Luminox

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Luminox
Luminox Logo.jpg
Type
Private
Industry Watch manufacturing
Founded 1989
Founder Barry Cohen
Headquarters San Rafael, California, United States
Products Watches
Website www.luminox.com
Luminox is a brand of watch. Their watches are notable for containing tritium
inserts, providing long-term luminescence.

Luminox SEAL watch

Contents
1 Luminox history
2 Notable technology
3 Products
4 References
5 External links
Luminox history
Luminox Watch Company is a U.S. company founded in 1989 and headquartered in San
Rafael, California. Luminox also makes branded watches for various military groups
with custom insignias and designs. Among these are the Heliswiss team, the US
Bobsled Team, US Coast Guard, US Air Force, and a variety of other special forces
and EMS teams worldwide.[citation needed]

The brand has since expanded into over 30 countries. Among the more popular watch
models are those designed using visual elements of the fighter jets made by
Lockheed Martin. To date, Luminox has designed watches taking cues from the SR-71
Blackbird, the F-117 Nighthawk, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and the F-22 Raptor.[1]

In 2006, a fifty-percent stake in the Luminox company was purchased by the Swiss
brand Mondaine, giving Mondaine increased access to the American market, and
Luminox increased access to the European and Asian markets.[2]

Notable technology
Luminox watches are advertised to possess "always visible technology." The watch
hands and markers contain tritium inserts which provide long-term luminescence, as
opposed to phosphorescent markers used in other watches, which must be charged by a
light source.

The tritium in a gaseous tritium light source undergoes beta decay, releasing
electrons which cause the phosphor layer to fluoresce. During manufacture, a length
of borosilicate glass tube which has had the inside surface coated with a phosphor-
containing compound is filled with the radioactive tritium. The tube is then fused
with a CO2 laser at the desired length. Borosilicate glass is used for its strength
and resistance to breakage. In the tube, the tritium gives off a steady stream of
electrons due to beta decay. These particles excite the phosphor, causing it to
emit a low, steady glow.
Products
Luminox offers four lines of water resistant watches, labeled "Sea", "Air", "Land"
and "Space". There are reported cases of counterfeit watches in circulation for the
Luminox brand. The fake Luminox watches are reported to be shinier than originals
and have wrong font numbers on the dial.[3]

References
"Luminox F-22 Raptor Collection Adds Version with Telemeter Scale" (PDF).
Retrieved 2012-10-13.[permanent dead link]
Luminox, the American watch brand teams up with Mondaine, Allbusiness Monday,
April 3 2006
"How to recognize fake or real Luminox watches" (PDF).
External links
Official website
Categories: Privately held companies based in Rhode IslandCompanies established in
1989Watch brandsAmerican brandsWatch manufacturing companies of SwitzerlandWatch
manufacturing companies of the United StatesSwiss watch brands