Customer Reviews

Luminox Men's 3101 Navy SEAL Steel-Carbon Dive Watch

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a person who literally destroyed two Casio G-Shock watches and also from someone who refused to pay more than $100.00 for a wrist watch, let me be the first to say that my Luminox 3101 more than fit both bills. My wife bought the watch for my birthday 5 years ago. I beat it, bang it and generally treat it with malice. I can honestly tell you that it continues to maintain its stylish looks and continues to run flawlessly. The only real complaint I have is that whenever I bump a corner or knock into something like furniture, the watch usually ends up gashing whatever I bump. The 3101 has got to be more careful!

I own two of the 3101s. One I bought used in 2003, and the other new in 2005. I also bought a new womans plastic case version for my girl in 2007.

Pros:

I just love the tritium dials. No mater what the lighting condition, you can see what time it is without having to touch your watch. Do that a few times a night, for a few years and you really begin to appreciate the tritium feature. None of the tritium vials on any of my watches have abnormally dimmed, cracked or fallen off (unlike some of my pistol sights!) so they are obviously using good tritium.

The rotating bezel is a great way to keep track of elapsed time; simple, sure and quick. No buttons to push... just turn to the current minute or hour hand position and your done. This feature is just as valuable and just as used as the tritium visibility feature for me.

I've tried using the newer G-Shocks as a replacement for the Luminoxs, but I keep putting them away because I'm just way too addicted to the tritium and the chrono-bezels!

Cons:
The crystal is highly subject to scratches and cracking. I don't care about the scratches, but if you crack the crystal (which I've done twice in two years) you might as well throw away the watch, since it costs $150 to replace (ouch!) and stands a reasonable chance of losing reliability once the service shop gets a-hold of it. BTW, one of the cracks resulted from it falling from the bathroom sink to the tile floor below and the other from the impact of the buckle of a dog collar on one of my dogs (wtf?). The heavy weight of the stainless steel body might have lent to the damage from the fall (the plastic cased version may have survived).

The second issue is reliability. Though my first used 3101 was very reliable (regardless of me cracking the crystal twice), the new 3101 I purchased has stopped three times for unknown reasons, resulting in the warranty shop replacing the entire movement twice so far, only having it stop again soon after getting it back a few months ago. That gets old after the second time...I'm getting ready to send it back for a third time now (still under warranty... otherwise I'd buy the cheaper plastic case version and put my SS band on it since I now feel these are semi-disposable watches with must-have features... the SS case just weighs it down and matches the bracelet... two things I can live without for saving $50)

Note on straps: The nylon straps starts smelling of mildew in short order after getting wet, and there in no way to get the smell to stay out of it. The rubber strap is pretty darn uncomfortable and difficult to keep the heavy case from rotating too far off the wrist into a less then ideal location for easy viewing (having to rotate it back all the time). A plastic strap like on the G-Shocks would have been better, but not as macho. That leads me to the logical conclusion that the stainless steel strap/bracelet is really the only practical way to go with the SS case version, since it doesn't get nasty, feels good, stays put, and as a side note, looks better in business dress then the rest of the options (and it's just as durable). I also tried going to the Martac nylon straps (since they were nautical/military based). I was hoping they used some mildew preventive chemicals in their build process...no luck...they started smelling of mildew as well...too bad because those are really cool watch bands!)

Doing it over from scratch, I'd probably go with the plastic case and rubber band and hope the case stayed put on my wrist. If at that point it started moving around too much, or wasn't comfortable, I'd look into buying a black SS OEM bracelet for it, from either Luminox or Traser, which go for around $50 once you factor-in the shipping costs. I am still more than happy to replace my Luminox every couple of years if required in order to get those tritium and chrono-bezel features!

Hope This helps!

This watch is awesome! It is rugged and can pretty much stand up to abuse that would wreck most other watches. The glowing hands and number markers work perfectly, and need no exposure to light to "charge." I would however like to mention that this company "watchzone" does not offer a warrantly from Luminox, they instead provide and warranty for service from their own factory.

I have had this watch for over 4 years now, and have put it though its paces. I wear it 24/7 and rarely take it off. I was in the Navy for 3 yrs and now work on submarines in a shipyard. I am constantly banging the watch on things while maneuvering in tight spaces. On at least 4 occasions, I have snagged the band while going down ladders or going through tight passages hard enough to pull the pin out and the watch has dropped down multiple decks ("floors" on a ship) 20-30 feet onto steel deck plating and into the bilge a couple of times.

The crystal does have a couple of significant scratches, but nothing I wouldn't expect for the amount of abuse I put it through.

The patented lighting system is very bright. So bright, that if I go to sleep with the watch near my eyes, I can see the light from the hands of the watch through my eyelids. And it is just as bright as the day I got it. I am also on the original battery, knock on wood.

This watch is built like a tank. I've used mine for several years now, and am still impressed with it's ruggedness, accuracy (mine will stay within a minute over three months), and brightness of tritium. (If used in combat or law enforcement you WILL need to cover it-you can literally use it to read a map at night when the watch is new.) One additional feature I like is that unlike most rubber wristbands, this one has lasted over four years of salt water immersion and is just starting to show small cracks. (Few last longer than a year if you use them in the ocean, sand, and sun.)

Overall, I'd say this is one of the best watches you can buy for marine or general use.

I ordered this watch after much research about it and other watch's. I am extremely happy with my experience. In the time I have had this watch, approximately 3 weeks, it has lost 1 sec as compared to atomic time. I tend to be somewhat fussy about an item when I purchase it and this item has more than met my expectation's.

Luminox is indeed a fantastic value in regards to higher end watches. Their unbelievable durability and remarkable brigtness are second to none. If you need to view a watch in less than optimal conditions, it is imposssible to go wrong with Luminox. This is my second and I may never purchase another brand.

Luminox is the best--"Hands Down" I am currently operating in Afghanistan and was pleased to get my new watch in excellent condition and quick despite the distance it had to travel. Thanks!!

This is the perfect dive watch...durable, stylish, and reasonably priced for a mid-level watch. This titanium version costs only a bit more than the regular version and the durability is worth it. This is my second one (last one was accidently left behind on a dive trip..someone in Mexico is VERY happy) and it is the perfect back-up time piece.

The watch was delivered within days of being ordered. I had one question about receipts/invoices and the owner of Just Brands called me directly to answer any questions I had and ensure I was satisfied. He was very professional and courteous. I would definitely shop from them again.