Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/739629
Nowadays, Luminox brand watches can be found on the wrists of the soldiers, policemen, officers of law enforcement services, pilots of F-117 Stealth fighters and all enthusiasts of shooting and extreme sports, all who need a reliable time- piece, which works in any weather and terrain conditions and does not break apart due to an accidental impact. The Original Navy SEAL 3000, the most famous and most popular model of the Luminox brand was launched after 1994, after conducting one-year works under a commission of the US Navy SEALs frogmen who had been looking for a watch which ensures an easy read-out of time in any lighting conditions, during a day and at night and under the water. The only one watch which survived a tough test procedure and still worked was the Original Navy SEALs 3000. Its key feature is case made of the highly impact-resistant composite of carbon fib- ers and polycarbonate which became the flagship material used in the design of the Luminox watches. Luminox is not just a watch supplier, but also a multi-year partner of the Navy SEALs and since 2016 the exclusive manufacturer licensed by them that has been per- mitted to use this this for the marketing purposes. Luminox has also established a cooperation with the ambassadors of the brand all around the world. Since 1994 an offer of this firm has sig- nificantly extended and now the entire collection, divided into four collections named SEA, AIR, LAND and SPACE, com- prises of several dozen models, among which each customer will find a model which fits the best to his lifestyle and a type of executed work the best. Besides this unique PC composite with a matt and non-reflective texture, the Luminox watches are constructed from the high-grade 316L stainless steel which is strong and very scratch resistant, neither oxidizes and corrodes nor changes its color during using. The compa- ny has decided to implement, in the more advanced models, titanium alloys which are even by 45% lighter than steel, while maintaining the same level of resistance. A Swiss quartz mechanism responsible for a precise timekeeping constitutes a heart of each Luminox watch. There are available models with an au- tomatic or analogue mechanism with an automatic tension. Glass is an important element – for what reason we need a watch when we cannot read time? Luminox implements two kinds of glasses – silicon-based mineral glass with a hardness of 550-650HV and sapphire glass which is ultra-resistant with regard to scratches and is covered with an anti-reflective coating so that the indicated time could be always readable. What distinguishes the Luminox watches against the background of their competi- tion? The Swiss precision, elegant and modern design and reliable manufacturing is one issue, but the most important element constitutes the Luminox Light Technology (LLT) which makes that indications of the Luminox watches are al- ways visible and readable – 24/7, in any conditions and they illuminate during 25 years. Each Luminox watch is equipped with small capsules made of, breakage- and stress resistant, borosilicate glass which contain tritium inside, placed on the hands, indices and, when necessary, on the bezel, too. In contrast to the lumines- cent paints, which demand prior "charging" with an aid of the external lighting or battery illumination, in order to provide illumination, here you are not required to push buttons to activate them. Depending on the variant, LLT may illuminate in different colors – point which is situated at 12 h is always differentiated in order to simplify readability. The leading Luminox series is the SEA collection which has been began by the Original Navy SEAL 3000. Among the SEA watches you can find those build in order to work suc- cessfully in the toughest conditions – even an immersion of the depth of 500 meters what is an equivalent of the atmospheric pressure of the order of 500 ATM. A water resistance at the level of 20 meters, that is 200 atmos- pheres is a standard – here the most important mod- el is the NAVY SEAL COLORMARK with a composite case and mineral glass, available in may color versions and two size variants which have a different diame- ter. The Luminox LAND is a series of watches de- veloped for the combat use – they are lighter and a little bit simpler, but feature the same level of reliability and resistance to breakages. The watch- es from this series perfectly work in the everyday use, both during a service and practicing sports, even the most extreme ones. In the group of models are also the RECON watches, such as the TEAM LEADER or the NAV SPC or which have markings for measuring the covered distance on their bezel so they can offer an essential as- sistance while measuring distances, in the situation when batteries in your GPS receiver discharged a long time ago. Among the LAND watches you can find also the ATACAMA FIELD model, that is an automatic watch with a very classi- cal, even vintage design, equipped with a strap made of buff leather. The subsequent group of the Luminox watches is the AIR developed with a cooperation with the Lockheed Martin Corporation which manufactures the famous combat aircraft such as the F-117, F-22 Raptor or the latest F-35 Lighting II. Among them there are also watches which memorialize two legendary planes which were creating an aviation history – the P-38 Lightning and the record-breaking SR-71 Blackbird. The last, the smallest and the latest group of the watches is the SPACE developed together with the XCOR Mission involved in designing and implementing new space vehicles which are supposed to be availa- ble for the commercial purposes in the future. The Luminox SPACE watches were on the wrists of the test pilots who performed the first flights. www.fragoutmag.com