What is Lume?

Rado's newest 2009 addition, the Sintra Automatic watch is composed of extremely hard ceramic, a steel inner case and titanium screws and clasp. The watch is streamlined, gliding smoothly from watch face to bracelet, widening and narrowing insync with Rado's iconic style. The traditional dial is easy to read, by day and by night as the hands are coated with lume.

What is Lume?
Lume is the substance that allows the hands to glow in the dark. Lume is short for lumious phosphorescent.
What is phosphorescence? A type of photo luminescence.
What is photoluminescence? (abbreviated as PL) is a process in which a substance absorbs photons (electromagnetic radiation) and then re-radiates photons. (Wikipedia) The photo luminescence is produced when the electrons in a molecule are stimulated by an outside energy source. Either ultraviolet light ("black light"), biochemical reaction (glow-sticks) or radioactivity. Once the electrons are stimulated they quickly return to their original state by emitting radiation, sometimes in the form of visible light.

So we are interested to discover how our lume coated hands work. A phosphorescent substance does not immediately re-emit the radiation it absorbs. The answer is in the involved study of quantum mechanics which I am not an possibly not able to go into at this stage. It is suffice to say that the slower time scales are related to "forbidden energy" state transition in quantum mechanics. Simply put, energy absorbed by a substance is slowly released in the form of light.

What are the most common phosphorescent pigments used today? Zinc sulphide and strontium aluminate.

Most watch manufacturers use strontium aluminate, marketed by the brand name Super-Luminova. This substance is non-radioactive and non-toxic photo luminescence. This technology was developed after the zinc sulphide substance. Being that strontium aluminate is ten times brighter than zinc sulphide, the latter substance was zoned out and currently is something of a novelty.

Watchmakers were on a constant quest to find a substance that allowed time to be displayed in the dark. The problem was initially solved by the chime of a minute repeater or sonnerie, a candle or an open dial. As soldiers of World War One, huddled in dark trenches listening to the roar of the canons , unable to guess the passage of time, the quest to find a glow-in-the dark substance intensified. Watchmakers suddenly remembered Radium, a discovery made at the end of the 19th century. Radium was radioactive and had the property of luminescence. Radium was used in the watch industry for many years, but abandoned in favor of tritium as a result of its high levels of radioactivity; however, too late for hundreds of "Radium Girls in the 1920's". These young girls were employed by US watch companies to paint the Radium and zinc sulphide onto the dials using a small camel haired brush which they pointed with their lips in between paint applications. They had no inkling that this greenish white glow-in-the-dark paint was lethal. Each time they ingested a small amount of radium - an alpha-particle emitter, chemically similar to calcium and thus a bone-seeker, the Radium was accumulating in the bone-marrow and causing bone cancer and other genetic damages.

Tritium, on the other hand is radioactive but in much lower levels than radium, was used until the 1990's. Then came a breakthrough Super-luminova, all the photo luminescence qualities of tritium, but not radioactive and thus less hazardous and more environmental friendly.

There is a distinct difference though. Tritium is permanently stimulated by electrons (betarays) which it emits when it spontaneously transforms into helium. Thus tritium can glow for dozens of years even in total darkness. (see inset) On the other hand Superluminova requires to be stimulated by either violet or ultraviolet light which at first is very bright, but then gradually fades after a few hours in the dark.

As with Super-Luminova the energy emitted by the electrons is stored at quite a stable level, resulting in light being emitted over a several hour period.

Who made Mother's Day?

"A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. And candy! You take a box to Mother—and then eat most of it yourself. A pretty sentiment!"
Anne Jarvis - the creator of Mother's Day. (depicted in image)

On May 14th 1907, Anne Jarvis held a memorial for her mother who had died two years earlier. She then embarked on a mission to make Mother's Day a recognized holiday which occurred in 1914 ,thanks to Woodrow Wilson who signed the bill. She did not like the commercialization of the holiday and spent her entire inheritance fighting against it. She did not like the cheap cards and empty trinkets associated with the holiday. She wanted the holiday to be full of meaning, depth and gratitude.
It is quite difficult to purchase a gift for ones Mother that will show ones infinite appreciation.
Luckily there is just the gift and you have found the place. THE WATCHERY
Show your appreciation for her timeless and unconditional love by purchasing a Luxury Watch. I know! I know! You think it is too late. Mothers Day is Sunday and you missed the boat. Well that's where you are wrong - Mothers Day is everyday and it won't matter if you give her a watch a day or two later or even a week or month, she will treasure it forever.
THE WATCHERY has a large selection of Chopard Happy Watches where diamonds float between two layers of Sapphire Crystal, Concord La Scala's in vibrant blue's and pinks, shimmering with diamonds, Iconic Cartier Tanks with a distinctive shape that never loses its style to time, Rado watches bearing eternal gleams, Movado's with a single dot against a black backdrop and delicate lovely Ebel. I am sure THE WATCHERY has a luxury watch your mother will love.


THE WATCHERY WISHES ALL MOTHERS A HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Rado and its Vision.

I love getting to the bottom of a watch company. When writing about a company sometimes it takes quite a bit of research just to feel that click in my head. What has made this company last so long? What has this company focused on? What makes the company tick? What is its vision? Its obsession? For Rado it is its constant quest to create the hardest watch.

Rado Sintra Art Mens' Watch Ceramics Silver Dial R13599402

Rado has many interesting watches. Some I love, and some are ,well, interesting, but what has made Rado popular today is its incredible research in scratch resistance. Not only to the crystal, but to the watch in its entirety. I perused a couple of threads and what I discovered was that a Rado Watch has the potential to look as good as new even after ten years, which means they have a great resale value. Some guy even went as far as taking a key and trying to scratch the watch surface with not much luck. He then went outside and stomped on it, and managed a tiny scratch. Why someone would do this with a relatively expensive watch, I don't know. I suppose anything in the name of science. Okay lets get down to hard Rado facts.

Rado was founded in Switzerland in 1917, as strictly a watch movements manufacturer known as Schlup & Co. In 1957 Rado launched its first collection of wrist watches. In 1983 Rado became part of the Swatch Group. Rado manufacturers its watches utilizing non conventional material such as hard metal(tungsten and titanium carbide), ceramics, lanthanum and sapphire crystal (which is now used in most high end luxury watches). In 1960 Rado made its mark on the Watch World by producing the world's first scratch proof watch; the Rado Diastar. Rado kept experimenting with different hardy materials and in 1996 Rado unveiled its Vision 1 watch. The watch casing was made from crushed diamonds, so hard was the watch that it made its way into the Guinness Book of Records for the hardest watch ever.

Rado still was obsessed with making a watch even harder. They turned to nanotechnology to perfect the utilisation of crushed diamond. They used a cutting edge process called CVD (Chemical Vapour Deposition) where a furnace capable of recreating an atmospheric pressure comparable to Jupiter was used. The combination of heat and pressure transformed the carbon into nanocrystalline diamond particles. With this groundbreaking material Rado was able to deposit an pure 100% diamond layer onto the hard metal watch components.

The result: The V10K watch. The V1oK watch is still available from Rado; however the materials used today are slightly different than the original V10K. The watch name stands for 10,000 Vickers- the ultimate value of hardness- the standard set for natural diamonds.

Rado current baby is the Ceramica Chronograph Limited Edition redesigned by Jasper Morrison, an award winning designer.

Rado Cerix Ladies' Watch Black & Grey Ceramics Grey Dial Diamond Bezel R25473712

Rado is a company which constantly strives for perfection, in design, comfort and durability. To purchase a Rado is to purchase a watch that will shine year after year after year. Rado Watches are available for up to 73% off the list price from The Watchery. Choose between the eye twisiting Cerix with its fascinating shape or the glamorous ceramic Diaqueen Ladies Watch or the Plum Lantano.

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Order today and choose two choices of shipping methods:
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Rado Crysma Ladies' Mini Watch Stainless Steel Pink Mother-of-Pearl Dial R41765933

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