When it comes to Luminox there is one significant element that overshadows even their long-standing partnership with the Navy Seal team, and that is their use of tritium gas tubes. Unlike other brands that mostly use SuperLuminova or some equivalent as a luminescent material, Luminox is one of the very few brands that have stuck with tritium gas. These gas-filled glass capillaries promise to stay illuminated for up to 25 years even in the absence of light. A fitting component to their watches considering Lumi and Nox are the Latin words for light and night.
The reason I bring up this fun little factoid is that with the latest launch from Luminox, you will finally be able to have a mid-sized stainless-steel sports watch that comes fully equipped with these glowing tubes. Introducing the Luminox Constellation Automatic 9600 Series.
To be fair, Luminox has launched quite a number of stainless steel watches paired with mechanical movements in the past. However, most of which, was built to be oversized and thus would often feel overwhelming on the wrist. For this launch, however, Luminox has chosen to put it in a more sensible 42mm case and coupled with the bezel, the watch wears still a little smaller than its dimensions would suggest.
The collection gets the name CONSTELLATION not from another well-known Constellation, but rather through its partnership with Aerospace engineering juggernaut, Lockheed Martin. And Constellation was the name of the plane that set the quickest record by flying from California to Washington in just under 7 hours in 1944.
Despite being inspired by an American aeroplane, the design of the watch resembles the German B-Uhr watches of that era instead of, the A-11 military spec watches assigned to the Allied forces at the time. For this version, Luminox has also added a vector-style globe to the centre along with a profile of the Constellation aircraft. One noteworthy design detail is the choice of putting the hour markers on the rotatable bezel. Aesthetically it makes sense as the dial showcases the 5-minute indications, but functionally, putting the hours on the bezel gives the watch the ability to track a second timezone. A function that is incredibly relevant for a watch inspired by flight.
The only downside about this piece is its price tag of SGD 1,690 which works out to about MYR 5,000. At this price point there are quite a fair number of options for a steel sports watch, and even more so when you factor in all the other micro brands out there. However, going back to the start of this article, this Luminox is one of the only options in this price segment that will offer that fantastic glowing tritium gas tubes.
The Luminox Constellation Automatic 9600 Series will be available in three different dial colours, black, grey or beige, and comes paired with either a stainless steel bracelet or a leather strap.
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