Excitement in Basel, Switzerland

The world's largest exhibition of watches in underway in Basel, Switzerland this week. Virtually every watch company in the world uses the Basel Fair to introduce new designs, new technology and time keeping ideas. 

Luminox Watch Company is no exception. The Swiss Leader in military, law enforcement and extreme sports is celebrating their 25th Anniversary and is using the excitement of Basel to showcase new 25th Anniversary Watches. Luminox announced in Basel that they are launching several series of high performance watches. The introductions are comprised of updated classics and new models. Naturally every introduction shares Luminox's legendary self-powered illumination H3 Tritium system. 

First we have the RECON Leader 8840 series, designed in collaboration with former Swiss Army Military Security NCO Andrea Micheli. Pictured above, the new chronograph alarm model is part of the RECON series. The watch features an alarm function, a chrono function with split second timing, multiple time zones, a walking speed tachometer, a contrast-color countdown quadrant on the dial, and a bezel compass. 

As always, attention to detail is a hallmark of Luminox design. For example each watchstrap contains three common map scales and an inch/centimeter measurement chart. The watches come in a military-style MOLLE (MOdular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment) package that also doubles as a sunglasses case. The RECON series will be available for purchase later this spring or early summer. 

Other 25th Anniversary designs will include a Navy SEAL series with a new 25th Anniversary dial set into the lightweight carbon-reinforced polycarbonate case. There will also be a new ANU (Authorized for Navy Use) Chronograph 4240 series is designed for Maritime Commandos and Elite Military Operatives. 

Finally, there will be a new Scott Cassell UVP Special Edition watch was made in homage to Scott Cassell, a combat diver and underwater explorer and in support of his Undersea Voyager Project (UVP). The watch features a stainless steel crown set in a carbon-reinforced case. Proceeds from sales of this watch will go towards the UVP. 

Look for these new watches and others in our Gem of the Day on-line Luminox Catalog

Luminox Tony Kanaan Limited Edition Chronograph

The 2013 special Limited Edition of the Tony Kanaan Racing Chronograph was designed for and by champion Indy Car race driver, Tony Kanaan. It's cutting-edge design concept showcases an asymmetrical 3-layer case highlighted with Tony's own racing colors and a racing stripe style genuine leather strap.  It's a beautiful watch that really needs to be seen in order to appreciate it.  The level of detail is superb.  Everything from the push buttons to the carbon fiber inserts on the side of the watch are finished in the finest detail.  This watch is breath taking from every angle and very limited.  More so with Tony Kanaan winning the Indy 500 this year.  Collectors and fans alike are all trying to get a hold of this amazing timepiece and supplies are running low.  Fortunately we do have a few of this fantastic watch still in stock and ready to ship.  Normally I don't do blog entries to promote limited editing watch since they sell out so quickly but every once in a while a watch is so cool it deserves the extra attention.  This is one of those times.

For those of you into specs and features, we have compiled a list of the key features below:

• Limited edition to 999 pieces worldwide
• Ronda 5050.B Swiss quartz movement
• White dial with black, yellow and green accents
• 316L stainless steel black PVD case with carbon fiber inlay on sides
• Double date display at the 6 o'clock position
• Tony Kanaan logo at the 4 o'clock position
• Fix black ceramic bezel
• Screwed case-back
• Double-security gasket crown
• Sapphire glass crystal with anti-reflective coating
• Genuine black leather strap with white stripes & black stitching, security buckle
• TRITIUM GAS TUBE Illumination - Hour and Minute Hands and all Hour Markers
• Water resistant to 100 meters (330 feet)

DIMENSIONS:

• Diameter: 44 mm (with Setting Crown 47 mm)
• Depth (Thickness): 13 mm 

Little things bring the Tony Kanaan Racing Chronograph (Luminox model 1146) to a level above the other watches offered currently on the market.  The ceramic bezel, sapphire crystal, carbon fiber inserts and yellow and green tritium tubes all come together to make something special.  The custom fitted leather strap and dial work together to make one integrated design carried throughout the watch and the asymetrical case sets everything off with just the right angles.

But honestly, talking about this watch and looking at pictures is not enough.  It really is one of those watches that has to be seen to be appreciated.  Pictures just don't do it justice.  If you are interested, give us a call TOLL FREE at 1-888-243-6329 to check availability and pricing.  We could sell out at any moment so call first if you can.  You can also order online from us here.  (Gem of the Day is an Authorized Luminox Dealer, selling only brand new, factory fresh Luminox watches.)

For more information, pricing or just to talk about watches, give us a call.

New, Bigger and Better Luminox Catalog

Working in cooperation with the management of Luminox Watch Company, we've built what may well be the biggest and best Luminox Watch Catalog on the Internet.  We have MORE WATCHES, NEW STYLES, GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY, MORE PRODUCT INFORMATION and more options than ever before.

We consolidated all the Luminox listings from our three websites into one exciting new catalog which should make shopping easier and more fun!

Follow this link to enter the new LUMINOX ON-LINE CATALOG at Gem of the Day.

As an EXTRA INCENTIVE to shop on new catalog we have an EXTRA DISCOUNT COUPON CODE good only until the end of October and good only on Luminox Watches.  At checkout just enter the code "GEMLUMI" in the space provided to reveal your special, secret discount!  Remember the coupon code expires on October 31st. Shop early for the Holidays!

Why Own a Tritium Watch?

 

Here at The Watch Guys we love watches.  But, as some of you may have noticed, we are particularly fond of Tritium illuminated watches.  Why is that?  Well it's because Tritium Illuminated Watches are just simply the best illuminated watches available today.  So "What is Tritium illumination?" I hear you say.  You may have heard some people talk about them and not know exactly what it is or how it works.  Let's take a look and see.  I am going to break down what Tritium illumination is, how it works and what it all means so next time you hear us talking about how much we love it, you'll understand why.

What is Tritium illumination?

Lets start off with what Tritium illumination is.  Tritium illumination is what is called a micro-gas technology.  Tritium illumination is not a paint but actually small glass tubes filled with a phosphorescent and Tritium in it's gaseous form.  The Tritium gas reacts with the phosphorescent and creates a continuous glow 24-hours a day / 7-days a week for about 25 years.  It is a chemical reaction that is very stable, safe and consistent.  From there the Tritium gas vials are inserted on the hands and dial of the watch. The new generation of Tritium watches are the easiest in the world to read in low light conditions and even in total darkness. The light emitting devices require no battery power or any other form of charging, and never needs servicing or maintenance.

Why is Tritium Superior?

So now that we know what it is and how it works we have to ask why it is superior to other forms of illumination?  The benefits of Tritium as a watch illumination system is simple.  Making watches visible in low light or at night has been a perplexing problem since wrist timepieces were first invented. While watchmakers thought the problem was solved 100 years ago with the use of radium, it quickly proved too radio active and dangerous. Radium was outlawed for use in watches over 50 years ago. Luminous substitutes found in 95% of watches sold today require the use of an external light source to recharge the illumination. Many owners complain that the luminous paint works poorly and fades quickly, often in just minutes of darkness. Another alternative, using electric back lighting, requires the owner to press a button and quickly uses up battery power. It often fails to light the dial evenly and has proven unreliable.

With Tritium you have a constant source of light that requires no additional power source.  No buttons to push and no fading as the night draws on.  The Tritium stays light day in and day out for up to 25 years.  All you have to do is take a quick glance at the watch and you know exactly what time it is.  No fuss, no muss.  Tritium provides a clean, easy to read light source that stays perfectly visible all night long.  No other illumination can claim those benefits.  Starting to see why we are such big fans around here?

Because of the increasing popularity of Tritium illumination, several brands now offer this feature. Time4Tritium, Gem of the Day and Topflight Watches are proud to offer the following brands: UZI Watches, Smith and Wesson Watches, Traser Watches, H3 Tactical Watches, Luminox Watches and Mondaine Watches. All these brands are equipped with a tritium gas tubes to illuminate the dial.

For more information on this and any other questions to may have please call us Toll Free at 1-888-243-6329.
 

The Luminox Recon, Point Man

Well, we are once again excited about a Luminox product. Surprising I know, but Luminox is just one of those products that once you try it, you have to have it. The Tritium illumination is the key, but the watches are also a nice quality and Swiss Made. Fortunately the company is also growing and that means we keep getting new styles. Below is one of the newest styles just released for 2011.

The Recon Series is the newest series available from Luminox and the first watch available is the 'Point Man'. This series is very different from most of the other Luminox watches available today. While the overall style and build are similar to the Colormark Series, the function and illumination are completely unique.

You see the 'Point Man' is a watch designed for the ground solider and out door adventurer. And it's built with features that are actually useful for those out and about. The first and most important unique feature is the Walking Tachometer. This feature is rarely found on any watch and allows you to judge exactly what speed you are walking. this is handy for real field situations where you need to determine how far something is, how far you have traveled and how long it will take to get where you are going. Combined with this feature is the sun-compass functionality and bezel for timing. The watch even has a countdown quadrant of the dial that can be used to time maneuvers. Very cool stuff.

Plus you also get a great looking watch once the sun goes down. Take a look at the night illumination (pictured below). Very stylish blue and orange tritium light the way and still allow the watch to be used for timing maneuvers at night. Not to mention that is also striking to the casual observer.

All in all, I am very excited about this watch. It is always nice to see someone do something different. For more information and to order online, please visit us at Time 4 Tritium.

Atacama Field Series by Luminox

Luminox 1825 (Pictured above) is part of Luminox latest series, Atacama Field Day/Date series. This new series is a direct spin off of the popular standard Field Series. Same great watches but with all new attitude!

The Atacama is a region in northwest Chile where the Atacama desert is found. This is one of the driest and harshest environments in the world, as well as breathtaking at times. This series of watch was inspired by this unique region and perfectly balances the ruggedness as well as beauty. You will find unique gun metal colored PVD plated steel cases and buckles, 24mm suede leather straps, with dial markings to match the strap colors (Model 1823 pictured below).


These watches feature 200 meters water resistance, screw-down crown and case back, anti-reflective sapphire crystals and Tritium Illumination. Accurate Swiss quartz movements with full day/date capability. Alarm Chronographs are also available in each distinctive color option (and Oversized too!).


(1883 Oversized 47mm Alarm-Chrono)

For more information and sales please contact us at 1-888-243-6329 or visit one of our websites: Time 4 Tritium or TopFlight Watches.

New Steel Colormark by Luminox

Many of our readers fondly remember and often request the old original Luminox Navy Seals Carbon Fiber Watches. These were the original steel Luminox watches and they were "tough as nails," durable and reliable. And perhaps more importantly less expencive then the to of the line steel watches. They hit the sweet spot between tough and affordable. At long last Luminox has re-invented this series as the new Navy Seals Steel Colormark Watches. Once again the cases are all stainless steel and the bezels are carbon fiber resin. But the dial itself is larger and much easier to read and the styling follows the popular Colormark design.

What hasn't changed is the great night illumination of Luminox legendary self powered illumination system. Without having to push a button or expose the timepiece to a light source, the time is continuously visible for up to 25 years! Look at the new Blue and Yellow Tritium combination of this series of watches.

The Luminox Navy Seals Steel Colormark is still made to exceed all Navy Seals specifications for strength, durability, toughness and water resistance (down to a whopping 660 feet). That's why the United States Navy Seals chose Luminox. Luminox developed the very first Navy Seals series back in 1993 to the specifications provided by the US Navy Seals.

Fast forward to 2011 and Luminox is one of the most preferred watches worn by military, law enforcement and emergency personal world wide. Check out more pic's, specifications and ordering information by visiting one of our stores: Gem of the Day, TopFlight Watches or Time 4 Tritium.

Walking a Fine Line: Luminox Battle for Positioning

Over the next few days both Zak (The Watch Guy) and I will be introducing several new Luminox Watches that will be available in extremely limited quantities before Christmas this year. Although almost all of these watches were introduced at the International Watch Fair in Basil, Switzerland in the early Spring, only a select few are making their way onto our shores late this fall. The world wide recession and especially the recession here in the United States are part of the reason for this delay, but Luminox own quest for its position in the marketplace also plays a major roll.

Luminox, as a brand, is torn between their heritage in the United States as a hunting ~ military - law enforcement brand and their Swiss manufacturing heritage as one of the world's finest watches.

Luminox's primary distribution avenue in the U.S. is still hunting and sporting goods stores. These dealers are the folks who brought Luminox to the attention of customers. And it was these dealers who made the original Series I and Series II Navy Seals Dive Watches one of the best selling and most highly regarded watches among law enforcement, sporting enthusiast and military customers in the world. Popularly priced in the $200.00 range in the United States, these watches are tough, accurate, dependable AND AFFORDABLE!

But Luminox parent, Lumondi Corporation in Switzerland, KNOWS that the quality of Luminox rivals and exceeds their better known competitors like Tag Heuer and Breitling. They realize Luminox can make and sell watches in the $1,500.00 to $2,500.00 price points that will easily out perform their competitors.

Back here in the U.S., the large sporting goods network simply cannot even display, let alone sell, watches in these price points.



As I mentioned above, over the next few days, we will show you these higher end Luminox watches like the Series 1500 Deep Diver Automatic pictured on the right, along with some interesting new lower price models. If you want to own one of these luxury Swiss Watches at the upper end you need to RESERVE THEM TODAY. In most cases the U.S. markets will received only tiny quantities, with the major distribution going into Europe and Japan.

Feel free to call Zak or me (Bob) TOLL FREE 1 (888) 243-6329 (weekdays 8:30 am to 6:00 pm) to reserve a watch or to get additional information.

Luminox Blackout's are IN STOCK!!!

That's right! For a limited time we have the Luminox 3051-BO's in stock and ready to ship. This actually marks the first time since they were released, back in November 2009, that we have had any extra stock. This is Luminox's most popular watch they have ever produced and by far the hardest to get a hold of. Normally people have to wait at least two week and sometimes up to 30+ days. And most shipments are sold out before they ever arrive.

Fortunately, we are now able to supply customers immediately but you need to act quickly. We are estimating that we will once again be out of stock very soon. This is a limited time opportunity. Get your Luminox Blackout today!

There are currently in stock at all three of our stores: Gem of the Day, Time4Tritium and TopFlightWatches

Luminox Blackout's Have Arrived

Want to know what the hot watch item is this holiday season? Well, look no further. The Luminox Blackout series of watches is going to be THE watch to have. As you can see, the watches and hands and numerals are all black. The dial is a very dark gray (nearly black) and only the Tritium Gas Tubes provide a hint of the time during daylight hours.

At night, it's an entirely different story, as the Tritium Gas Tubes glow brightly for easy time visibility (Blue Tritium Illumination). The Blackout is a most unusual watch. The Luminox Blackout is handsome, rugged and mysterious

(6402-BO) (3051-BO)

The model 3051-BO is made from lightweight carbon reinforced polyurethane. It has a supple and durable Luminox Signature rubber dive strap. The watch is made to US Navy Seals Military Specifications and meets or exceeds all Navy Seals requirements.

The model 6402-BO is based on the Luminox EVO F-117 Nighthawk Pilots Watch, but BLACKED OUT to all all Black Design. The watch is made entirely from surgical grade stainless steel with a black PVD coating for all black appearance. It has a stainless steel bracelet. The watch is made to F-117 Nighthawk Military Specifications and meets or exceeds all U.S Armed Forces Military Specifications # W-4637 4F. Both of the new Luminox Blackout Watches are depth tested and certified for water tightness to 200 meters (or 660 feet) below sea level.

To order either of these watches head over to Gem of the Day, Time 4 Tritium or Topflight Watches.

Colors Explode!

That's right! Colors are HOT right now when it comes to watches. Everything from New brightly colored dials to the ultimately popular Color Matched Tritium markers. Everywhere you look...colors are here! Take the new Colormark Series from Luminox for example. This new series is as hot as they come. They are selling so fast that Luminox can't even keep up. Why? Well, the success is two fold. First, they feature bold and defining color dials. Instead of a traditional color dial these watches utilize a rich black dial with Colored Numbers, Hands and Markers, making for a very bold series of watches. This in itself would probably be enough to generate a lot of interest, after all, the design is very striking, but fortunately, Luminox went a step further. In a brilliant stroke of genius, they decided to Color Match the Dial Color with the Tritium color. The result is brilliant color, day and night! Notice, Orange Dial during the day and Orange Tritium at night.

Even the Green Dial (Note: Green Tritium is the traditional color for most Tritium watches) gets a kick, infused with Blue accents. Take a look at the difference between the Original (Green) design of the Series 1 compared to the New Green Dial Colormark. Quite a difference!

Original_________________________Colormark

Check it out for yourself here - http://www.gemday.com/item0724.htm We show all of the Dial/Tritium Color combinations as well as in depth details of the watches and their features.

The Theory of EVO-lution

Luminox Watch Company has been gradually introducing new versions of all their most popular models over this past year. All the new models carry the "EVO" signature, which Luminox tells us is short for "evolved." And that indeed is what Luminox is trying to accomplish.

Virtually all the classic Luminox models have been around for the last ten years. These were groundbreaking watches when Luminox introduced them but they have now been copied by other so-called military brands. A few watch companies, most notably Smith & Wesson (also offered by Gem of the Day and Time4Tritium), have even copied the TRITIUM ILLUMINATION of the Luminox.

So Luminox decided to reinvent their best selling watches for three very important reasons:

1. Luminox wanted truly unique and original styling. They wanted styles that would be "exclusive" and they wanted to own the copyright on the styles. They felt that having original styles would make the brand more desirable. And, because others had copied the old Luminox styles, they felt the old look had become commonplace.


2. The new styling coming out of Switzerland is much larger and bolder. Even though Luminox watches were larger than average men's watches, the direction of styling for men's timepieces was even bigger and bolder. Since Luminox competes with brands like Tag Heuer and Brietling, they wanted to have offerings as fresh and exciting as their Swiss competitors.
   
3. Technology has changed and evolved and Luminox wanted to incorporate the latest Swiss technology. The new watches have improved features such as color Tritium illumination and dual window "BIG DATE" functions. Luminox wanted to make sure they were at the leading edge of Swiss technology.

As you can see from the picture at the top of this article, Luminox has really succeeded. The new "EVO" Series II Navy Seals Dive Watches are 5 millimeters wider with a larger, easier to read dial. Notice the numerals are larger and bolder on both the dial and the rotating bezel.

And the new Nylon Velcro strap is larger and wider. It's more comfortable and looks better. People who see it in our showroom can't understand why Luminox didn't do this sooner!

The watch has the traditional Navy Seals look, but it has "evolved" to a more modern, rugged version.

Many more pictures, including all seven available dial colors, and complete specifications are available on our two websites offering the EVO Navy Seals Series II Watches:

Luminox Navy Seals Watches, EVO Series II from Gem of the Day

Luminox Navy Seals EVO Series II Collection (time4tritium)