3/30/2023 0 Comments Radium watches![]() The handset has a segmented baton style and is well-proportioned in the context of the rest of the dial. ![]() These numerals (and the lume plots) replace the applied baton markers from previous releases. ![]() My favorite element, though, is the choice of applied, polished Arabic numerals, which complement the case’s finishing and lend a very clean look to the watch. The legibility is excellent, and I quite like how the Old Radium lume plots extend just a bit past the chapter ring. Like when your dad randomly says, “I love you,” except without the crying afterward. Some people like color and finishing to be overt, and while I’d like to see the blue stand out a bit more, I like how the brushing is coy, sometimes there, sometimes not because you don’t get to see it every time, it’s a bit more special. The watch is marketed as having a brushed blue dial, though it appears black in most lighting, and the brushing is extremely subtle to the point that you won’t see it except in the most ideal conditions. While I like this strap pairing well enough, it’s a little disappointing that there’s no quick-release, and you should know that the short lugs and resulting shallow lug box mean that thicker and/or single-pass straps may be challenging to attach. The watch is paired with a brown distressed leather strap that was comfortable and not too stiff, with a branded pin-buckle closure. The pull-out crown at 4 o’clock has a great grip and was easy to operate, and its location reduces the risk of crown dig. The stark difference in finishing between the two wide facets makes for a beautiful tonneau case with contrasting plays of light. Not only does it feature an overall curve from lug to lug, but the wide surface around the crystal features brushing that bursts out from the domed sapphire crystal as it slopes down, and then the polished sides of the case continue to slope toward the wrist. The 13.5mm thickness is mitigated by the form of the case. On the wrist, the Alpina Startime Pilot Heritage is rather friendly, not a surprise given its 40.75mm width and 42mm lug-to-lug. ![]() I got to go hands-on with the former at a recent brand event outside of Washington, D.C. No longer dizzied by the holiday spirit, the brand has released a blue dial in a stainless-steel case and a gold-plated model with a gray champagne dial. The brand revealed the first versions in late 2021, fittingly, a month before Christmas, as one of them had a probably unintentional, red-and-white candy cane colorway. But Alpina has just released its third and fourth versions of the Startimer Pilot Heritage with a modernized bumper movement. That’s to say, I’m not sure how many people were pining for a watch with a bumper movement who hadn’t already gone and bought an old one. 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.īy 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.Well, here’s another version of a watch nobody asked for but is still plenty cool. 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. But many of the so-called radium watches are still around today, considered antiques and even prized as collectibles. Radium was eventually banned after scores of dial painters died from cancer and various ghastly ailments. THE FACTS - Up until about 1970, millions of glow-in-the-dark watches sold in the United States were made with radium, a radioactive substance that was painted on watch dials to give them their characteristic luminosity. THE CLAIM - Antique watches made with radium can emit high levels of radiation. ![]()
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