Luminox is a high-end

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

based in

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...

. Their watches are

Swiss made Swiss made is a label or marking used to indicate that a product was made on the territory of Switzerland. It is also a geographical indication protected under different Swiss and international laws and treaties. According to the Swiss Federal Ac ...

and are notable for containing

tritium Tritium ( or , ) or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life about 12 years. The nucleus of tritium (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus o ...

inserts, providing long-term

luminescence Luminescence is spontaneous emission of light by a substance not resulting from heat; or "cold light". It is thus a form of cold-body radiation. It can be caused by chemical reactions, electrical energy, subatomic motions or stress on a crys ...

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 A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

groups with custom insignias and designs. Among these are the

Heliswiss Heliswiss AG is a Swiss helicopter company with headquarters on the property of Bern Airport in Belp, Switzerland, near Bern. History Heliswiss - the oldest helicopter company in Switzerland - was founded as „Heliswiss Schweizerische Helikop ...

team, the US Bobsled Team,

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and maritime law enforcement, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

, and a variety of other

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

and EMS teams worldwide. 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 The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

. To date, Luminox has designed watches taking cues from the SR-71 Blackbird, the F-117 Nighthawk, the

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...

, and the

F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...

. In 2006, a fifty-percent stake in the Luminox company was purchased by the Swiss brand

Mondaine Mondaine is the trademark for a series of watches made by the Swiss company Mondaine Watch Ltd. This company was founded by Erwin Bernheim. Initially, he exported wristwatches manufactured by different Swiss watchmakers. Subsequently, he started ...

, giving Mondaine increased access to the American market, and Luminox increased access to the European and Asian markets. In 2016, Mondaine Watch Ltd. took over the remaining half of Luminox to become sole owner.''About us.''
mondaine-group.com. Retrieved 2020-12-27.

Notable technology

Luminox watches are advertised to possess "always visible technology." The watch hands and markers contain

inserts which provide long-term luminescence, as opposed to

phosphorescent Phosphorescence is a type of photoluminescence related to fluorescence. When exposed to light (radiation) of a shorter wavelength, a phosphorescent substance will glow, absorbing the light and reemitting it at a longer wavelength. Unlike fluor ...

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 watch A counterfeit watch (or replica watch) is an unauthorised copy of an authentic watch. High-end luxury watches such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Richard Mille are frequently counterfeited and sold on city streets and online. With technological ad ...

es 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.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Privately held companies based in California Manufacturing companies established in 1989 American brands Watch manufacturing companies of Switzerland Watch manufacturing companies of the United States Swiss watch brands