Phosphorescent Pigment (lume) Comparison

[watchblog]

I've been searching for the Phosphorescent pigment (used to re-lume watch dials and hands) that gives me the most bang for my buck. This search turned into a comparison, which I'll share in the hope that it will help others.

Thanks to a fellow member, I was able to include Super-Luminova to my comparison.
Each pigment was mixed (in similar ratios) with NoctiLumina Binder 1A:

DAYLIGHT

INITIAL SHOT

AFTER 10 MINUTES

AFTER 20 MINUTES

AFTER 30 MINUTES

All photos were taken with F2.8 @ 1 second.

CONCLUSION:
The brightness drops off quickly, but is still visible after more than 1 hour (although it's difficult to photograph).
There is little difference in brightness between LumiNova and SuperLumiNova (much to my surprise) and no difference in particle size (that I could tell).
NoctiLumina is a descent product (much better than rep lume) and is easy to purchase compared to the other two pigments, but does not perform as well.
It appears that LumiNove might be a good alternative to Super-LumiNova and is a fraction of the price (on a per gram basis). The problem is that it's not possible to purchase it in small quantities (as far as I know).

Just to show an approximate comparison of costs:

* Super-LumiNova = $30/gram (+ $40 shipping/handling to the USA)
* NoctiLumina = $7/gram (+ shipping)
* LumiNova = $1/gram (+ shipping)... 2lb min buy.

I've been using NoctiLumina Binder 1A for a Binder, if someone has a better suggestion, I'd really like to hear it.

 

[Dizzy]

i just saw this post. Very interesting. The luminova is definatly a cheaper alternative to the super by 30x. If I was just doing a watch for me i would get the super luminova but if i was doing lots of lume jobs for customers then i would go with the reg luminova.

 

[zarkon]

Is some one know that what is the price and amaount comparision between luminova and superluminova Are they available at tritec or only the super luminova is coming from tritec??