# C3 VS BGW9 Lume on Kingston



## ferrissteve

I've been reading various postings and boards, as well have seen several pics of the Kingston and wanted to know if the C3 lume is in fact not only in keeping with the Bond films, but the early Rolex look as well? And to what degree; ( those of you that may have either seen the watch in person or access to better pics ) are the two lume styles different? Are the lume colors slightly varying from one another or is the difference considerable? I haven't really seen the two side by side in a clear enough picture to make any for sure judgement. Thanks in advance to all that read this post and or reply.


----------



## gerard88t

As I have seen, the BGW9 looks white or whiter on the indices in natural light and glows with a light blue color. C3 has a pale green affect and glows brighter initially over BGW9 and the glow lasts longer with C3. However what I find nice about BGW9 lume is how it glows in dim light over the C3 which may not be noted glowing as much in same conditions, e.g you come in from outside sunlight into a home and after a few minutes the BGW9 is notably glowing blue where the C3 has faded quickly in intensity. But what is unusal (from my experience) if you go into a fully dark place, the C3 all of a sudden out-glows BGW9. Hope this makes sense.
I have seen the prototype pictures of the C3 Kingston for example, and it doesn't look as rich and refined as say giodads photo of his BGW9 Kingston. I am hoping that is just due to the prototype with C3 having that thicker rehaute at the time and maybe a different crystal? In the end I'm going to find out what I find out of the C3 on this watch, but I am hoping since the prototype came out, the last revision is not as green in normal light conditions. I would like to see it looks more off-white with a slight green tint that's very light and not too Seiko monster green.


----------



## Sweep

I would like to know how the BGW9 ages. How will it look and will it maintain the lume properties as long as the C3.


----------



## ferrissteve

So it would seem that the difference between the 2 lumes is quite subtle?


----------



## Quartersawn

I based my choice on what the watch looks like in normal daytime light, not on how bright the lume is or how long the glow lasts.

C3 has a distinct greenish tinge. It can be barely noticable (Stowa) or quite obvious (Sandoz). I don't care for the tinge and chose BGW9, which is white.


----------



## Izzy

I think we discussed this before. From what I remember, those that wanted a vintage or "aged" look went with the C3 whilst those that wanted a spanking "new" look went with the BGW9. I chose the C3 as I am a sucker for the vintage style. How they would both age, I have no idea.


----------



## TheDude

Since the old threads seem to get pretty buried, I'll repost the photo I took that shows the difference pretty well.

Bill says the BGW9 is pretty similar to the white in his previous watches, so I'm using my LRRP as a stand-in for BGW9 (even though it's not). The Steinhart -is- C3.










BTW - the Steinhart lume glows like the sun.


----------



## ferrissteve

I would have thought the gilt dial and hands would create more of the vintage inspired look as opposed to so much the lume style?


----------



## Izzy

ferrissteve said:


> I would have thought the gilt dial and hands would create more of the vintage inspired look as opposed to so much the lume style?


You need a bit of patina (as per the watch on the right) as well and the C3 is the closest you can get to it.


----------



## TheDude

Izzy said:


> You need a bit of patina (as per the watch on the right) as well and the C3 is the closest you can get to it.


Patina isn't a general rule with vintage.

Also, there are more suitable lume colors if patina is the goal. My PAM 359 has a shaded lume to give it a vintage look even though it's a new watch.


----------



## Izzy

TheDude said:


> Patina isn't a general rule with vintage.
> 
> Also, there are more suitable lume colors if patina is the goal. My PAM 359 has a shaded lume to give it a vintage look even though it's a new watch.


Nice Panerai! You are right that has the better shade of patina. Wish we had that for the Kingston but the C3 is the compromise that we have to live it.

Also I have yet to see a 50's Rolex Submariner without a patina dial. Even the ones that have had service dial replacements (like the one below) will have a slight patina on the lumes.


----------



## TheDude

Izzy said:


> Also I have yet to see a 50's Rolex Submariner without a patina dial. Even the ones that have had service dial replacements (like the one below) will have a slight patina on the lumes.


You're right - 50s Subs pretty much all have patina.


----------



## hooyah22

Izzy said:


> I think we discussed this before. From what I remember, those that wanted a vintage or "aged" look went with the C3 whilst those that wanted a spanking "new" look went with the BGW9. I chose the C3 as I am a sucker for the vintage style. How they would both age, I have no idea.


Thats exactly what I remembered, and I went with the C3 as well for the same reason!


----------

