# How's Seiko's Lumibrite? Help with Decision!



## Darkcobra (Sep 17, 2003)

*How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

I'm now debating on a Seiko Titanium SNA139 or a Luminox Marine. Can anyone give information to help me make my final decision? I like the titanium on the Seiko and its price of $205 shipped. Also what do you think of Seiko's Lumibrite? 

Edited to change Luminox model.
Edited narrowed decision down to two watches.


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## ewick (Sep 17, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

I've got a Seiko Macchina Sportiva, which if I'm not mistaken has the Lumibrite on the hands/markers. If it is in fact Lumibrite, then I highly reccomend! It is hands down the best non-tritium GITD source I've seen on a watch. Super bright after charging, and continues to glow for a very long time. I can't give exact times; I've never done a "runtime test", but I doubt very seriously that you'd be disappointed.


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## Darkcobra (Sep 17, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Thanks ewick! Glad to hear that Lumibrite is not a disappointment. . . Rack one point for the Seiko /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif


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## ewick (Sep 17, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Darkcobra,

You're welcome! FYI, my watch does have the Lumibrite. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't passing off bad information.

http://www.watchexchange.com/macchina.html


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## gadgetnut (Sep 17, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Darkcobra, if you've never seen the Luminox "in person", I highly recommend you try to before you make a decision. When I was shopping around for my Luminox Marine, I was only ever able to see pictures of it on-line. When I finally got it, I was blown away. It looks 100 times nicer than the pictures represent. I own a $300 Citizen Titanium that isn't half as nice as my $179 Luminox. I mean, not only are the tritium markers very bright (and cool as heck), but the watch movement itself is very high quality. The case and band look great and have a really nice fit and finish. I'd recommend a Luminox to anyone. Hope this helps a little.


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## Darkcobra (Sep 17, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

"Hope this helps a little"

You just made that much more difficult! Uggghhh /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif
I've seen the Luminox Marine in person and I do like the tritium markers, $179 is a great price too! I liked the Seiko because it was titanium, I've got to figure out if I really like titanium that much? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif


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## gadgetnut (Sep 17, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

LOL...sorry about that. Yeah, Titanium is nice. My Titanium Citizen is supper thin and light. After a while though, I got a little bored with the dark grey look of it. That's just personal taste I guess. I thought I'd mind the heavier stainless steel, but I really don't at all.


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## Darkcobra (Sep 17, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

The weight kind of bothers me a little.
I'm currently wearing a Wenger with a Plastic/Rubber band, so its pretty light. . .
I just happenend to look at Costco's deal on Chase Durer Bomber Command watch and it weighed in at over 6 ounces. 
gadetnut - thanks for posting in here as I'm ready to make my watch purchase today and your info is really helping me out! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif


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## gadgetnut (Sep 17, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Let me know what your final decision is after you make it!


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## Darkcobra (Sep 17, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Well. . . . I went titanium. . .
I ordered the Seiko Titanium SNA139.
I thought I wanted Luminox all this time, but I guess that titanium just kept popping back into my head. I guess Luminox will have to hold off for a while.
Thanks for the information everyone.


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## bigcozy (Sep 17, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

The Seiko is probably the better watch in terms of make and durability, but that said, I have a Luminox on my wrist. They aren't as tough (in my experience, I have owned several) as some people think, but the trasers are hard to beat, and you get used to them. The Marine is a very good looking watch, will work with casual or dress clothing. It is hard to switch from a light to a heavy watch, but you can adapt. The first time I bought a higher end auto watch I didn't like the weight, but I thought it was cool that I knew it was made from heavy duty steel, and I got used to it. If you watch different forums, you can pick up a good deal, I bought my Marine for $100 and it looked new. 

You really can't go wrong either way.


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## Darkcobra (Sep 17, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

I think I'll surf around on E-bay and try to pick up a Marine that someone thinks is too tactical or something. 
I still like both watches and I can't go by the CPF motto of "get them both" with Christmas and racked up credit card bills around the corner. Like I said, hopefully I can get lucky also and find a good deal on a Luminox in the near future.


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## flownosaj (Sep 17, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

I know you just bought the Seiko, but did you consider the Luminox titanium model? Can be found around $285....

-Jason


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## gadgetnut (Sep 17, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

[ QUOTE ]
*flownosaj said:*
I know you just bought the Seiko, but did you consider the Luminox titanium model? Can be found around $285....

-Jason 

[/ QUOTE ]I was going to say that too...oh well.
Darkcobra, I'm sure you're going to love the Seiko. Do you have a pic or a link to one?


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## gadgetnut (Sep 17, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

[ QUOTE ]
*bigcozy said:*
...The Marine is a very good looking watch, will work with casual or dress clothing... 

[/ QUOTE ]That's exactly why I like that one. I wear a dress shirt and tie to the office, so I didn't really want a black, tactical watch (even though I think they look cool). Like you said, the Marine stainless looks great even with a suit and tie, but not too flashy for camping in jeans and a T-shirt.


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## keithhr (Sep 17, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

I bought the same watch as Jason, the Luminox marine titatium watch, very nice, very bright without charging. I'm really curious as to how long charged luminova actually stays bright.


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## Darkcobra (Sep 18, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Here's a link to the Seiko - http://store.yahoo.com/bluedial/sna139.html
$285 for a titanium Luminox! Wow I didn't see that one? Oh well, my wife would have killed me anyways if I told her that I spent $85 over my budget for a watch /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/whoopin.gif


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## vcal (Sep 18, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

[ QUOTE ]
*Darkcobra said:*Here's a link to the Seiko - http://store.yahoo.com/bluedial/sna139.html$285 for a titanium Luminox! Wow I didn't see that one? Oh well, my wife would have killed me anyways if I told her that I spent $85 over my budget for a watch /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/whoopin.gif 

[/ QUOTE ]OOOOOOOooooooh! I like _that _ Seiko! I want one. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gifDoes any body know whether it has a quartz movement, or mechanical?


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## gadgetnut (Sep 18, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

[ QUOTE ]
*Darkcobra said:*
Here's a link to the Seiko - http://store.yahoo.com/bluedial/sna139.html
..Oh well, my wife would have killed me anyways if I told her that I spent $85 over my budget for a watch /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/whoopin.gif 

[/ QUOTE ]Hey, I like that Seiko. Very sharp looking.
Believe me, I understand keeping the wife happy. What I did while I was waiting to order my Luminox, was to take her with me into jewelry stores to look at other watches. Once she saw that the average Seiko or Citizen was $250 to $350, the Luminox for $179 looked like a bargain to her! (which it really was)


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## Darkcobra (Sep 18, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

I can't seem to find it now, but I am almost certain that it has a quartz movement, I'll keep searching as to where I read it. . . 
Thanks for the comments, makes me feel better as I still want a Luminox /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/broke.gif


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## Deanster (Sep 18, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Just FYI, I have a new Seiko Monster Diver with big ol' patches of Lumibrite, and have been testing it for the last couple nights. 

I also own two Luminox original-sytle 'navy seals' watches with Tritium inserts. 

The Seiko is far and away the best non-tritium glow I've ever seen. Last night, I just wore the watch normally, so was in faily dim 'tv-watching light' from about 9pm onwards. The watch was bright and easy to read when I turned the lights off at 10:30pm, and was dim, but still fully readable by my dark-adjusted eyes, including the very small second hand, at 5:30am, just before it started to get light. I've never had a non-tritium watch that even came close. 

For about an hour, perhaps an hour and a half after being in bright light, the Lumibrite is competitive with the Luminox inserts. After that, the Luminox really takes over, and is hard to beat. I also really like the Luminox for things like driving, where you are switching back and forth from the bright headlights and dark road to the dark interior of the car. The very bright glow of the Luminox really makes this an easy win. 

In short - lumibrite rocks, and looks far better the rest of the day, and it's good enough I no longer switch to the Luminox when I'm going to movies or other dark places. It's vastly better than the lame luminescence on so many watches. 

However, Luminox owns the deep dark night - nothing else even comes close if you're going to be spending many hours in the dark (boating, camping, other 'awake most of the night outdoors' activities), and/or when you'll be looking back and forth from bright (campfires, flashlight beams, etc.) to your dark wrist multiple times. 

Hope this helps!


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## Darkcobra (Sep 18, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Thanks for the report deanster. Can't wait for my watch, I'll be getting it on Friday.


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## gadgetnut (Sep 18, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Deanster, that was a great evaluation. I love my Luminox, but there is one thing I find kinda funny. They advertise the Tritium markers as being "100 times brighter than a normal luminescent watch". That's bull. They are very bright...no doubt about that. But how much brighter they are would depend on when you did the comparison. The Luminox is the same all the time. My Citizen which has luminescent paint, glows real nice for the first 20 minutes or so, then gets dim real fast. For the first 2 or 3 minutes after being under a bright light, it's as bright as my Luminox. It just doesn't stay that way for long. I guess if you compare the Luminox to the Citizen at 4:00am, it _would_ be 100 times brighter then!


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## Tomas (Sep 18, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Tritium vials vs Lumibrite is very much like putting a regulated LED flashlight up against a direct-drive LED flashlight.

Lumibrite can start out brighter with a fresh 'charge' than the tritium vials*, but as the 'charge' level goes down, the Lumibrite gets dimmer and dimmer.

The level from the tritium stays essentially the same over a long timeframe.

I have both (Seiko Arctura Kinetic and SandY 590 mil-issue) and can appreciate them both. The Seiko is *bright* but can be quite dim by morning, especially if one is wearing long sleeves in the winter, for example (I've had it end up totally unreadable). 

So, in my opinion the tritium vials are more reliable and more dependable in a 'life or death' situation, while the Lumibrite is the absolute best I've EVER seen in using it's charge effectively. Those things are BRIGHT. I've read a map using my Seiko ... 










* There is a difference in starting brightness amongst tritium vials: The more gas inside (higher pressure), the brighter the luminence from the radiation hitting the phosphors (quite simply, there's more radiation per area). For specialized uses some of the vials are amazingly bright, but those are not the ones usually found in watches.) 

T


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## revolvergeek (Sep 18, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

I saw this monster Seiko last night at the Galleria in Dallas. It will be my next watch, may take a while, but i will get it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif. 






More Info: 

I drooled all over this loverly toy last night, and actually had it on my wrist for a minute, but for $7995.00 someone else is gonna have to buy it....


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## revolvergeek (Sep 18, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. When I am wearing my Seikos or my Poljot, I keep a purple Photon II on my keyring and use it to charge the luminova for 15-20 seconds before I go to a movie or go to sleep at night.


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## ewick (Sep 19, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Just in case anybody's curious, here is the technical data on Lumibrite. 

"The oil crisis of the early seventies prompted research into more efficient fluorescent lights. This involved, amongst other things, research into more efficient phosphors. In the middle nineties, the Japanese examined some of these efficient light-activated phosphors for use outside of lamps. Seiko formulated Lumibrite: Al-2 O-3 (Eu or Dy). This is a rare earth (Europium or Dysprosium) doped oxide of aluminum. Seiko claims visibility of up to 500 minutes (about 8 hours) for Lumibrite."


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## Darkcobra (Sep 19, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

ewick - Thanks! Exactly the type of information that we can all use. . .


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## Deanster (Sep 19, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

That's not a Monster Seiko!

THIS is a Monster Seiko!






and here's one of the Lumibrite






these are photos from John Holbrook's excellent review of the 'orange monster', which can be found at:

Orange Monster Review 

Not that anyone cares, but my watch has the black face, rather than the crazy orange.


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## Cones (Sep 20, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Hi,
I have got one of these. You can see a review on it here.

www.cones.free-online.co.uk

I agree it is the brightest watch face that I have seen.

Mark


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## vcal (Sep 20, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

[ QUOTE ]
*Cones said:*

www.cones.free-online.co.uk
Mark

[/ QUOTE ]
Why am I getting your page, but No picture on that link?


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## Cones (Sep 20, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Sorry, someone else said that as well the other day.

I am not too sure why it works for some and not others.

Maybe it will work if you try it later.

The small pics should link to the larger ones when you click on them. Does this work when you try it?

Sorry this is off topic. But it is fustrating when stuff does not work.

Thanks

Mark


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## vcal (Sep 20, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Not huge problem Mark, I just happen to be yet another watch junkie. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I don't even see any small boxes to _click_ on. BTW-most of the time your links work perfect for me.Maybe it's because I have no computer! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif


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## Darkcobra (Sep 22, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Got my Seiko on Friday!
I love Seiko's Lumibrite, its nice and bright when fully charged and stays pretty well lit for a good time afterwards. The black face gives a bit of a tactical look and the greyish/titanium band gives it a sort of dressy look.


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## gadgetnut (Sep 22, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif Cool. Glad to hear you like it. Did you have to get links taken out of the band, or were you able to use the adjustments on the clasp? I had to stop by a jewely store and have links removed from my watch (thin wrists).


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## Darkcobra (Sep 22, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

I had to get a couple of links taken out which was a free service when I ordered the watch, it was still too big, so I still need one link removed, still wearble though. . .


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## keithhr (Sep 22, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

I had a Swiss Wenger field century watch that when fully charged, was the brightest watch illumination I have ever seen. Unfortunately, it only stayed bright for about 5 minutes before fading away completely. I would be interested to find out how long lumibrite actually stays bright for, retaining most of it's brightness at least.


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## flownosaj (Sep 23, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

lumbrite stays bright for about 10 minutes and then starts to fade to a baseline just below tritium. Seems to stay close to that for a few hours before dropping into moon-mode /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Seems that Lumbrite will stay readable to dark adapted eyes for 6 hours or so. I believe that there is a graph I saw a few weeks ago on one of the sites for glowstuff. I'll have to look for it tomorrow...


-Jason


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## keithhr (Sep 23, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

Jason, your the man, I am really glad you made this observation, most people that have lumibrite will probably have a difficult time telling it like it is. I'm just glad that I purchased both my Luminox watches, you still enjoying yours? BTW, I hope you didn't get the news that your wife's duty would be doubled.


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## flownosaj (Sep 24, 2003)

*Re: How\'s Seiko\'s Lumibrite? Help with Decision!*

[ QUOTE ]
*keithhr said:*
BTW, I hope you didn't get the news that your wife's duty would be doubled. 

[/ QUOTE ]

What, you know something I don't /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

As to the Tritium vs. Lumbrite/Luminova, I'm still on the fence. It's amazing that I can read my Luminox watch at 6am with no lights on and it's so bright sitting next to the standards. Yeah, after 8-10 hours in the dark you really appreciate tritium, but the standards are good for normal stuff. Too bad I don't get more sun...

Still want that Bill Yao MKII...just the cost of case finishing and non-tritium holding me back now. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif 

-Jason


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