![]() Today’s paints are made using non-radioactive photoluminescent materials. Photo: Shinola The DuckĪ Safer Alternative With Some Compromises Several other technologies have taken up the torch, each with its own particular nuances. Since that time, watch manufacturers have scrambled to find a safer alternative. Though watch manufacturers continued using radium paint into the late 1950s and early 1960s (and the military longer still), it was outright banned from commercial production in 1968. Dubbed the “radium girls,” Fryer and others like her fought for legal action for nearly 12 years - eventually being heard in the Supreme Court - until finally the watch giants were forced to pay and workers were afforded unprecedented labor rights. Radium, one of the largest employers of watch dial painters. With the help of her fellow coworkers, she spearheaded a campaign against U.S. However, factory worker Grace Fryer was determined to seek compensation. In other words, you’d have an element continue to be radioactive - dangerously so - for far longer than its use justified. So while you’d have a watch dial with a half-life of 1600+ years (the time it takes radium to decay by 50%), it would only take a few years to a decade before the glow would be gone. Over time, workers began suffering from a host of health problems, including anemia, bone fractures, and necrosis of the jaw - also known as “radium jaw.” Confronted with the knowledge that they were making some of their workers sick and others terminally ill, watch manufacturers nonetheless staunchly denied the harmful properties of radium and attempted to cover up its side effects.Īnother problem with radium paint was that it would gradually lose its shine due to phosphor deterioration. Many women also reportedly painted their nails and their teeth in order to make themselves glow. With radiation poisoning still very much a distant concept, instructors taught workers to lick to the tips of their brushes in order to get a fine point, after which they’d paint the radium onto the dial. Furthermore, with the onset of WWI, women could take pride in knowing they were supporting their troops by providing them with legible watches. At the time, it was believed that there were no adverse effects from exposure to the material, so workers didn’t know to beware of the occupation. As such, throughout the 1910s and into the 1920s, thousands of working-class women filled watch factories trying to make a decent living by painting radioactive radium onto watch dials. The precision necessary to apply luminous material to watch dials required a delicate touch. Incredibly bright and easy to produce in large quantities, it was considered pretty cutting edge stuff at the time. ![]() Because radium paint is self-luminous - meaning it produces light through its own radioactive decay - it quickly became the preferred method for giving watches their glow. With the discovery of radioactivity around the turn of the 20th century came the first application of radioluminescent elements: radium paint. Humble Beginnings With Harmful Side Effects Whether you’re a casual enthusiast curious about timepieces or a passionate collector well-steeped in watch know-how, at one point or another, everyone’s probably wondered “What makes luminous watch dials glow?” Well, read on to find out about this revolutionary piece of wrist-based tech and how it came to be. From early missteps to modern makeovers, watch manufacturers have continued to innovate on the luminous dial in the search for the ideal illuminator. While we have a slew of lume styles today, it’s been a long time coming. In environments when every second counts, you can’t rely on a smartphone to match the precision of a good watch - especially after the sun goes down and a brightly lit screen stands out like a sore thumb. Moreover, watch lume has been a consistent and appreciated performer in military applications - whether that was in Europe during WW1 or on special ops missions today. However, it wasn’t always so - prior to these modern conveniences, luminous dials offered a much more convenient way to tell the time in the dark than listening for the toll of a bell tower or hoping to stumble across a street clock. As such, it’s easy to overlook this little innovation, for as cutting-edge as it was at the time, it’s often taken for granted. With the widespread adoption of commercial electricity and the increasing prevalence of smartphones, today, luminous watch technology is proving to be far more of a value-added feature than a necessity.
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