Pink tritium illumination; now there’s something you don’t see every day
A 44mm lady’s watch, water resistant to 100m, with tritium illumination. Pink tritium illumination. Words fail me. And in a brilliant (one might say ‘glowing’) example of things that can be done whether or not they should be done, Traser is attempting to enter the lady’s watch market.
MB-Microtec manufactures the tiny little glowing tubes full of tritium (an isotope of hydrogen) used in Luminox, Marathon, and other watches. Traser is their own brand of watches. Until a few years ago, they had been focused on the military and law enforcement markets, with utilitarian, heavily water resistant models. Then they released a few models with automatic movements and very gradually experimented with styling beyond the strict utilitarian. They’ve always shown good taste in movements, sticking with ETA and Ronda. And now they have made a leap, surprising in both direction and scale with these lady’s models. Pink, powder blue, rose gold, mother-of-pearl, Swarovski crystals, and pink illumination are a far cry from the matte black and synthetics that they started with. The range includes basic three hand watches, subdial chronographs, and an alarm model with leather and silicone straps and a steel bracelet as an option for the alarm model.
Personally, I’ve had Luminox and Marathon watches with their lighting system, and think it is a good tool. There is never a question of whether or not the luminescence will be bright enough or whether or not your eyes have adjusted enough. As my eyes age, my appreciation for this steadily grows. Soldiers in the U.S. Army have pretty much stopped wearing these (at least without a cover) because they can be seen a pretty good ways off at night. But the “neat gadget” factor doesn’t translate well into the women’s market, and with the entire line in the 40-44mm range, I think these might be a bit big for most ladies. Still, I wish them luck with the new line.
