How do I make sure a vintage watch contains no radioactive materials?

Wow, I never knew this was a thing! Fascinating

Get yourself a geiger counter, if you’re really worried.

Otherwise, don’t lick the dial and you should be fine. To be honest there are a plenty of other environmental factors that a probably more hazardous to your health than wearing an old watch.

(See also: Banana Equivalent Dose)

I'm sorry to tell, but first off, tritium paint by itself is quite safe compared to radium, and second - old tritium watches usually passed a period of decay (around 25 years), so the watch probably was not radioactive at all.

Radium is much more dangerous in the world of watches (whooping 3000+ years of decay).

Thank you very much for your replies 😀👍

I'm aware Tritium is nothing like radium, and as the watch was around 60 years old, so the half life time had passed 4 times.

Still I'd prefer to just not have, or worse to work on, watches with Tritium at all. Is there any way to know, except from writing the company? I have no acces to the serial number in the case of the Junghans from the picture.

As others have said, don't eat it, and you'll be good. 🤪

If you are gonna work on it, send it to a pro.

Otherwise wear it, and don't open the case.

**DISCLAIMER** Not a nuclear physicist, just had some exposure (😂 🤔🫣) to radiation and decay theory due to work**

The radium girls, got sick, due to chronic long term exposure. The accumulated doses of months/years working with radioactive isotopes slowly built up in their bodies, mainly due to them ingesting it via licking the tips of their brushes I believe.

Radium is an alpha emitter. Which means it's a relatively large, slow moving, charged (positive FYI) decay element. Slow and large relative to other atomic/sub atomic particles.

This means basically it doesn't travel far, and your skin is capable of blocking it. Downside is it will stick, literally, around/to stuff and grab any electrons, off any other atoms like a hungry lion.

The real hazard is when it is internalized. Especially if it gets into water, which our bodies are full of. Because of it's positive charge, it'll float around, grabbing/ripping/stealing electrons from anything it passes to become happy or stable. Then it'll just sit basically. Good for the particle, kinda bad for your body. 🤏🏻

Think a bunch of hydroxyl type particles, free radicals if you will, chilling in your blood, muscles, bones, wherever they end up. Still radioactive and toxic to whatever they happen to be in.

Now multiply that same scenario, by ingesting it every day, for a very long time. This is how you get the Radium Girls.

TBH, don't get a Geiger counter either. Most will become mildy concerned when you realize how much harmless radiation surrounds us daily. Bananas, concrete (yes it can be a passive emitter), etc.

That smart device you put next to your head all day err day, or those fancy pants wireless headphones you wear 24/7, emit electromagnetic radiation (not the same as vanilla radiation exactly) and are far more of a "concern" than nuclear radiation. And I say "concern" because even then we all should be FAR more concerned about cholesterol, diabetes, and reckless drivers. Which, despite any country's other "scary" statistics, are the highest, most deadly killers of the first world sadly.

Lol what’s your reasoning to be so hyper concerned with the idea that there is enough radiation to harm you even with active tritium like a Ball or Marathon watch? The amount of radiation is literally non existent within active tritium unless consumed, even then it would be minimal. As far as vintage or burned out tritium has as much radiation as an apple sitting in your kitchen.

Shit…. I never even thought about this topic.. great post👍

Perhaps this article on the subject is interesting too 🍻

🔥

Thank you very much, that's really helpful!

Also I'm glad that we here in this thread can help spread awareness. In the majority of cases with Tritium, it seems to not pose a health risk. But it never hurts to be in the know. Thank you all for contributing 😀

I don't think there's any harm in wearing a Ball or Marathon (thank you, I forgot their name, but though of them too, when making the post) until it breaks. And even then it's fairly low levels of radiation.

I just don't want to deal with it honestly. Radium or Tritium, old or newer (and safer) watches. I'm sure nothing bad will happen if you watch out, but I'd rather have the peace of mind.

Like with having a watch with crown guards or screw-down crown when being active. You don't really need it, but the peace of mind is just really nice. To me at least 😀

You may be able to dig more information out at https://junghansarchiv.de/de

I'd just whack it with a blacklight though. The actual luminescence of the material came from phosphor that was excited by the radium, tritium or prometheum. The phosphorous paint will still glow when illuminated by ultraviolet light.

Many vintage watches containing tritium indicate that with a “T” somewhere on the dial. I don’t know if it was a law though, like it was in the 1960s for labeling watches containing radium. It was mostly a flex to say “look at our cool luminescent technology!” instead of a warning.

That radiation is gonna give you cancer. What’s the treatment for cancer? Radiation. Ooof

By all means. I am in no way advocating anyone do something against their peace of mind.

For one time, non acute exposure, we are talking such trivial amounts of radioactive particulate, you are seriously more likely to get eaten by a great white 🦈 in Arizona, than dying from radioactive poisoning.

Also when it comes to tritium, it's crazy light, so by the time you hear the pressure seal go and/or notice damage to a tube, it's already off and gone. Really only becomes a hazard in confined spaces, or if you huff bagfuls of the stuff. Even then, just drink a ton of water, or beer (not kidding 😂) and flush it out.

TBH, we have all been ingrained from media, video games, and fiction about scary glowing radiation kills you. Reality is it takes a VERY healthy dose to kill quick. Or as in the case of the Radium Girls, lots of long term, daily exposure.

It takes a fairly substantial exposure just to observe stoichiometry changes in your blood. I'm talking rates that you don't encounter outside of reactors/experimental places. Even then there's less than a handful of labs that can even measure that change, in the entire world!

And all that affects you by changing cancer/life expectancy by some infentesimally small percent. Like .5 of .5 of .6 or something.

There will always be outliers too, the human body is an amazing creation, so there's always that .001% of a person being highly susceptible to radiation, but statistics alone guarantee were talking an EXTREMELY small number of the world population.

TL;DR

Not saying radiation is good, just saying it's literally all around us. AND one is actually more likely to die by a reckless driver or eating too many scotch eggs ( @casiodean see what I did there 🤔) than radiation poisoning from accidental exposure.*

*have to add the asterisk, because if any of y'all run afoul of a certain Rus' oligarch and his cabal they will MOS def give you enough Polonium-210 to kill you

Tritium has a very low energy beta decay that is very short lived, with an average penetration of 0.56um according to this academic white paper, such that even if it happened next to a live cell (not dead skill cells), it’s unlikely to penetrate to the nucleus. It’s more of a concern if you actually were to consume tritium. https://academic.oup.com/jrr/article/62/4/557/6256015?login=false%5D

I've got an old Gruen Precision that was my grandfathers, and it has Radium lume. Needs some work too, but no way I'm opening it up!

Yup, my Gruen says "R SWISS R" at 6 o'clock that means it has radium lume.

I know that radium became illegal to use in US. 1968, I know in Europe they phased out radium earlier than that, but can’t remember what year. So if you want to work on vintage watches you can work on stuff from the 70’s on, as long as you don’t ingest the particles you will be fine, just work in a well ventilated area and wear a face mask.

Unless you're sniffing an open dial, or putting lume in your mouth, even with radium you'll be fine 😂

That said Geiger counter does the job, or you can read up on the Swiss markings and usage of "T." Finally, research the watch itself: age of manufacture will dictate it more than anything.