Daytime Color Impacts SuperLuminova Luminosity
This is the fourth episode of our Swiss SuperLuminova series and luminosity. Albert Zeller, the CEO of Luminova A.G., and I are going into the details of how Superlumiova works and how it should be applied to watches for the best results.
Just in case you have missed any of the previous episodes, you can catch up on episode one that introduced us to SuperLuminova, what it really is and how dangerous it is or is not. Episode two is all about emission colors and daylight colors, and the amazing research keeps Superluminova at the forefront of their industry.
Episode 3 goes into the fundamentals and looks at how the electrons move up and down in energy as they absorb and then release each photon of light. Do not worry, we keep it simple, so hopefully, everyone can understand how it works.
My name is Stephen Mansfield, one of the co-founders of SNGLRTY, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to discuss this amazing luminous material with Albert Zeller.
SuperLumiova Daylight Colors
Steve:
Albert, as we covered in our second episode, you have eight different emission colors. That is the color of the light that we see when the Luminova produces its luminescence. However, we see so many different colors on so many watches that they are available. How many different daylight colors does Swiss SuperLuminova produce?
Albert:
As you might know, we offer a coloring service to our Swiss SuperLuminova pigments according to your needs. This means that any interested customer can come and say that I have a nice watch, and there is a certain color on the bracelet, for example, and I would love to have the same color on my hands. We can do this. We currently have about 3000 different colors available.
Steve:
How long does it take to create a new color of SuperLuminova?
Albert:
If your color does not exist, we can develop it within 10 days. In these 10 days, we develop the pigment. We also do testing that the daytime color does not fade. It would be terrible if you buy an expensive watch, and the color of the luminova changes over time. Therefore, we test it all very carefully, and this takes most of the time. It takes at least 10 days to produce a new color.
SuperLuminova Daylight Color & Luminosity
Steve:
So you are putting a colorant into the Luminova. Does that have an impact on the performance of luminosity?
Albert:
If you have a non-colored Swiss SuperLuminova pigment, that is the most efficient one. If you add some colorant to change its daytime color, then the addition of these color pigments will reduce the luminous performance of the final Luminova. One reason for this is that the colorant’s concentration in the final Luminova will dilute the light batteries’ concentration in the Luminova and reduce its performance. Another reason for this is that when charging the Luminova from a UV source, the colorant will also absorb UV light. This means that the incident UV light will not be as efficient charging the luminous pigment, again decreasing its efficiency.
What Reduces the Luminosity?
Steve:
Which colors have the greatest impact on the performance of the SuperLuminova?
Albert:
The colors that impact luminous performance the most are red and black. These colors are a combination of many of the primary colors and are therefore very efficient in absorbing UV light. This is not very favorable for the luminous performance of the SuperLuminova pigments. The colorants will absorb the UV light during the pigment’s charging, plus it will dilute the number of light batteries available for a given volume. Finally, the light emitted can be absorbed by the colorant again before it reaches your eyes. Each of these effects reduces the luminous performance of the Luminova.
This very white-colored SuperLuminova does not perform particularly well. It has about 31% of the performance of the uncolored c3 Luminova. If you can tolerate a little off-white or increase the luminous pigment quality itself, the luminous performance can almost triple.
We use specially developed colorants that are highly UV transparent, but there are fundamental physical boundaries that we cannot overcome. Therefore a black colored Swiss SuperLuminova pigment will never have the same performance as the uncolored pigment. We see the same impact with white Swiss SuperLuminova. The highest quality C3 Luminova has a white, yellowish body color. To transform this into a pure white, a large amount of colorant needs to be added. This creates the classic C1 white.
SuperLuminova Authenticity Encoded
Steve:
Is there anything else we should know about Swiss SuperLuminova?
Albert:
We have encoded our SuperLuminova pigments, too. It is like a bank or some money, for example. Without destroying a luminous deposit or a component, we can check whether Swiss SuperLuminova has been used or whether a counterfeit material has been used, or whether a mixture has been used or different layers of different materials. All of this can be checked.
Thank you very much for joining us on our fourth episode of the Swiss SuperLuminova series. It’s great to have you guys join us.
Next Time
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We look forward to seeing you the next time on Episode 5 looking at all the ways to apply Swiss Super-LumiNova.
