Luminox 3005 Diver

Today I wore my Luminox 3005. Specifically, I put it on to take the wrist shot below then put it back in its case. But it was the only watch I had on my wrist today. It's the stock version of my "Super Stealth" Luminox. I specifically bought more than one of these so I could modify some and keep some stock, but since I have enough other yellow watches I've never worn this one. Everything about this one is the same as the one linked above, except the dial. It's Swiss made, has a Ronda quartz movement, 43mm carbon reinforced resin case, one-way rotating bezel, resin strap, stainless back, 200m water resistance and tritium illumination. I actually just noticed that the current 3005 has a yellow chapter ring instead of the black, so this would be a much better model to start with if you wanted to add a MKII dial. I guess some people like the "Navy Seals" text on the dial and some don't, it never bothered me. The "night" photo below was taken with my usual point-and-shoot camera at my office today. Not bad for having very poor light control and no tripod. The resin strap on this is actually pretty nice; decent width and thickness with a nice brushed stainless Luminox buckle. I'll probably put the standard strap back on my other one soon. Since it's still brand new, I'm going to sell it soon before I get the itch to actually wear it. I have my eye on a few other (much pricier) watches, so I think I'll try to clear out the watches that I have never worn before I decide to get rid of anything from my "active" collection.

LumiSport Quartz Diver

My watch today is a LumiSport quartz diver's watch. I've only ever seen a few watches branded LumiSport and I've heard they were once sold by Sears. As you might guess from its looks and the tritium vial night illumination, this was made by mb-microtec who also makes Luminox and Traser watches. Here's a very similar LumiSport that was for sale on the WUS forum (I paid much less for mine and it was brand new.) This watch is in some ways nicer than my Luminox 3005, namely, its stainless steel case, screw-down back and screw-down crown. It has the same Ronda Swiss quartz movement (which means I could also swap this dial for a MKII dial, which was my intention when I bought it,) same hands and illumination system, but the bezel is more low-profile on the LumiSport. I guess if you're actually using the bezel the chunkier one on the Luminox would be better, especially underwater or when wearing gloves. They both have a 200m water resistance rating, and I'm sure both are very durable, but the stainless case and back on the LumiSport just seems like it will last forever while the plastic case on the Luminox seems lighter and more fragile. Really, I like them both, and they're different enough that I don't feel the need to get rid of one. While I still my swap out the dial on this watch (I could even use my old yellow Luminox dial if I wanted to) the blue dial is kind of growing on me, so maybe I'll keep it like this for a while longer. (The photo below that seems at first to be all black is actually a photo of the illumination of the watch is near darkness. It was the best I could do at work with poor light control and my point-and-shoot camera. In complete darkness, when your eyes are adjusted it really does look very bright, like this. Image from here.)

Marathon MIL-W-46374E Type 2

My watch today is a Marathon handwind mechanical military-spec watch. It was made according to the MIL-W-46374E specs and uses a 17 jewel Swiss mechanical movement. These were part of the first generation of military wristwatches to use glass vials filled with tritium gas (also seen on Luminox watches) instead of tritium paint. Construction is very similar to that of a Swatch as the case doesn't open from the back; the movement is loaded from the front and the acrylic crystal glued in place. It's a fairly small watch, only 34mm across, but the wide velcro cuff I have it on helps to make it feel more substantial. It is water resistant, but no rating is given, so I'd assume swimming with it is not recommended. I suppose there was a time when only a watch meeting military specs could be worn by our armed forces, but I've heard that Casio G-Shock and Timex Ironman watches are very common in combat situations lately. I wouldn't be surprised if in the future mechanical military-spec watches cease to be produced and get replaced by something cheaper and more durable, which will only make the old mechanical versions more prized by collectors. Of course, if the collectors will still pay for them companies like Marathon and Stocker & Yale would be smart to continue production for the private sector.