Yeah, it's unfortunate for the black dial watches. The C2 lume on full-lume white dial watches is great. As soon as I put a shadow on that watch I see a green dial.

 

You surely exaggerate- my TEN year old DA36 is clearly visible all night, into the pre dawn hour. Is it a Seiko diver, no, but hardly useful? Come on!

 

Here is what I found out with mine. Yes, it is not a beacon, and I agree I like a brighter lume as well. However, it must be a high grade because even after 10 hours in complete darkness it is still glowing. So, while it is not the brightest it sure does last a long time.

 

As already mentioned elsewhere Damasko use Superluminova in a special grade, some say "1", other say "A". This grade is not related to the "relative brightness" (see SuperLuminova charts all over the www) it is about the luminosity decay.
Grade 1 or A lume must glow at least 25% brighter than normal lume, and it had to remain visible for at least 700 minutes (vs 570 related to "normal" lume).
Hope this helps to differ.

 

I've owned two black-dialed Damaskos (DA44 and 46), plus a handful of other lumed watches of varying styles and price ranges, and I wouldn't say the Damaskos are noticeably better or worse than any other lumed watch I've seen.

All lume is disappointing to me. It looks great if you were just outside in the sun and then go into a dark room, but it's so short-lived that it's hardly ever noticeably glowing or particularly useful in the evening or night. A high-contrast dial is much more important to nighttime visibility in most cases.

That said, among the black-dialed Damasko models, those with markers (e.g. DA44) are noticeably better than those with numbers. The marker-dial watches have the entire marker lumed, while the number-dialed watches only have little lume squares next to the numbers. So in practice, e.g. the DA44 is much better for low-light legibility than the DA46.

(The all-lume white-dial models are a whole other beast - I haven't owned one, but ask around here and it's pretty clearly an acquired taste with its own drawbacks.)

 

I would have to disagree with you in regards to the All lumed Damasko. My DC57 Si is always legible under any lighting condition even after a long night by the bed. It does not glow like a flashlight, but it is easily readable. The amazing thing about it is that you can also read the chronograph function in complete darkness, which makes it one of the best chronograph watches to use in the dark.
Wish the date wheel was lumed as well.

Here is a picture that shows how the chronograph is visible from the lume. However I charged the watch before the picture to be able to take it using my phone's camera, so do not expect the watch to glow as bright for long.

 

I've owned two black-dialed Damaskos (DA44 and 46), plus a handful of other lumed watches of varying styles and price ranges, and I wouldn't say the Damaskos are noticeably better or worse than any other lumed watch I've seen.

My experience as well. Not great, not bad.

 

I agree that the lume is not great on my DC56 (compared to seiko, superluminova...), but it still is effective enough to be seen in dim lighting and definitely in darkness. If that is the only "bad" thing about a great value watch I'd say that is A-okay.

 

Lumed day/date wheels would be awesome.

 

It is not the best (or worst) lume but I can still read the time on my DA36 in a pitch dark room many hours later. However, it's hard to read in a semi-dark room or at the movies.

 

dc56 lume compared to a 200$ orient

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My $65 Seiko lume looks like your Orient, and so?

 

First, the orient lume is impressive!
Second, I'm a bit disappointed with the damasko lume.

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Very satisfied with the lume on my Damaskos, especially after long periods (7-9 hours) of darkness , it is still perfectly visible. I care more about longevity than wearing a torch for the first few minutes.

 

Respectfully I do not agree. Long lasting compared to numerous others I have owned. Imo brightest at the start does not = best.

 

Agree brightest does not equal best, especially if your after duration.

Comparisons to Seiko and Orient divers may be a bit unfair, relative to each watch's purpose. Dive watches by design need (or needed, historically) lume that would be VERY bright for a short duration. Minutes rather than hours, especially when considering how much time in a dive is at higher depth where lume is not as important as it is when down at depths were sunlight does not reach.

These Damasko watches are not designed as divers. Damasko is perhaps more a pilot watch, or a tool watch. So perhaps not so much a pitch black dark environment.

Some watches are designed for uses where long lasting lume is desirable vs. short and very bright lume. Watches with tritium tubes, like Marathon, are good for that. Having owned several Marathon's, their lume is not as bright as a Seiko diver, especially right up front. Seiko's are like torches out of the gate, but over time, as your eyes adjust to the dark, and the Seiko starts to fade, the advantage of tritium lume becomes clear.

 

Compared to my Tudor Pelagos and my Oris Aquis Date, my DC 66 Si has inferior lume. Even after a full night in pitch black darkness, both the Tudor and the Oris are well legible, while you really have to concentrate on reading the time on the Damasko. Also the luminiscence on the hour hands of the DC 66 Si is quite spotty and inhomogenous, when compared to that of the other 2 watches. I have never quite understood why Damasko hasn't decided to add lume to the numbers on the black dial watches, as well as to the second hand marker. Despite all this criticism, I still love my DC 66 Si but decent lume would make it so much more versatile...

 

I own an IWC Pilots Mark XVII and, although the lume is initially great, it fades pretty quickly. My Damasko DA-35 with the full face lume maintains an initially strong lume that fades but remains visible much longer. My favorite lume watch remains my Ball Trainmaster with its tritium tubes. If you want lume that is the best IMHO.

 

I think my DA46 lume is maybe comparable to other PILOT/FIELD watches [which is to say not great], but I keep asking myself two questions. 1. why didn't Damasko lume the numbers? More lume equals better visibility. 2. why didn't Damasko make it dive-watch bright? I don't see a reason for not doing these two things. If they did, it would be THE perfect watch! I mean, my Sinn 556 has better lume, so I know it can be done.

 

I second that!

 

The lume is subpar hands down, there's no two ways about it. Why they can't fix such a banal problem is beyond me. And why did they decide to add the "Made in Germany" inscription on the dial?! Detracts from the clean aesthetic and is totally unnecessary imo. Other than that, I love the watch.

 

I do not get this ocd fixation about lume. No it is NOT a Seiko diver!! My lume is fine, and visible all night. Is it a torch? No, it is not a torch, but it works well!

 

And why did they decide to add the "Made in Germany" inscription on the dial?

Email Damasko and ask. However, we discussed this already in another thread.

 

remove please, double post.

 

the damasko lume on the non white dial models, needs to be improved

 

To each his own, I am satisfied with the lume of my DC 66, DA 343 and I do love my DA 20 without any lume.

 

The lume on my DK 10 isn't nearly as bright as some of my other watches, but it's still my favorite watch!

 

The lume on my DA36 sucks. Yes, I can get it that bright if I take a picture right after exposing the dial to very bright light. But it diminishes so rapidly it's near useless after 10 minutes. In total darkness I can make it out if I really look hard, but if there's any light at all it's near impossible to see anything unless I utilize peripheral vision.

 

Very good lume as I see it, visible all night, very useful indeed!

 

Fret not. Tool watch it may be but it's common that it has lousy lume

My 10 year old omega has much better lume than my sinn who's half the former's age