[rkny]

I’ve owned the 123B 3-4 times since the early 2000s when it came out. Every time I sell it, I end up regretting it and finding another.

Now I’ve landed a keeper.

Every other example I’ve had, and most I’ve seen, had more or less pure white luminous markers/hands.

My latest one however, has a decidedly warm tone to the markers, not unlike what you’d see in aging tritium. I’ve seen the same coloration on perhaps one or two examples for sale online in the past.

Does anyone know if B&R might have used tritium on these older watches? There’s no T on the dial, which I thought was required by law. Could they have used it early on and skirted the rule? The watch was originally sold in Asia.

 

[Itshea]

I have no clue but I like your watch!

 

[Rolexplorer]

How is the glow?
Can you "charge" it with a light, and then over a few minutes it starts fading a bit? (Check it in a dim or dark room.)
If so, that is some form of Luminova.
If the watch is from the early 2000's, by now a TRITIUM lume will have pretty much died out and it will not glow at night.
Tritium has a half-life of 12.3 years, so after this many decades it would be dead.

 

[One-Seventy]

That model did not appear until 2001/2, at which point the industry had moved on from tritium almost entirely.

It'll be Luminova, but other compounds in the material will have aged in that time, giving it an off-white appearance.

Older Omega Seamasters from the early 2000s can also exhibit the same colour degradation. For example this one was only ever made with Luminova markers but has gone green over the years (originally they were a stark white):

 

[wkw]

I have this watch since 2000. I believe superluminova is what they used.

The lume is not too bright anymore. Said that, I still like it very much.

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