Luminox

Luminox Men's 3001 Original Navy SEAL Dive Watch

• Precise Swiss-Quartz movement
• Mineral crystal
• Case diameter: 43 mm

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 5.9 x 5.9 inches ; 5 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000F1OGWW
• Item model number: 3001
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (126 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,155 in Watches (See Top 100 in Watches)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A superb casual watch October 28, 2005

By E. M. Van Court TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

The basic Luminox watch is a superb day watch. Although I am on my second one in eight years, this may be a record, as I am not gentle with watchs. The first one's crystal cracked, but the second one is driving on like a champ.

Pro's-

The luminous stuff on the hands and face (tritium vials) is bright. I mean really, REALLY bright. None of this hold it under a light" silliness, but wake up at three thirty in the morning and have no trouble reading it.

The twelve o'clock tritium vial is orange not green, acting as an index point even in complete darkness. See remark about 0330 hrs.

The bezel can be turned reasonably easily, but won't turn by itself when you are not looking.

Accuracy is good.

Shock resistance, overall durability is very good (damage to my first watch was purely my fault and exceeded any reasonable expectation of survival).

Con's

The Navy SEAL propaganda can be mildly annoying.

The bezel is synthetic (plastic), and after two or three years of use starts to go smooth and the numbers start to wear off.

The luminous stuff on the hands and face (tritium vials) is bright. I mean really, REALLY bright. This con is a special case. If a service member wants to wear this watch in the field, one of those watchbands with the flap to cover the face is a REALLY good idea.

The synthetic strap isn't so good. I replace the watch band with a nylon/velcro one on the first day.

The little compass that comes with it is a wasted effort, get a Suunto watchband compass. Same size, superior in every way.

On the whole, a tremendous value for money, and when I abuse my current one beyond usefulness, I will certainly get another one.

76 of 88 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible watch, worse service September 21, 2007

By BWC

Please do yourself a favor and avoid Luminox watches at all cost.
I am a firefighter and assumed that a watch good enough for Navy Seals would meet my on the job needs as well. How wrong I was.
After less than a year I cracked the crystal by setting the watch on a plastic countertop. Apparently they are not made to handle impact of any kind. Navy Seals must be a fragile bunch.
After considerable hassle, the Luminox service center repaired the watch, but charged me an outragous $120 dollars - and it took them all of 16 weeks.
Several months later the glow-in-the-dark paint fell off of the second hand and now sits inside the watch housing, getting pushed around by the hands.
I like the look of this watch, but the quality is terrible. Even worse, it costs more to fix the frequently broken parts than it costs to buy a better watch.
Give your money to a watchmaker with a quality product who cares about its customers - Luminox is not that company.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Total Garbage August 16, 2009

By F. Marandola

I bought this exact model in 2002 for boot camp. i thought i should get the best quality watch for something like that and since it is the navy seal watch i figured it would be pretty good. for daily use it looks cool and lights up insanely bright at night. you would have no trouble telling the time in the dark. now the bad part... on the way to boot camp, the light strip on the second hand fell off! it just rattled around inside. then i got to boot camp and i cracked the face without even abusing the freaking thing. it made me sick knowing how much this stupid watch cost me. i ended up having to go to the store so i could buy a [...] timex ironman watch. i used it through boot camp and still wear it today after 7 years of abuse. i had to change the battery for the first time about a month ago. i say dont waste your money. this watch isnt all that luminox claims it to be. its absolute crap.

Product Description

Amazon.com

Prized for its durability and unique illumination system, the Luminox Original Navy SEAL Series 1 stainless steel men's watch exudes confidence and power whenever it's worn. Thanks to the vaunted Luminox self-powered illumination system, this watch's hands and dial markers glow 100 times brighter than other luminous watches and will provide continuous illumination for more than 25 years. It's also water resistant to 200 meters (20 ATM, 660 feet), which is suitable for recreational scuba diving.

The large, black-plated stainless steel watch case--measuring 1.7 inches wide and 0.4 inches thick--is topped by a ratcheting, unidirectional rotating bezel with engraved 5-minute Arabic numerals in white and coin-edged detailing for an improved grip. The black dial face is accented by white Arabic numeral markers, large white baton hands (with seconds hand), and a date function at 3 o'clock. It's completed by a comfortable polyurethane (PU) diver's strap in black. Other features include a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, multi-jeweled Swiss quartz watch movement, double gasket crown, and 4-year battery life. It's backed by a 1-year Luminox warranty.

Luminox Self-Powered Illumination System
Each Luminox watch employs tiny self-powered micro gas lights (borosilicate glass capsules), which are firmly embedded in the hands and the hour indicators on the watch face (as well as on the turning ring of diver's watches). Luminox watches need no external light source to "charge" the paint on the dial or hands in order to glow as do conventional luminous watches, nor do they require a push of a button to light the dial as do electro luminescent watches.

About Luminox
Luminox combines the finest tradition and precision of Swiss watchmaking with the durability demanded by US armed forces and the latest innovations in timepiece technology. The company pioneered the development of small, individual luminescent tracer lamps and was contacted by the U.S. Navy SEAL teams to build a dive watch for their use on night missions. After their popularity in the Navy grew, the Air Force asked Luminox to develop a watch specifically for F-117 Nighthawk Stealth pilots.

The Luminox Story

AN AMERICAN SUCCESS STORY

Like many other American success stories, LUMI•NOX came from a forward-thinking individual realizing a need in the market and meeting it. Barry Cohen had been in the fashion watch business for quite some time when he came across a Swiss self-powered illumination system and knew that it would make watches more visible and easier to read in low or no light situations. As a result, Cohen and a partner developed watches using this unique illumination system (called Luminox Light Technology) and LUMI•NOX was born back in 1989 (Lumi is Latin for light while Nox is Latin for night), driven by a commitment to offer cutting-edge luminescence and readability in its line of high-performance sports watches.

The Navy SEALs and More
The Luminox Navy SEAL watch is the timepiece that made Luminox famous. The officer in charge of procurement for the Navy SEALs, Nick North, was asked to seek a more dependable watch for night missions and found the solution at a trade show where he discovered Luminox. He worked with Barry Cohen to develop a watch specifically for them and the Navy SEAL watch was born.

"Luminox had exactly the watch we were looking for – we only added a few small things," Nick North, Senior Public Safety Engineer and Operations Specialist, remembered. "We arranged to test some and they worked great. We made a few changes, then the East Coast team started issuing them and the West Coast teams came on board."

After Luminox provided the watches to the SEALs, more elite units contacted them directly, while at the same time Luminox began marketing the watch across the country and the world. Luminox was then approached by US Air Force pilots flying the F-117 Nighthawk Stealth fighter jet. They were wearing the Navy SEAL timepieces, but chafed at the word "Navy" on the dial. Luminox then developed a watch for these pilots and approached Lockheed Martin, the makers of the F-117 Nighthawk for a picture of the plane to use in the catalogs that marketed the watches.

This initial contact turned into an exclusive arrangement to produce Lockheed Martin timepieces, including watches dedicated to the F-117 Nighthawk, F-16 Fighting Falcon, SR-111 Blackbird and the new F-22 Raptor.

The Rest of the Story
Throughout the following 20 years, Luminox has never strayed from its mission which has been confirmed and validated by the many elite military and law enforcement units that have adopted Luminox as standard equipment.

Luminox has expanded its collection to include a variety of styles, created for the active consumer, the sportsman, law enforcement and military groups, divers and more. Currently, Luminox is distributed in 40 countries around the world and supplies elite units all over the world. In addition, the man on the street has shown particular interest in Luminox, anxious to use the watches put to the test every single day – on the world’s most difficult jobs, figuring rightly that if they have been requested by, designed for and used by the Navy SEALs, they have to be able to stand up to every day use.

The Technology
The Luminox Light Technology makes Luminox watches Always Visible – in fact, the technology Luminox uses provides 24/7 luminosity, no matter the conditions, for more than 25 years.

Most other watches use luminescent paint that has to be charged by a light source and fades very quickly, or a "push to light" system, where you push a button for battery-driven illumination.

Luminox, however, uses proprietary technology, in the past reserved for the military, that makes Luminox watches stand out, literally. Each Luminox watch features tiny gas lights (borosilicate glass capsules), which are always lit, on the hands, hour markers and when necessary, bezels. As a result of this unique technology, Luminox watches are always readable at a glance, no matter the conditions.

The U.S. military has long recognized the advantages of micro gas light sources and their use is mandated in procurement specification MIL-W-46374F. Being able to read the watches in any conditions, even in total darkness, is an important requirement of many military and law enforcement agencies.

The U.S. Navy SEALs use the watches, as do U.S. Air Force pilots, FBI and ATF agents, Secret Service officers, Border Patrol units, Coast Guard officers, SWAT teams, as well as general law enforcement officers, helicopter search and rescue pilots, professional divers and other groups.

The Luminox Light Technology system is hand applied in each and every watch. Though more complicated, expensive and time consuming than normal luminescence, it is one of the things that makes Luminox watches special. This unique technology and the additional quality control steps Luminox mandates require extraordinary attention to detail and care in manufacturing.

The Benefits

The ultimate Swiss illumination system glows without the need to push a button or expose to light

Glows continuously for more than 25 years

Swiss Made with jeweled Swiss movements

Water resistant and shock resistant

Production
All Luminox watches are Swiss Made, produced by Luminox’s corporate partner, Mondaine Watch Company, one of the leaders in Swiss manufacturing. Located in Zurich with manufacturing facilities in Biberist, Switzerland, Mondaine recently won a Swiss Logistics Award for its "just in time" production. Mondaine applies its more than 50 years of experience when producing the complicated Luminox watches.

The Future
Luminox will continue to combine cutting edge technology, forward-thinking design and extreme performance. Luminox delivers, when and where it counts.