Lum-Tec Watches Review
It’s been a while since we’ve written about an American watch brand. Frankly, there just aren’t all that many of them anymore, and most of the newer companies that make watches are turning up elsewhere, particularly in Asia.
Still, good watches can come from anywhere, and American companies have been building good watches for a long time.
Lum-Tec watches are based in Ohio, and offer a rugged-looking timepiece with their featured MDV luminous dials, making it easy to read in the dark.
Lüm-Tec watches are well made, don’t cost a fortune, and will likely appeal to anyone looking for an obviously tough-looking timepiece.
Read on for the full Lum-Tec watches review.
Build Quality
Movements
Innovation
Styling and Features
Care and Maintenance
Warranty
Prices
Where to Buy
Summary
Click here to shop for Lum-Tec watches at Amazon (new window)
Lum-Tec Watches Build Quality
The build quality is quite good, with stainless steel and titanium cases with sapphire crystal to protect the watch face.
A few models also feature sapphire crystal on the back of the case, which allows you to see the inner workings.
Many models feature a screw-down crown, and the water resistance is quite good, with some models rated at up to 600 meters.
These watches do not feature in-house movements, but instead use movements sourced from some of the world’s most reliable movement manufacturers.
You’ll find models with movements from Miyota in Japan, as well as movements from Swiss manufacturers ETA, Ronda, and Selita.
Models are available with quartz electronic movements, manually wound mechanical movements and automatic (self-winding) mechanical movements.
Click here to shop for Lum-Tec watches at Amazon (new window)
While Lum-Tec watches feature a number of complications that you can find on other brands, their claim to unique innovation is their MDV (Maximum Darkness Visibility) technology.
This is a proprietary coating that they use on their hands and dial indices Lum-Tec watches that allows the watch to be readable in total darkness throughout the night.
The styling is rather unified, going for a tough, military-like look. The watches all have large (40mm+) cases and most models feature either black or brown in their coloring.
Cases are titanium or stainless steel; if you’re looking for gold or gemstones, you’re looking at the wrong brand.
You’ll find models that are time-only, chronographs, and there are a few models with a date complication.
Bracelets are largely either stainless steel or leather.
A few models have square cases, which does cause them to stand out a bit in a market where nearly everything is round.
You won’t find any women’s models in the product line, though there’s no reason a woman couldn’t wear one, provided that she doesn’t mind the large case sizes.
A few models are limited editions, with production numbers in the 250 range.
All models feature their luminous MDV technology, which inspired the Lum-Tec name.
As many models include mechanical movements, some maintenance will be required from time to time.
The company recommends that you send the watch back to them every 5-10 years so they can examine the movement and ensure that it continues to work properly. They’ll replace any worn parts and clean the watch before returning it to you.
Models with quartz movements will require less frequent maintenance, though you will need to have the battery replaced every few years.
With proper care, your watch should run well for many years to come.
The warranty offered is the industry standard of two years. This covers defects in materials and craftsmanship.
Two years is the standard warranty in the watch industry, and some 90% or more of watch makers offer a warranty of that length.
As these watches feature movements from reputable, established manufacturers, defects are likely quite rare.
As designer watches go, the prices of Lum-Tec watches are reasonable to moderately expensive. We’ve seen some quartz models priced at about $400 or so, with a top end of about $1500 for some limited edition models with mechanical movements.
That makes them somewhat expensive, but not extraordinarily so, as you can easily spend thousands of dollars or even tens of thousands of dollars for a watch with a Swiss mechanical movement.
You can likely find them for sale at a few select watch specialty stores if you like brick and mortar shopping.
You can also buy them at the company’s official Website.
Your best bet for buying them would be to shop online, as dozens of online retailers carry the brand. Online retailers usually offer your best opportunity to buy discount Lum-Tec watches, as they have less overhead and are more likely to offer discounted pricing.
Keep in mind that the company offers many models, a number of which are limited editions. That means that while most retailers will likely have a good representative sample of the brand’s offerings for sale, not all retailers are likely to carry the entire product line.
Lum-Tec Watches Summary
This brand is all about their MDV technology, which makes it easy to read their watches in the dark.
If you’re reading watches in the dark, chances are you’re outdoors, and for that reason, you’ll find rugged, military-styled looks and good build quality.
These watches are designed to work well and stay tough with outdoor use. You’ll get rugged cases, sapphire crystal, screw-down crowns, and reliable quartz and mechanical movements.
While the company is based in the United States, they offer watches that feature reliable and well-established Japanese and Swiss movements.
The pricing ranges from affordable to somewhat expensive, but their prices are relatively affordable when compared with other brands with similar quality and features.
If there’s a downside, it’s that their case sizes are huge and they don’t really make any models that are designed for women.
If you like a large, rugged watch with bold, tough styling, Lum-Tec watches will make a good choice for you.
Click here to shop for Lum-Tec watches at Amazon (new window)