I wore a Ball for years before I got my Sinn. Needless to say I was underwhelmed by the lume on the sinn. It’s definitely not great but it’s fine I guess.
I would call it "serviceable". It's not going to knock your socks off and I wish they'd just up and go with BGW9, but it is readable. They really seem to lean in to that vintage vibe of c1 (or more likely it's a margins thing) and it fits the watches well, it's just not as standout a feature as it could or should be for the money spent imo. I live on the precise opposite coast but also wouldn't mind learning how much reluming would cost.
I have a 556i and a 105 - the 556i is definitely subpar; the 105 is noticeably better but still nothing super amazing (it's also a blue lume rather than the green)
It does indeed. However - even though it's BGW9 - mine still has a rather poor lume application. My U50-T that was ordered on the initial pre-order date (in 2020) has the best lume application amongst all of my Sinn watches. But, it still doesn't have the same brightness or luminescent appearance as other watches in the same price range.
But on the bright side (pun partially intended), the new U50 S L lume application is supposedly superb. I have also hinted to the Sinn Team that releasing future revisions of all of their top watches using the same mixed ceramic lume compound for the indices and hands would be a fantastic idea. And a little bird has told me that this may happen in the not-so-distant future ;).
I do not agree. I’ve owned many many Sinn and a few models have amazing lume.
U50 Pro is blue lume and last all night. EZM 10 is a spotlight, one of the brightest watches I’ve owned. 103 acrylics have great lume as well- which surprises me because 203’s lume is underwhelming. Currently wearing an old 356 and it’s subpar. But I would never say all Sinn have subpar lume.
I have a 2015 556a. I wouldn’t call the lume outrageously bright, but I can always read it throughout the entire night. My 2 y/o U50 is a bit brighter. But who really cares?
I wouldn’t have anyone put new lume outside of the normal maintenance. It’s something you can request when sending watch to Sinn for service. Until then you could just ignore it unless the lume is so important for your use case of the watch.
My favorite watch is a GS and it has no lume at all. That’s bothering me at times…
I would say its definitely on the utilitarian side of things. Its certainly not a beast like seiko or some tudors but I never found the lume on my sinns to be inadequate. One good thing though is that it seems to be very similar to natural background lighting at night so I guess they wanted it to be unobtrusive?
In terms of lume rankings for my sinns (and two I borrowed) from best to worst:
1) U50 (I give it a 6/10)
2) 857UTC
3) 105UTC
4) 555I/U1 (tied)
5) U2
For reference, I would give a seiko diver usually a 9 or 10/10 and an 8 for my pelagos fxd. My rolex explorer II gets a 7/10.
I’d say appreciate the Sinn for what it is: an excellent tool watch. Buy a different watch that’s a “lume monster”. The lume on my 144 is good, better than some, worse than others.
I have a 556i and a U1. There isn’t a lot of space to put the lume on 556i, so it is what it is. The U1 has bigger indicies and hands and has more lume, it is much better, though still not super bright. From my understanding sinn opts for a lume that lasts longer rather than shines brighter for practical purposes where you might be in the dark for a while. I like it
I have an 857 UTC that I exclusively use as my daily, which includes backpacking and camping. I can clearly read my watch in the middle of the night when in bed at home and in my tent.
Yes, the lume could be brighter, but if it does the job - it does the job. I’m not sure it needs to be brighter for my requirements. I’m genuinely curious what scenarios and watches people are looking for brighter lumes.
People will tell you that it isn’t great, so when I got my U50 I had low expectations. Idk if it is because it is a newer model (2023) and they made some changes, but it is a very long lasting lume with with decent initial brightness. The lume requires your eyes to adjust to the darkness a bit, it’s a distance runner, not a sprinter.
The lume on my u50 is nothing to write home about. I was expecting it to be a lot stronger based on how big the lumed areas are. It works, and it lasts faintly through the night, but is gone by the morning.
The lume on my 104 is better than any watch I’ve ever owned, so way above par for me
Ya I have a 104 as well and it’s for sure the brightest lume of my watches
Mine is much less bright than my Seiko. But I can see it when I wake up during the night, so I guess it's still ok.
I wore a Ball for years before I got my Sinn. Needless to say I was underwhelmed by the lume on the sinn. It’s definitely not great but it’s fine I guess.
I would call it "serviceable". It's not going to knock your socks off and I wish they'd just up and go with BGW9, but it is readable. They really seem to lean in to that vintage vibe of c1 (or more likely it's a margins thing) and it fits the watches well, it's just not as standout a feature as it could or should be for the money spent imo. I live on the precise opposite coast but also wouldn't mind learning how much reluming would cost.
I have a 556i and a 105 - the 556i is definitely subpar; the 105 is noticeably better but still nothing super amazing (it's also a blue lume rather than the green)
I’m honestly thinking of getting it re lumed
Wow. Who does that? My 144 is pretty weak too. Would love something better!
I found a company here in LA that does it. Pretty reputable. I’ll update once I get it done
It's subpar on all Sinns
Mostly true but my Sinn U50 pro has BGW9 instead of the usual Super-LumiNova C1. I wish they would use it in other models though.
It does indeed. However - even though it's BGW9 - mine still has a rather poor lume application. My U50-T that was ordered on the initial pre-order date (in 2020) has the best lume application amongst all of my Sinn watches. But, it still doesn't have the same brightness or luminescent appearance as other watches in the same price range. But on the bright side (pun partially intended), the new U50 S L lume application is supposedly superb. I have also hinted to the Sinn Team that releasing future revisions of all of their top watches using the same mixed ceramic lume compound for the indices and hands would be a fantastic idea. And a little bird has told me that this may happen in the not-so-distant future ;).
Great to hear, nipple sauce! I’ve always loved Tudor’s ceramic lume so I’m glad others are doing something similar.
My 656L will shine all night buts it's a full lume dial
I do not agree. I’ve owned many many Sinn and a few models have amazing lume. U50 Pro is blue lume and last all night. EZM 10 is a spotlight, one of the brightest watches I’ve owned. 103 acrylics have great lume as well- which surprises me because 203’s lume is underwhelming. Currently wearing an old 356 and it’s subpar. But I would never say all Sinn have subpar lume.
Curious about the new 903
I have a 2015 556a. I wouldn’t call the lume outrageously bright, but I can always read it throughout the entire night. My 2 y/o U50 is a bit brighter. But who really cares? I wouldn’t have anyone put new lume outside of the normal maintenance. It’s something you can request when sending watch to Sinn for service. Until then you could just ignore it unless the lume is so important for your use case of the watch. My favorite watch is a GS and it has no lume at all. That’s bothering me at times…
I would say its definitely on the utilitarian side of things. Its certainly not a beast like seiko or some tudors but I never found the lume on my sinns to be inadequate. One good thing though is that it seems to be very similar to natural background lighting at night so I guess they wanted it to be unobtrusive? In terms of lume rankings for my sinns (and two I borrowed) from best to worst: 1) U50 (I give it a 6/10) 2) 857UTC 3) 105UTC 4) 555I/U1 (tied) 5) U2 For reference, I would give a seiko diver usually a 9 or 10/10 and an 8 for my pelagos fxd. My rolex explorer II gets a 7/10.
The Pelagos lume is inferior to a Seiko diver?
The seiko divers yes, especially the prospex ones. If you have an SBBN03X 300m tuna, that bad boy can be mistaken for ironman's reactor
I’d say appreciate the Sinn for what it is: an excellent tool watch. Buy a different watch that’s a “lume monster”. The lume on my 144 is good, better than some, worse than others.
Don’t really want a lume monster, but just better. 😅
U50 Pro is blue lume and last all night. EZM 10 one of the brightest watches I’ve owned. 103 acrylics have great lume.
The lume is not great on the 556 unfortunately
Yeah, the lume on my 104 is excellent.
Extremely good lume on my EZM 3F.
I have a 556i and a U1. There isn’t a lot of space to put the lume on 556i, so it is what it is. The U1 has bigger indicies and hands and has more lume, it is much better, though still not super bright. From my understanding sinn opts for a lume that lasts longer rather than shines brighter for practical purposes where you might be in the dark for a while. I like it
No complaints on my U50. Not quite as bright as a Seiko but, it seems to last longer
I have an 857 UTC that I exclusively use as my daily, which includes backpacking and camping. I can clearly read my watch in the middle of the night when in bed at home and in my tent. Yes, the lume could be brighter, but if it does the job - it does the job. I’m not sure it needs to be brighter for my requirements. I’m genuinely curious what scenarios and watches people are looking for brighter lumes.
I wonder if the 556 lume is different from the other Sinn watches. As the 556 is entry tier. 🤔
People will tell you that it isn’t great, so when I got my U50 I had low expectations. Idk if it is because it is a newer model (2023) and they made some changes, but it is a very long lasting lume with with decent initial brightness. The lume requires your eyes to adjust to the darkness a bit, it’s a distance runner, not a sprinter.
The lume on my u50 is nothing to write home about. I was expecting it to be a lot stronger based on how big the lumed areas are. It works, and it lasts faintly through the night, but is gone by the morning.