There Is Only One Luminous Application Supplier To The Swiss Watch Industry – Do You Know Who?

LUMINOVA SNGLRTY OHI 12 WATCHWe have spoken about luminosity and luminous materials in one of our previous blog posts. That was more of a fundamental journey through the history of luminous materials, how they developed, and its application to watches through history.  Luminous applications have come a long way since dangerous radioactive applications were the only options. There have been significant improvements since the 1960s. The most important development was the discovery of photo-luminescent materials.  The real advances have come in the last decade or so for watch enthusiasts, where these materials’ efficiency has improved dramatically. This means luminous materials are now brighter and longer-lasting than ever before.

Luminova On The Cutting Edge

One of the companies that are at the forefront of these advances is the manufacturer of Swiss Super LumiNova® Luminova AG.  Based in Switzerland, they are driving developments in all photo-luminescent materials. These materials are essential for watch owners as well as watch creators like Daniel and me. We know because of all the questions we receive about SNGLRTY, we receive the most questions on the luminous application. 

Given the number of questions, we decided to go to the source and speak to the man who runs the company who supplies luminous applications for the whole Swiss watch industry.  Swiss Super LumiNova® is now synonymous with luminous applications for watches is manufactured exclusively by Luminova AG. 

Finding the Source

After a few phone calls by Daniel and we had secured a discussion with Albert Zeller, the Chief Executive Officer of Luminova AG.  If he could not answer our questions on luminous materials, then, most likely, it is not worth asking.

This is the first installment of our conversation that aims to demystify the magic of SuperLuminova.  The material that makes our watches glow in the dark. It brings an additional dimension of visual depth and creativity to the watch face. So here we go.

Steve: Albert, we would love to know where you are based and tell us a little bit about Luminova AG. 

Switzerland Mountains
Swiss Mountains – Where Luminova AG is Based

Albert Zeller: We are based in Teufen, Switzerland, just at the beginning of the alps in the Appenzell area. We are situated in the foothills, and when we look out the window, we can see up to the mountains. That is Switzerland and also how many people imagine it. 

Supplier To The Swiss Watch Industry

Steve: That’s great; I am looking forward to visiting you the next time I am in Switzerland. Tell us a little bit about your company.

Albert: We have the pleasure to supply our Swiss Super LumiNova® products to the entire Swiss watch industry. It starts with Swatch and goes all the way up to the watchmakers in Geneva. From our customer list, you can imagine that the quality demands for our Super LumiNova are very high.

Steve: Let’s get into it then, Swiss Super LumiNova®; tell us what exactly is it?

It is Not From Tibet

Albert: It is not a magical powder that is found somewhere in Tibet. In fact, it is a ceramic powder, an aluminate, to be exact.  The aluminate is polluted, or doped is the technical term, on purpose with rare-earth ions.

periodic table of elements with rare earth metals europium and dysprosium highlighted
The Location of Europium and Dysprosium in the Periodic Table of Elements

The specific rare-earth ions we use are Dysprosium and Europium principally. These two elements can be found right at the bottom of the periodic table, where you never pay attention. As it is an aluminate, it is a very hard material. It is a ceramic,

Periodic Table of the elements
The details of Europium and Dysprosium

principally the same material used to make sapphire crystals; therefore, it has a Mohs hardness of nine. Just for comparison, diamond is ten, and steels are between six and seven. So you can abrade steel with Super LumiNova if you handle it the wrong way.

One Gram Does A Lot Of Watches

Only a tiny amount of Luminova is necessary to luminize a watch. This means with one gram of Super Luminova, you can luminize between 100 and 300 watches. It is essential to ensure the material is applied correctly. A huge amount of damage can be done to the watch if the Super Luminova is not applied correctly. To ensure that this does not happen, we keep a keen focus on our partners’ application process.

Environmentally Friendly

It is non-toxic, it is not radioactive, and it is environmentally friendly. The only danger it poses is if you start eating it, you will most likely damage your teeth, which is not a good thing, but we do not recommend eating it.

Steve:  Thank you very much for joining us.

Next Time

Want to know all the details on how Luminova works?  Don’t hang around and keep reading!  Did you know that every Swiss SuperLuminva has 2 colors that define it? If you want to know more, keep reading your way through episode 2.

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We look forward to you joining us the next time

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Swiss Made

SNGLRTY was only possible because of all the watch innovators that went before us and the accumulation of their skills and knowledge in Switzerland. We celebrate their achievements by being proud that each of our watches is “Made In Switzerland” so you can be confident that it is engineered and assembled with longevity in mind.

30 Day Money Back Guarantee

We are so confident that you will enjoy Seeing Time Differently every single watch comes with our Money Back Guarantee so you can buy with confidence. If you have any concerns after your purchase, just let us know within 30 days of delivery and we will refund your money. After all, Daniel and Steve want everyone to enjoy wearing SNGLRTY on their wrist.

Free International Shipping

UPS will whisk your beautiful new SNGLRTY watch from Bern, Switzerland to your front door – and you will be able to track it every step of the way and reduce your waiting to the minimum.

2 Year International Warranty

Where ever you are, if there is a problem with your watch (and we seriously doubt there will be), we will make sure it is put right so you can buy your SNGLRTY watch without any worries, wherever you live.

Hour Numerals Color

I like to think the color of the hour numerals creates the personality of your SNGLRTY watch. We have the basics, black and white, but if you would like to have your watch glow in the dark we offer a range of colors in Swiss Super-LumiNova. We always use Grade X1 for the best luminous effect but the daytime colors do impact the ultimate performance of the Super-LumiNova. If you want the brightest possible luminous effect choose Swiss Super-Luminova White, and if you want more please contact us.

Color Of The Hour Ring

The hour ring is the largest surface area on the SNGLRTY watch face so sets the tone for the rest of your design.

Date Display

Each of our watches can be configured with a date display, or without. Due to the mechanics this is the first decision you need to make in your journey to create your SNGLRTY watch.

Comparison Ohi2 vs. Ohi4

The OHI movements, or One Hand Indication, are unique to SNGLRTY. During the development phase of the watches Daniel and Steve used this moniker before naming it SNGLRTY. There are two distinctive movements to choose from, OHI-2 and OHI-4.

The OHI-4 movement is built on the Decorated and Fully Adjusted SW-300 tractor movement from Sellita. On top of the tractor movement the SNGLRTY complication plate is assembled and incorporates the “reverse minute gearbox” that is available exclusively from SNGLRTY. Depending on your selection, the complication plate will also relocate the date wheel from the top of the tractor movement to the top of the complication plate. Relocating it in this manner increases the size of the date disc and moves it closer to the top of the watch face improving its readability considerably.
The OHI-2 movement is the same as the OHI-4 movement except that it is built on a standard execution Sellita SW-200 movement.

Finally, depending on the movement you select the watch case will have a different profile as the OHI-4 movement is thinner than the OHI-2 movement. The key differences are that the case for the OHI-4 movement has a double domed crystal and a flat caseback. The OHI-2 case has a flat crystal and a curved caseback. All the details are in the product page.