Am I getting apathetic to "superlume"?

[RobbDizzle]

Let me preface this by saying that I'm a very lume-oriented person...the brighter the better. I had a 177L a few years ago (when HFac was doing them with lowbeat movements) that had, by my standards, AMAZING lume. It charged up with a few seconds to maximum brightness, which was impressively bright. This was one of the first models to have the C1/C3 Superluminova from the factory that we all went bonkers for, and it was what set the standard for me and defined "superlumed".

So anyway, this is something I've noticed lately with some PAMs that I've had. Both my 111 and my 026 are C1/C3 superlumed, and I'm underwhelmed by the lume on both. They last a good long time, but it seems like that both the "charge time"/initial brightness is lacking. For example: held next to an open window for 5-7 seconds, my 177 would be brighter than either the 111 or the 026 are. Put another way, the 111 and the 026 would need a few extra seconds to achieve the same amount of brightness the 177 did.

Seeing as though all 3 are C1/C3'd, is it possible that I'm getting apathetic to "superlume"? Expecting too much? Or has something changed in the year and a half that I've been gone with how they apply/how much lume they apply at the factories?

Also, Gratuitous lume shot:

 

[cubicle_monkey]

H Fac traditionally had stronger lume than other makers. Also, don't trust everything you read on the website. its like the WR rating, complete BS IMO. Yes Pams have better lume than most other reps but thats because there is a lot more of it. Maybe I'm doing it wrong but I've never had a rep with lume last more than 1-2 hours "superlumed" or not.

 

[RobbDizzle]

My 026k is an HFac, like my 177. The 111N is a Noob and has the same lume as the 026, which was what lead me to post about it.

All of my C1/C3 PAMs have lasted at least 6 hours, too, regardless of factory.

Sent from my mk.VII armor via J.A.R.V.I.S.

 

[korneevy]

..."I'm a very lume-oriented person". Sorry this is pure gold. Could not care to read the whole post but the first sentence made my day. Now I know how I shall introduce myself from now on

 

[ALE7575]

Hi RD
Nice to see you here again after.. three years?
Great post
We will see the conclusions

Thanks and welcome
ALE

 

[modeldoctor]

I have a old 177M (can't remember the factory) The lume on it acts just like you say. Charges quickly and is much brighter than any other rep. I have multiple newer PAMs 243,359,390,505 and an older 89. None of them are even close to the 177. I'm not sure what they did to the 177s, but the lume is amazing.

 

[bobkat]

my conclusion on lume. Having owned several gen watches, lume on gen watches is quite weak. Even lume on gen panerai watches are quite weak. The rep lume of the recent years more than adequate and sometimes better. For example the lume on my noob 127 is much stronger than on my gen iwc 3234. Sure different thickness and different amounts of lume, but in the end I don't think gens are anything special. It's all in your head bro

 

[trailboss99]

Who says they are C1/C3?
Does anyone here think that the Chinese rep dial makers actually use gen Superluminova?

Assuming you do I gather you also believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the fact that the government is here to help you.

 

[RobbDizzle]

Hi RD
Nice to see you here again after.. three years?
Great post
We will see the conclusions

Thanks and welcome
ALE

Good to hear from you, ALE! I was hoping you'd respond here. Do you know anything about any changes H-Fac or even Noob have made in the last year or so to lume appication on PAMs? It just seems like the 177/005/318 had amazing lume and the newer H-Fac/Noob can't compare.

I have a old 177M (can't remember the factory) The lume on it acts just like you say. Charges quickly and is much brighter than any other rep. I have multiple newer PAMs 243,359,390,505 and an older 89. None of them are even close to the 177. I'm not sure what they did to the 177s, but the lume is amazing.

Exactly! The M was H-Fac I think, one generation after my 177L. Basically it came with the platinum-plated highbeat 6497 out of the box, as the lowbeat movements were failing left and right. It was right around the time that Noobfac started doing super-PAMs. Glad to see I'm not crazy, and someone else has noticed it.

 

[RobbDizzle]

Who says they are C1/C3?
Does anyone here think that the Chinese rep dial makers actually use gen Superluminova?

Assuming you do I gather you also believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the fact that the government is here to help you.

Hadn't even thought of that, Col. Perhaps they were in the beginning, and switched? That's the only thing I can think of, as I remember the boards being ablaze (forgive the pun) with raves about the 177L lume.

And yes, no, no, in that order

 

[d4m.test]

On the AP Diver the lume gets weaker relatively fast, still can read the time all night, the other 3 on the right glow for a long time in a dark room and are very well readable for 7 hours tops; the blue Rolex is not as bright but stays intense over time;

 

[RobbDizzle]

Thanks for the pic, it looks great!

Both of my current superlumed PAMs are readable all night long, but that initial brightness does fade quickly. Still though, I can hit them with an LED flashlight before I go to sleep and I'll be able to make them out in the dark 7 or 8 hours later.

 

[trailboss99]

Hadn't even thought of that, Col. Perhaps they were in the beginning, and switched? That's the only thing I can think of, as I remember the boards being ablaze (forgive the pun) with raves about the 177L lume.

And yes, no, no, in that order

Nope I can tell you what happened since they buy from the same factory that make my lume. The factory concerned (let's call it "China #1 Lume Maker Factory", or "CLM Factory" for short) makes two grades of lume. Both are head and shoulders above everything else produced in China but one is about 15% better than the other. It's also about 10% more expensive and we all know how the Chinese love to save a dollar.


The first one, the better of the two came out about three or four years ago and the slightly cheaper one around two years later. Both use a process almost identical to that of Tritec (which is different to all other lumes and a patented process) but the cheaper one uses less of the most expensive ingredient. When I asked why the cheaper product I was told (as I expected) that "China maker ask for cheaper product". In other words to save a few cents a dial they are now using the cheaper product. The description "Super Lume" is still applicable as it's the same process just a less bright result.

My stuff (Lume Master) is a tweaked version of the better of the two. We have worked with them to improve the colour (both daylight and glow) and pay a bit more to get an even brighter, longer lasting glow. Lume isn't rocket science but you get what you pay for and the factories don't wanna pay. Fortunately gen makers do wanna pay and we now sell our product to several of the smaller upmarket makers who see a product comparable to Tritec at a tenth of the price making good financial sense.

 

[electric]

I don't believe a website for a minute, you want super lume, have a watch smith on RWI do it. I bought a noob v1 no date and the website said "super lume" that was super bologna.

 

[s3g0y]

That was very informative boss. Thank you!

 

[ALE7575]

Thanks Col
Very interesting explanation
Unfortunately this is the truth

Another interesting matter, for people above making comparisons, is the kind of dial and the colour of lume
A sandwich dial will get more strong lume than a sausage in the same circumstances and a clear colour better lume than a vintage lume

ALE