Lum-Tec is an interesting US based brand with offerings mainly stands out with their lume. Their MDV technology helps the watches shine colorfully in dark.
Technical Specifications:
- 45mm width excluding crown
- 24mm lug width
- 14.75mm thickness
- Weight on rubber strap: 4.8oz / 135g
- Weight on steel bracelet: 8.5oz / 241g
- 316L stainless steel
- Uni-directional 60-click rotating luminous bezel with sapphire insert
- Alternating brushed and high polished finish
- 21,600 BPH Sii NH35 Japan automatic movement with hacking and handwinding features
- Sapphire crystal with clear double side anti-reflective coating
- Threaded solid stainless steel caseback
- LUM-TEC MDV Technology® (2-tone)
- Screw lock crown with double diamond sealing system
- 300 Meters / 990 ft. water resistance
- 2 straps included: Stainless steel bracelet with special ratcheting diver’s extension and molded rubber
First of all his watch is seriously big and it wears even larger. You can reduce the wrist presence with different straps because bracelet extends quite out of the lugs. However I can’t say it looks good on slimmer straps since the lugs are very thick.
Dial is matte black and date cut out is placed nicely with black date wheel. Bezel action is nice and precise with a little back play. Printings on the dial are crisp. Watch has a combination of brushed polished finishing and as you expect from the price workmanship is really good. You can actually feel the premium quality you paid for. I really wanted to keep this watch but size won eventually. You can see how large it is compared to skx007 and NTH diver. It comes with trustworthy Seiko NH35 movement which is a little cheap for the price of the watch.
Watch comes with a sapphire crystal with AR coating both inside and outside. Outside coating makes it really hard to keep crystal smudge free. Once it gets dirty it is not easy to clean either. I never understand the point of outer coating, it is useless in many ways. Another comparison shot with skx007 below. Did I say it is big?
The bracelet is excellent in terms of feel and finish. No play or hair pulling. Double push button ratcheting clasp is quite large but it balances the watch head very well.
Clasp is signed with logo and the name since there is plenty of free space. Ratcheting really useful but I am not sure it is worth the bulk.
The most out of place part of the watch is very very small crown. It does not feel safe and sturdy either. I do not know why they put such small crown on a monstrous watch it looks funny.
Here is where the watch really shines, lume is really something. I think especially lume enthusiasts like me really enjoy it. It shines brightly and equally on dial, hands and bezel. Of course such lume requires comparison with a big gun like Tuna. Initial brightness look better on Lum-Tec but it does not last as long as Seiko Tuna. It is so cool anyway, BGW9 blue does not shine as bright as Lum-Tec blue.
Packaging is very nice it comes with inner wooden box and outer box. It also comes with bracelet and silicone strap. Rubber strap is really stiff not comfortable.
Conclusion:
If you love diver watches and lume you have to try a Lum-Tec at least once. They are expensive but worth to try. I would personally keep it if the size would be manageable. There is a smaller version but lug to lug width does not look very proportionate on it.
