Omega

 I have an old WWW Omega with radium hands and hour markers and although I don't feel threatened by the prospect of having radioactive elements in the watch, I just wondered what you guys thought about the health hazard represented by radium lume in old watches. .  My feelings are that normal wear (in say a rotation of a dozen watches) should not cause health problems but are there any rules govening the servicing of these watches or is it just 'take care' and don't eat it? 

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

I own several radium watches, and I'm still here able to write these lines.

And I wear them a lot!

Just don't touch the radium parts of your watch, and it will be ok.

Best,

Nicolas.

to one of of my friends, who was showing me the 1930s vintage Omega he had inherited from his father. It also displayed the same "burn" marks from where the hands had remained stopped for years.



This message has been edited by mrsnak on 2011-02-06 18:43:55

From my point of view the danger associated with the handling of watches with radium dials is heavily underestimated by laymen. Therefore your answer may be sending out the wrong message.

Many watch makers refuse servicing or repairing these watches in our days because it requires a vacuum decontamination chamber to conduct such work safely. In order to protect your health and the health of your family never ever open the case of an old watch with an aged radium dial at home! Radioactive dust may already be evaporated if you just remove the cover from the movement.

Heinrich

but bad for the watchmaker. The main problem with radium isn't the radioactivity, Ra is an Alpha emitter, but that it is taken up by the body and incorporated into bones (to cells, it "looks" like Calcium. Any sort of ingestion or inhalation is therefore very dangerous. The watchmaker should take care when opening a case specifically, as the lume has a tendency to flake off into Ra-bearing dust.

Even with that caveat, the amount of Ra in the lume is quite small, so although exposure should be controlled, it isn't likely to be toxic or harmful accidentally. Remember that the 'Radium girls' were licking thair paint-brushes and working a full work week with the stuff...

A