Beginning to question Luminox quality

B

bigcozy

Joined
Jul 11, 2001
Messages
211
Wanted to start a new thread on this. I am on my third Luminox, and yet again I am having problems. My first two were the Navy Seal plastic model. Crystal scratched severely, traded it off. The hands fell of the second one after a medium hard impact. Gave it away. Now I have an all steel Captain's with a steel band. Pins went. Replaced them and now they are obviously bent again. The big thing is, having not worn the watch in almost two months, I picked it up this morning and there is a scratch on the crystal. It wasn't there when I put it down and it has been setting on my nightstand the whole time. I know that anything can happen to a watch, but my other watches have endured much more abuse and I haven't had the problems with them. I think they don't have properly tempered crystals.

After a little research, I discovered that Microtec makes the watches for Luminox and that repairs are handled by a subcontractor. Luminox, apparently, is little more than a marketer and distributor. If anybody knows any more about them, please let me know.
 
Dang but these threads are getting to me slowly but surely.
I have two Luminox watches, and now I'm worried about both of them, quality-wise.

I guess time will tell, but I may trade off my 3401....
 
There are like a dozen companies named "Microtec" and variations on the name. Just to clarify, this is not the knife company. They did make some gun parts in the past, but not watches.
 
My first good watch was the Luminox NATO field watch, bought it 5 years ago and it has been great. It has seen daily wear, moderate abuse, and only needed 1 battery and strap change.
 
I heard that Luminox has ben have some QC probs lately. Bought their travel alarm, lost 2 1/2 hhours for every 24 hours. got a second one same problem.
 
I had wanted a Luminox because they looked cool. But then I read some reviews of them on the web on a few watch forums, and they were not positive. I would give them a miss until their overall quality improves.
 
I guess they probably have some bad batches of watches and some good batches. I have read plenty of reviews or testimonials about them and one will say how great they are and the very next one will say they suck and it fell of their arm.
From my personal experience, I can say only good about them. I have had 6 different ones in the past 3 years or so and they have all been great and kept excellent time. I still have 4 and the 2 that I traded to friends are still going strong. I guess I am one of the lucky ones. Right now I am trying to decide if I want one of the Titanium dive watches.
woody
 
Richard Barry Marketing, the sellers of Luminox are just that
marketing
The watches are swiss made , probably by the largest watch Co. in the world. The Swatch Group.
Swatch group owns Omega, Rado, Mido, Tissot, Swatch, Blancpain, Minerva, and a bunch of divisions that make movements, parts, dials, bracelets, boxes, crystals, batteries etc.
If you have enough cash you can over to Switzerland and have a line of watches designed to your specs and dial colors and price point. They'll even put an ugly mug on the dial if the money's right.
Thee will be problems with any mass produced item from time to time.
I have one of the Luminox watches and like it. It's been reliable and accurate even under extreme recoil.
 
This watch is very over rated tries to imply that if the seals use this watch it must be the top of the line. You can buy a solid citizen or seiko for the same price or less with way better customer service and quality.
 
I'm stickin' with my Seiko and Casio watches. None of those have fallen-apart.:).
 
Hi Bigcozy,

I need to do a search, but I only seem to recall only a few people here in the forums with serious concerns relative to their Luminox watches. I certainly would not call that a trend nor categorize the quality of the watch accordingly.

I'm scratching my head on your statement:
...having not worn the watch in almost two months, I picked it up this morning and there is a scratch on the crystal. It wasn't there when I put it down and it has been setting on my nightstand the whole time. I know that anything can happen to a watch...
Click to expand...
So, you’re saying the scratch developed all by itself? I find that improbable to believe. If you'd said your night stand had fallen over, your cat has really long, sharp claws (or something like these), it would have been more credible. Do you have kids who could have worn/played with and inadvertently damaged it? An ex-wife or ex-girlfriend? Anyone else in your house that may not like you? An earthquake? Just probing. :)

Being intimately involved in the administration of warranty, I find he argument of "I didn't do anything...it just broke" pretty weak and unrealistic. I often need to ask for the real story (and “I threw it into a tree” might be the response...and more realistic).

Regarding scratched crystals and pulled pins: I'm fairly certain that Luminox uses different crystals on their upper-end vs. lower-end watches. I suggest getting a better quality crystal if you're going to be subjecting it to more severe conditions. If the pins that come stock are not sturdy enough for your use, get stronger ones. No big deal. Remember, these are only $150-500 watches (depending on model), not $5,000+ watches.

I have three Luminox watches, am not associated with the company, and have been nearly 100% satisfied. Value has been outstanding. I can't imagine anyone comparing a Luminox with a high priced, outstanding quality watch (this would include referring to crystals and pins). Things will happen if used hard. Though I don't use my watches hard, I've not had one failure or any crystal scratches on any of the three over the past three years. If I were abusive to my watches, I'd ring most failures up to "normal wear and tear." Nothing has a perfect capabilities.

I know someone with a $5,000 Brietling watch and a bezel point (there are four, one on each 1/4 hour) that broke off. Should we say that "Brietling sucks?"

I’m sorry if I’ve come across a bit strong. Maybe just venting to all of the several people who’ve similarly complained. :) Nothing overly personal.

Ron
 
Just to add to the positive trend, I've had a Traser for a few months now. It's a Luminox without the Luminox and SEAL logos. Holds up real well under some reasonably rough use, dirt, soapy water, sweat, hiking. It's just the basic plastic model, but the crystal hasn't got a mark on it. And I have been known to disable G-Shocks. (Maybe I'm just getting old :( )
 
I just bought a Swiss Army Officers model with blue dial. It is stainless steel and has a scratch-proof Sapphire crystal. It is a beautiful watch. I love it. It runs $295 on most sites but I got it for $206 at www.wristwatch.com

I just got it, so I cannot vouch for it's durability. But I have heard they are tough.
 
I have several Luminox watches, from the basic SEAL model, Zurich and the Ti Divewatch. I also have a Sub, Breitling Superocean, several Chronosports (UDT, 600 and a classic) and a Casio G-Shock. The only problem I had with the Luminox was a flying W on my Mountain Bike that caused a band pin to bend. Other than that, no problems. They keep great time and seem to be as durable as my G-Shock. I did bend the pins on my Rolex at an IPSC match a few years ago, so a bent pin to me is not indicitive of poor QC on the manufacturer's part.
 
The most durable watch I ever owned was an all stainless Tag Heuer S/EL chrongraph. That watch was built to last.
I own one Luminox and it is the all stainless Field Commander Tank watch. This is a dress style watch designed liked the Cartier square, tank watches. This Luminox watch has been absolutely top notch. I have no complaints at all about it. I wear it everyday.
 
Ron@SOG


I hope you are never "intimately" involved with a warranty problem on one of my SOG's. I would hate to answer all those questions about cats, kids, ex-girlfriends, ex-wives, throwing into trees, earthquakes, people not liking me in my house, or why I didn't buy a more expensive product because I couldn't expect a cheaper one to work. I hope you don't intend to "probe" any further.



I never compared the Luminox to a $5000 watch, nor do I need to be lectured about how hard use will make something wear out. I never said it "sucked". I have had $10 watches that held together better, that is my experience with them. You seem to be taking this very personal, and you got personal with me for no apparent reason. I don't know why you need to vent on the people that have had problems with Luminox, what is your stake in this? Why do you need to vent at all?

Why don't you just stick to flaming people that don't like SOG's?
 
Hi Bigcozy,

I’ve just responded to your email, hopefully explaining some points. I will respond here as I promised you.

First, let me apologize to you for a tone that may have been a bit harsh, but one that was received much harsher than I had intended. It was not my intention to flame, incense, or to make fun of you.

My explanation of my motivation was found in my closing comments:
I’m sorry if I’ve come across a bit strong. Maybe just venting to all of the several people who’ve similarly complained. :) Nothing overly personal.
Click to expand...
I’ve said quite a bit by way of explaining my comments in our email correspondence. Let me only say here a few things:
  • I very often post, making non corporate statements for SOG. I try to remember to remove my signature which is very “corporaty” (new word...sorry :) ). I hope that you guys can tell the difference. Such as when I say, “Go Mariners, NY ‘sucks’” (ummmm...boy, that does no longer applies :) I’m a huge Mariners fan and am still hurting over last night), I’m not making a corporate statement, that’s just me, Ron. SOG doesn’t have a corporate opinion on the Mariners.
  • I have felt that the several comments recently aired about Luminox have been a bit unfair and sometimes thinly supported with emotions shared that were not proportionate to the problem. Every company will have a percentage of their product fail. One to two percent of overall sales can be considered normal (some companies are up to five percent or higher). So, if Luminox sell 1,000,000 watches, At one percent, that is 10,000 that will have a problem. If all those 10,000 started complaining at the same time, it would sound awful for Luminox. But, in reality, it would only be one percent...Not bad at all (I do not know their actual defect percentage). This is why I have felt Luminox has been unfairly reviewed of late here in the forums and partly which initiated my response here. “Beginning to question Luminox quality,” is an overall statement reflecting poorly on the whole company and product line.
  • I would hope that no one would think that SOG would ask about their cat (or anything else of that nature) if they call us for a warranty concern. We have a small return ratio and treat every customer with the utmost respect. With the smiley face ending that paragraph above, it was meant to be lighthearted.
  • With one notable exception, I don’t flame anyone for their opinions of SOG (positive or negative comments). For that matter, I don’t think I flamed anyone (with that notable exception). Have I occasionally spoke my mind or challenged someone’s opinion? Yes, but I hopefully have never burned someone to a crisp in the process.
For anyone else who may have been offended at my tone or what I said, I apologize. Again sharing/creating anger was in no way my intent.

Take care, everyone.
 
from Roger at Bayou Lafourche last Spring for about $130 including shipping. This is after going through three Swiss Army watches in two years and one Chase-Durer watch that lasted less than a year before I sent it back for warranty repair, only to have it crap out on me about nine months after I got it back. The Swiss Army watches by Victorinox have what must be the softest crystals ever put in a watch and the one Wenger model that I bought had tritium so weak as to be useless in the dark. The Luminox has tritium so bright you can nearly read a book by it and the crystal seems to be very durable, as I am usually very hard on watch crystals, but this has nary a scrtach after some six months. The pins and the band are doing well and it keeps exact ime by the Naval Observatory here in Washington, DC. All is well, knock on wood.
 
I was very happy with my Luminox.

My only complaint is that the face is too small for my wrist.

View


So my modle 1561 with smooth bezel and black strap is for sale with all for $130 shipped.
 
I guess that means Roger has good prices on watches as well as on sharp, pointy things. His service is very good, as well.
 
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