# watch with good glowing hands



## Flakey (Apr 27, 2006)

Ok so im looking into buying a new watch (maybe) my only beef with most dress watches (rolex et all ) is that they dont use the radioactive glowing stuff on the dials. so after about 30 minutes out of sunlight you cant read the time. So my question is, what watch with ?tritium? hands do you like the best? is the luminox line good? thx!


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## John N (Apr 28, 2006)

My understanding is watches with "Superluminova" GID material is quite good and lasts for hours.

I think all the following watches use Superluminova: Omega Seamaster 300M GMT, Omega Seamaster Professional Titanium, Sinn U1, Mk II Custom, Seiko SKX007K.

Of the ones with tritium gas tubes, here are the ones I like best:

Traser H3 P6506 Commander 100 Titanium watch, Ball Watch Engineer Hydrocarbon (pic1 , pic2 , pics )

-john


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## drizzle (Apr 28, 2006)

There have been a few threads here recently about Luminox vs. Traser. LAPoliceGear has said here that they get a lot more Luminox returns than Traser. Personally, I have a lemon Luminox but many here have also said they have Luminox watches that have worked flawlessly for many years.

As for me, as soon as I convince myself to spend the money I'm going to get the Traser Commander 100 Titanium. I'll probably go with LAPoliceGear based on their discount mentioned in this thread even though some haven't had such good things to say about them.


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## BIGIRON (Apr 28, 2006)

I have 3 Luminox. No problems (one's fairly new so no track record). I have two of the Marathon composites. Great work/rough wear watches. No problems either one.


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## s.duff (Apr 28, 2006)

why not go with on with tritium hands? the marathon stuff is awesome. i have a tsar which i love, and you can always get the automatic version the gsar. they also have many other entry level models that have tritium.


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## CLHC (Apr 28, 2006)

Like what's already been stated—Traser and/or Luminox is good one way. If you have the money, then check out Ball! :huh:


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## SJACKAL (Apr 28, 2006)

Seiko Monster, cheap and good, lume pic is my signature. King of lume, beats even the Omega Seamaster Professional.


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## felder (Apr 28, 2006)

Since you mentioned Rolex, I'd look at Ball watches. They are the dressiest watches with tritium markers that I have seen:

http://www.ballwatch.com/

If you want a more utilitarian feel, go with a marathon gsar or tsar:

http://www.broadarrow.net/GSAR.htm


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## Minjin (Apr 28, 2006)

Here are two of the options mentioned:








The lume on the Ball is better by far. 

Mark


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## cy (Apr 28, 2006)

holy cow! look at all the tritium tubes in Ball...

my TSAR is really bright at night, 12:00 is red for a nice touch. would like to purchase a marathon composite for my boys. but county-comm seems to always out of those.


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## Morelite (Apr 28, 2006)

cy said:


> holy cow! look at all the tritium tubes in Bell...


 
cy, If you thinks thats alot, check out some of the other Ball watches. Ball Watches, I think the Trainmaster has 37 tubes.


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## xochi (Apr 28, 2006)

Those composite marathons are tough as hell. Roaches will be wearing them once the nukes start flying.


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## nethiker (Apr 28, 2006)

cy said:


> county-comm seems to always out of those.



The Marathon website says that only county-comm is their authorized retailer, but I found them here. Don't know how old the stock is.


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## cy (Apr 28, 2006)

thanks,, show one left.. 

must be old stock without marathon and us markings. cooool...

just called and snagged it!








nethiker said:


> The Marathon website says that only county-comm is their authorized retailer, but I found them here. Don't know how old the stock is.


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## Finrod (Apr 28, 2006)

Traser 

http://www.watchmann.com/products.asp?cat=26


SMW

http://www.khs-industries.com/infocenter/351+M52087573ab0.html


The hunter- T25 is my next purchase (with moonphase). Also check out the "commander" series - no moonphase to clutter things up.

The Ball watches seem "dressier".


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## nethiker (Apr 28, 2006)

cy said:


> ...must be old stock without marathon and us markings.



I saw somewhere on Ebay that the new G issue government watches have to be sterile, without manufacurer or government on the watch, probobly for security reasons, so it can't be that old. It's the ones with the markings that are older.

Congrats on your new watch.


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## SJACKAL (Apr 28, 2006)

Nah, it depends upon the batch and contract. Check out westcoastime.com


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## R_L (Apr 29, 2006)

sjackal : have u bought frm westcoastime.com before? if yes, how long is the delivery?


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## SJACKAL (Apr 29, 2006)

R L

No, but I heard lotsa good feedback, though I guess delivery time would be long since I am out of CONUS.


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## Steve Andrews (Apr 29, 2006)

The lume on the 2254.50 Omega Seamaster SMP is incredibly bright.


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## SJACKAL (Apr 29, 2006)

Yes the Omega Seamaster Pro is generally known in the diver watch market for its great lume, along with other good things.

But the Seiko Monster will beat it at only 1/10 of the Omega's price, brighter and last longer.


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## malcontent (Apr 29, 2006)

Morelite said:


> cy, If you thinks thats alot, check out some of the other Ball watches. Ball Watches, I think the Trainmaster has 37 tubes.


 
The Ball watches look fantastic. I have not heard of that brand before.


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## LAPoliceGear (Apr 30, 2006)

Ball watch is from Hong Kong. I have talked to them a few times on the phone. They are really trying to only sell to dealers that will promise up and down never to discount them in any way. I think they are made in Asia, but I am not 100% sure on that. The tubes come from traser.

I also was told that they are under investigation by the NRC due to their watches having over the legal limit of radioactivity.

On the other hand they have some great looking models. check out watches magazines at any major book store and you should see their full page ads.

sean

LA Police Gear


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## CLHC (Apr 30, 2006)

Actually Ball Watches are made in Switzerland. They do have "dealers/distributors" in Hong Kong. So with that in mind, these Ball Watches are NOT made in Asia.

Check out the Federation of Swiss Watches here:

http://www.fhs.ch/en/links.php


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## LAPoliceGear (May 4, 2006)

They well could be... but they may be assebled their so that they can be called Swiss made (with hong kong parts)..

When someone takes one apart we will know for sure...


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## marcdilnutt (May 4, 2006)

FWIW i am currently wearing an Omega Seamaster Professional Chronometer Titanium and it is the nicest watch i have ever worn. The hands are still glowing at 7 am when i get up for work after having been in the dark for 8 hours overnight. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anybody.
marc


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## AngelEyes (May 4, 2006)

I have a 15 year old and a 2 year old TAG Heuer. Both dont glow much at all. I'm most disappointed with them in this respect. (But they are great time pieces nonetheless)


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## John N (May 4, 2006)

marcdilnutt said:


> FWIW i am currently wearing an Omega Seamaster Professional Chronometer Titanium and it is the nicest watch i have ever worn. The hands are still glowing at 7 am when i get up for work after having been in the dark for 8 hours overnight. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anybody.
> marc



Ohh, ohh, ohh! This is one of the watches I've had my eyes on, but have never run across them in the wild. Pictures please?!?!! Please?!

Thanks,

-john


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## Lee1959 (May 4, 2006)

A lot depends upon what you want. If you want a watch with hands that glow at a constant rate all the time, but dimmer, go with tritium , there are various makers which have been mentioned. 

If you want a watch with hands that glow very brightly, for a decent amount of time and then gradually dims to nothing, sometimes in as long as 4 to 6 hours perhaps a bit more but dimly. Go with a watch with Superluminova, or something like Seikos home brand lume Lumibrite. In my personal opinion the best is on the Seiko divers, even better with my eyes, than the Omegas which are excellant. The Monster or most of the Seiko dive watches have this lume. If you want to really see it glow charge it up for a few seconds with a UV light.

In my experience diving, a Seiko type works better for a normal dive as you charge it up and it glows extremely brightly for the duration of a normal dive. Tritium, I have used traser and luminox in the past, glows well enough once your eyes are completely adjusted to the dark, but still is considerably dimmer and harder to read in mid to semi dark level light.


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## wquiles (May 4, 2006)

Lee1959 said:


> In my experience diving, a Seiko type works better for a normal dive as you charge it up and it glows extremely brightly for the duration of a normal dive. Tritium, I have used traser and luminox in the past, glows well enough once your eyes are completely adjusted to the dark, but still is considerably dimmer and harder to read in mid to semi dark level light.


I had a Seiko diver and now have a Traser diver watch, and I agree with this 100%.

Will


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## stockae92 (May 4, 2006)

if you don't mind radioactive material, tritium tubes are the way to if you want long lasting glow without needing to "charge it up". (i personally decided i have enough radiation during the date and i can live with a little less during the night, so i stay away from tritium all together)

but i heard nothing but good things about the lumes on omega and seiko divers. i personally have a Seiko Black monster (have had more than one before) and the lume is fantastic. you can't get any better than that for the given price. even the SKX007 and the like (with painted dials and lume. the monster has applied indices) glows very well.

depends on what kind of watches you are looking, Timex and Casio have indiglo and EL/LED on their watches (both analog and digital) that you can have on-demand bright *glow* any time any where you desire.

i personally go with Casio G-Shock (and a lot of them  ) cause they are tough and feature rich, and they are available in a wide range of price, feature and appearance that you can plenty much find 1 for any occation


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## mikeymoto (May 4, 2006)

When I discovered watches with tritium illumination I was in timekeeping heaven. I firmly believe that I will never again own an analog watch that is not tritium illuminated. I think it's silly to have to "charge" a watch so you can read it in the dark. I don't have experience with the high end paint-on lume, but my experience with everything other that trit has been abysmal. With trit tubes you don't have to prep your watch at all, and you can always read it.

My understanding is that Luminox is a marketing firm, not a manufacturer. From what I've read on forum sites like http://www.mwrforum.net/cgi-bin/mwr.pl and http://www.pmwf.com/cgi-bin/Forum/webbbs_config.cgi, apparently Luminox watches are made by Traser, which is closely related to H3.

I had a Luminox Navy SEAL series II, but I returned it because the dial was too small for my taste, and the SEALs kitsch was a little too strong for me. Then I got a Traser Classic Automatic Pro, which I like a lot. The case, bezel, and bracelet are all black PVD, which I like a lot. The trit is, of course, very well done. Some pics of Traser and Luminox side-by-side:






And a lume shot:





From the lume shot you can tell the Luminox is quartz and the Traser is automatic. I love a sweeping second hand. Notice the Luminox has a trit vial in the rotating bezel, too. Also notice that both watches have the hour markers set at 90 degree angles to the dial.

I tried a Marathon TSAR but it was too chunky for me, and I don't like quartz movement. I went to WestCoasTime and ordered an M16-II and specially ordered a date window at 4:30 like the TSAR had. When I got the watch (it shipped about 2 weeks after ordering due to the date window mod) I was instantly in love. This is the perfect watch for me:











Couple more Traser pics I like :rock::











In my personal opinion, Tritium vials are the only choice for watch illumination!!!


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## Lee1959 (May 4, 2006)

Mickey,

Tritium is a very nice choice for most day to day activities, but is limited in certain applications as it is considerably dimmer than a fully charged high end lume paint. I have used both and can say this from experience that tritium can be very hard to read in low light situations at times, especially hit and miss low light like you find in diving. In complete darkness like sleeping if you wear your watch, tritium really for lack of a better term, shines  

As far as charging it up, it is not all that major a deal, sunlight with its UV rays will charge it extrmely well, as will any decen tlight source, which any good flashaholic should have on them  . TO really get the best display a decent UV flashlight will make it glow like crazy, enough to get comments on in any indoor location during the daytime even.


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## LAPoliceGear (May 5, 2006)

Wow... nice pic..

Regarding the Ball watch brand I confirmed that they are made in China. This informations comes from the people who supply them with the tritium tubes they use in their (Ball's) watches.

FYI,

We have a LOT of new traser watch closeouts coming to use. They will be on our site in 1 to 2 weeks. We are talking some deep discounts. The watches are traser H3 watches that are less than a year old. They are fully covered by the traser warranty (this is coming from traser themselves). You will be able to register these closeouts on the traser web site to get a 3 year warranty.

The reason they are closeouts is that they DO NOT say traser on them. They are sterile models. All future models will say "traser" on the dial. Traser wants to get them out of their warehouse.

Watch our site and email specials. We will announce when they are available. 

We plan on offerin P6500's around $130-ish and P6502 (stainless steel) for around $150-ish. We will have all the popular models. Tell your friends as they will go fast and you make not be able to get them sterile again for a long time if ever...

Sorry for being off topic, but I thought the people reading this thread might be interested in this info...

Sean
LA Police Gear, inc


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## Planterz (May 5, 2006)

mikeymoto said:


> When I discovered watches with tritium illumination I was in timekeeping heaven. I firmly believe that I will never again own an analog watch that is not tritium illuminated.


Ditto. I haven't had any experience with "quality" lume either (like Seiko or whatnot), but I like tritium enough not to bother trying anything else. My "beater" watch is a sterile Traser P5900, and I've got a Luminox 822 Ultimate Field Chrono when I want a nicer looking watch. I _really_ want a Traser Big Date Pro chrono, but I can't swing the cost right now.

Some of the Balls look nice, but some IMO look rather goofy with the tritium vials tracing out the whole number. Looks cool in the dark, but looks silly in the light.


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## cy (May 5, 2006)

please post a link when you're ready



LAPoliceGear said:


> Wow... nice pic..
> 
> Regarding the Ball watch brand I confirmed that they are made in China. This informations comes from the people who supply them with the tritium tubes they use in their (Ball's) watches.
> 
> ...


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## nethiker (May 5, 2006)

I see that CountyComm has the Marathon general purpose watches in stock again. They are not the sterile version.


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## Planterz (May 5, 2006)

I forgot to mention one of the more important benifits of having tritium on your watch: It's just plain cool.


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## adirondackdestroyer (May 5, 2006)

nethiker said:


> I see that CountyComm has the Marathon general purpose watches in stock again. They are not the sterile version.


 

Is this a nice Tritium Watch? I am very interested in buying a Tritium watch, but most of them are very expensive (hundreds of dollars). This specific model seems to be the only one that is in my price range. Is it considered a nice watch, or is it cheap in comparion to the ones that cost hundreds? 

Are there any other Military Watches with Tritium hands that cost less than $150? 

Thanks in advance.


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## lotsalumens (May 5, 2006)

I recently discovered tritium watches and I have to say I love them. They are certainly bright enough, and when your eyes are fully dark adapted (waking up at night etc) they are quite bright. Below from left to right are a Marathon TSAR, a Traser Super Sport, and a Traser P6506 titanium Commander. 

I actually have the Super Sport listed down in the "for sale" section on CPF since the number layout bothers me (worn only two weeks and gorgeous shape...shameless plug!). The TSAR is one of my favorites, but I wish they would put a tritium marker in the bezel and on the second hand like the Trasers. It's just a nice feature, and the bezel glow marker in the TSAR doesn't last too long.





TSAR, Super Sport, P6506





TSAR, Super Sport, P6506

cfb


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## nethiker (May 5, 2006)

I


adirondackdestroyer said:


> Is this a nice Tritium Watch? I am very interested in buying a Tritium watch, but most of them are very expensive (hundreds of dollars). This specific model seems to be the only one that is in my price range. Is it considered a nice watch, or is it cheap in comparion to the ones that cost hundreds?
> 
> Are there any other Military Watches with Tritium hands that cost less than $150?
> 
> Thanks in advance.



I have heard that this is a great watch. Marathon is the only company with military contracts for tritium watches. The others are military "style" watches. I don't have one yet. When I stop spending all my money on flashlights, I'll be picking one of these up. The only downside I've heard is that the "crystal" isn't crystal and is prone to scratching. To get a saphire crystal on a watch will put you in the hundreds.


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## adirondackdestroyer (May 5, 2006)

nethiker said:


> I
> 
> I have heard that this is a great watch. Marathon is the only company with military contracts for tritium watches. The others are military "style" watches. I don't have one yet. When I stop spending all my money on flashlights, I'll be picking one of these up. The only downside I've heard is that the "crystal" isn't crystal and is prone to scratching. To get a saphire crystal on a watch will put you in the hundreds.


 
What do you mean the crystal isn't crystal. Are you talking about the glass face? If so that doesn't bother me, because can't they just be replaced with another mineral glass (or whatever) face?


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## nethiker (May 5, 2006)

Yes, that's the word I was looking for....Glass face.


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## Minjin (May 5, 2006)

I have a Seiko Monster, a Citizen Mission Antarctica, and another Citizen with excellent lume in addition to the Ball watch above. Yes, when fully charged, the lume paint is great and it always gets wows when I show it to people right after a blast with a light. Its even neat to come inside after being in the sun and seeing the watches glow brightly in the dimmer fluorescent indoors lighting. But after 20 minutes, that Ball beats the pants off them and is as easy to read as can be. And if you're wearing a shirt whose cuffs covers the watch, you will have to manually charge the lume on the watch before going out at night. For reference, I've had a Luminox and found the lume to be very lousy in anything except complete darkness. The Ball isn't like that.

But I suppose some people don't like its looks... :shrug: 

Mark


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## Moorcroft (May 5, 2006)

LAPoliceGearWow... nice pic..

Regarding the Ball watch brand I confirmed that they are made in China. This informations comes from the people who supply them with the tritium tubes they use in their (Ball's) watches............

Ball Watches are made in Switzerland and have to meet very strict legal requirements to qualify to have the legend 'Swiss Made' on the dial. This controls how much of the watch is made there and prevents watches merely being assembled in that country from imported parts.
The Swiss are extremely proud of their record for precision and quality in watchmaking and go to great lengths to ensure that it is not abused.


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## marcdilnutt (May 6, 2006)

John N said:


> Ohh, ohh, ohh! This is one of the watches I've had my eyes on, but have never run across them in the wild. Pictures please?!?!! Please?!
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> -john


I dont know how to post pics, and have nowhere to host them. Can anybody help please?
marc


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## LAPoliceGear (May 6, 2006)

Regarding Ball watches:

I am not trying to start any arguments about Ball watches. All I can tell you is that THE PEOPLE THAT SELL THEM THE TUBES THEY USE IN THE BALL WATCHES tell me that the Ball watch brand is made in China...

I would think the people selling them the parts would know... But maybe you are right. I have not seen the factory so I do not really know for sure..

I don't personally care where they are made as long as the quality is good. I may buy a Ball just to find out personally.

sean


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## cy (May 6, 2006)

just got in my sterile marathon field watch


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## Wong (May 6, 2006)

I recommend Seiko Dive watch too  The Seiko basic 200M dive watch SKX007 or Monster are very tough build and the luminous glow well and reasonable price 






Cheers
Wong


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## wquiles (May 6, 2006)

marcdilnutt said:


> I dont know how to post pics, and have nowhere to host them. Can anybody help please?
> marc


Email me the pictures at wquiles [at] hotmail {dot} com and I will host them free for you 

Will


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## marcdilnutt (May 6, 2006)

Nice one Will, they will be coming in a little while.
marc


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## adirondackdestroyer (May 7, 2006)

cy said:


> just got in my sterile marathon field watch


 
Where did you get this? Is this the same watch that County Comm sells for $100 (other than the fact that yours doesn't have any writing on it)? If so, how do you like it? 
Also, how come yours is "sterile"? I thought this watch was Military Issue?


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## vandrecken (May 7, 2006)

I wear a 200M divers watch by citizen watch of Japan.

It's a titanium job with digital altimeter/ barometer and underwater depth guages as well as a quartz analogue movement.

Most importantly it's still bold and easy to read and the superluminova markings are bright enough to read by when freshly charged !

This model seems to be most popular in the German market but ebay's international so they're not too hard to find 





Cheers


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## GarageBoy (May 7, 2006)

www.broadarrow.net is another authorized marathon dealer
Hey WONG is that a 6159 Tuna relumed?


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## wquiles (May 8, 2006)

marcdilnutt said:


> I dont know how to post pics, and have nowhere to host them. Can anybody help please?
> marc


Here are the pictures you sent for me to host for you:
















Will


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## CLHC (May 8, 2006)

An *Omega* man watch—:huh:


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## marcdilnutt (May 9, 2006)

Thanks for hosting tham Will. First time i used the camers on my phone, didnt turn out too bad. 
marc


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## Wong (May 9, 2006)

GarageBoy said:


> www.broadarrow.net is another authorized marathon dealer
> Hey WONG is that a 6159 Tuna relumed?



Hi GarageBoy ,

not "6159 Tuna" too "rare" to find 1  Mine is Year 2000 Historical Collection limited 1000 pcs .

Cheers
Wong


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## GhostReaction (May 9, 2006)

Anybody could conclude if the Balls are made in China or Swiss? 
I m deciding between the Omega and a Ball.


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## SJACKAL (May 9, 2006)

Balls are Swiss Made of course.

And Omega is a much better brand IMHO.


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## CLHC (May 9, 2006)

GhostReaction said:


> Anybody could conclude if the Balls are made in China or Swiss?


I contacted *Ball Watch U.S.A.* and the *Ball Watch* of Neuchatel Switzerland, and they have informed me that all (as they emphasized) of their watches (*Ball*) are entirely Swiss Made.

How's that? Enjoy which ever watch purchase you decide upon. :wave:


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## Wingerr (May 10, 2006)

cy said:


> please post a link when you're ready



They're up - Traser

Wonder how much lighter the titanium ones are than the SS version?


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## LAPoliceGear (May 13, 2006)

Here is the link to our Traser closeouts someone asked for in this thread:

http://www.lapolicegear.com/trh3trwacl.html


LA Police Gear, Inc


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## LAPoliceGear (May 13, 2006)

Ball Watches - Of course they are going to say that.. Do you think they would admit to having them made in China?

All I can tell you is that the supplier of the tubes in their watches said all Ball watches are made in China.

I would think the guys selling them the tubes would know where the tubes are being shipped... Why would tubes be shipped to China if the watch is made in Switzerland??

LA Police Gear, Inc


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## SJACKAL (May 13, 2006)

LAPoliceGear said:


> Ball Watches - Of course they are going to say that.. Do you think they would admit to having them made in China?
> 
> All I can tell you is that the supplier of the tubes in their watches said all Ball watches are made in China.
> 
> ...



No idea Sean, but I do note with interest that you had suggested many times in this thread that they might not be truly Swiss Made. So I am probably hesitant about buying any Ball watches should I want a tritum tube watch. Lotsa cheaper options around.


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## John N (May 29, 2006)

marcdilnutt said:


>



Very nice. BTW, is it much lighter than the stainless version?

Thanks,

-john


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## Grummond (May 29, 2006)

Hey Wong great photo and great watch.:rock: 

I think if one is looking for the brightest possible glow from the hands / dial my vote would also go for the Seiko black monster.

I have the black monster and 007 and can’t get over how bright the lume is and the general quality of the watch especially considering the price point.

I guess my opinion may be a little biased as I have a particular fondness for Seiko.

IMHO the bracelet on the black monster is exceptional and the watch has been keeping great time.

If I were to get a watch with tritium I’d probably go for the GSAR as I have a strong preference for automatics but then just the bracelet on the GSAR cost more than a new black monster, saying that I’m sure it’s a good watch.

That M16-II looks very nice. Is the lug width on that 20mm like the SAR or 22mm? I can understand why you love watch and it’s always nice to have one that’s been modified a little. Also some great photography. :thumbsup:


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## desmondpun (May 29, 2006)

Ball is a very old brand, Ebay can find some very nice pieces. I have a Ball Hydrocarbon, from the quality and workmanship, I am sure it cann't be a China product. But it is possible that the tritium are glue on the watch face in China.


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## senecaripple (May 29, 2006)

nobody mentioned the smith and wesson tritium watches! it's a divers like watch, 200m water resistance. it has the moveable dials the 60min has gid paint on it. the 12 has orange h3. swiss parts, thailand movement(what ever that means! i got it at ebay for $100.00 last summer. it glows very brightly!
for the price i dont think you can beat it
it keeps very good time, has a calender on the 3.


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## marcdilnutt (May 29, 2006)

John N said:


> Very nice. BTW, is it much lighter than the stainless version?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> -john


It is quite a lot lighter, i used to hsve the steel and you can notice the difference. The Ti is a really nice watch.
marc


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