where they were stockpiled, so the military decided to remove all the radium from the dials and hands and repaint with tritium.
Thank you! Burnt hands on dial is radium burnt from sitting in the same position for too long, and usually next to the window. Ghost dial is a faded dial.
Great video. I just got my first radium dial Dugena from early 60s or late 50s i guess and i wasn't shure what to think of it from all online sources. My watchmaker had same anwser like you and she mentioned she is close to 70 and worked with timepieces from 16 and that she is in good health. So I should be shurely fine from one time pice in my collection. Thanks for a great video
Thank you for the comment. That's correct. Honestly, just don't open up the watch yourself and start inhaling the radium and you'll be fine. Don't forget that these Radium girls consume a lot of radium into their bodies to a point where they actually glow in the dark. That is very dangerous. And everyone should know that taking anything too much or over the limit will do no good. Even water can give you water poison if you drink too much a day.
When dealing with a watch that only has radium hands, it may be good practice to safely remove the radium paint (safely dunking and scrubbing it off in isopropyl) and then replace the lume with a more modern equivalent. In that however, I wonder how much of the watch is still irradiated from being exposed for 60+ years? But at least then the majority of the actual radium is gone and disposed of. That said, I've always loved watches but recently got an interest in vintage stuff. Being the mechanical type I bought a small bag of old watches and started tinkering. Fast forward after a few days of opening cases and tinkering (and even getting a few running) and I was researching a watch in that pile which had "ra SWISS MADE ra" on the dial. Needless to say, after discovering what that means, I'm now terrified of what I may have been exposed to. Geiger counter like yours is in the mail and I'm praying for low numbers at least when it arrives. 🙏😩
My suggestion is if you’re going to remove the radium off the dial and hands of a watch. Best not to buy it in the first place. It would be a shame to do that to a good watch. :(
@@TimelessHistoryChannelNot the dial. That would be very difficult. And likely ruin the piece. But if it's just the hands, you can easily re-lume using coffee or other dyes to replicate the original age/color. Then you have a nearly radium free watch that looks vintage just the same. It poses no danger to you or anyone else in the future cracking it open for service. Personally I don't think being radioactive makes any watch more valuable. Otherwise I have a dial that spikes to almost 10.0uSv/h that I would love to sell. It's currently in my garage in a small lead lined box. LOL.
@@AaronS11979 Even the hands, do not relume them unless they already come with missing luminous. People have tried, relume is just not the same. And when you shine them with a blue light, coffee or other dyes will not glows. It will affect the collectible value of the watch. Not to the mention that many collectors will not accept to purchase such a watch as well.
Thank you for the input; not going to disagree with you on that, but from what I know is that radon is not strong enough to penetrate through the metal case back of a watch.
Some 2471 do come with luminous markers, but the hands must also have luminous on them. I cannot say whether your example is original or not until I can see a photo of it.
@@TimelessHistoryChannel Sure! It was picked up from an Omega AD after a restoration and they confirmed that the Swiss Made lettering is without a ‘T’ at either end of the name and the dial was not re-lumed after the restoration as I believe they would have added super-luminova coating if the watch came with lume in the first place (factory lume)
I just learned Radium and 'T' for Tritium might not be the same thing (clearly..) so not sure I got the right information for the watch which dates back to 1950s :/
@@moisesdiaz9438 As explained in the video. If your watch is 1962 or earlier, the luminous applied on the dial and hands are Radium. After 1962, Tritium was used and slowly you will see dial with T Swiss Made T on the dial to indicate the luminous are Tritium. Super-Luminova is something you see on today's watches and L is the abbreviation. 99% of the time, the dial on a moonphase triple calendar will be a redial. You can learn about it here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6sISzc_vhug.html
