The Breitling Watch Source Forums

This morning I decided to lower my desk lamp to about an inch above my navitimer so that I could "charge" my lume. I've heard that doing this for a while can make the lume really shine brightly and last all day. I came back to it 45 minutes later expecting the brightness to be radiant and long lasting. The look was ok but the watch was so hot that I couldn't touch it. I freaked out and put it in the refrigerator for about fifteen minutes. I took it out when it was almost back to normal.

Should I be worried that I damaged the watch? It was INCREDIBLY hot when I took it out from under the lamp; I had to use a t shirt to carry it to my fridge.

Not only that, but the lume shine didn't last very long

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Breitling Navitimer 01 LE

Well it's not going to do it a lot of good, and putting it in the fridge was about the worst thing to do because it forced an even more dramatic cool down. the most obvious risk is to the hairspring and any damage there is going to become obvious very quickly because of variance in accuracy. Other metal parts may be affected but are less likely to cause immediate problems.

Next time use an LED or ultraviolet if you must do it!

Fortunately, the watch seems to be ok!



will one of those methods charge the lume to an extent where it will shine radiantly and last all day?

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Breitling Navitimer 01 LE

I think it's better if it shines all night.

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Breitling B-1 1999
Breitling Chrono Superocean 2004
Casio G Shock
Citizen Eco Drive AT4000-02E (for gardening)
Seiko 5 SNZG15J1
Hamilton X Wind LE

There are a lot of threads on lume from the past, but the issue is not really with lume, rather with eyes. SuperLuminova isn't the brightest, and Breitling don't use as much as some brands, but looking at the lume with eyes that aren't adjusted to the dark is not going to give an accurate reading. Turning the lights off and seeing how bright it is is going to disappoint, looking at the watch in the middle of the night if you wake up is going to give a very different impression.

Very interesting Roff

Man I am kicking myself for being so dumb. I think this incident did actually affect the watch's time keeping ability. The watch is now running -5 seconds per day instead of at 0 or +1.

I know it's not dramatic, but I took such great pride in the accuracy of the watch, and now it's not even within Chronometer specs (albeit not by much). I was thinking I would have to have it serviced but then I came across this article (https://www.tourneau.com/catalog/editor ... =watchCare) from Tourneau that says the watch can be magnetized by being in the refrigerator.

What do the experts here think

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Breitling Navitimer 01 LE

Magnetized watches run fast, not slow.