View the Luminox Navy Seal Photo Gallery.

I look at a lot of different metrics when evaluating and reviewing a watch, however there's one metric that I hold above all others: wrist time. Wrist time is simply the amount of time I wear a watch beyond the amount of time needed to review it.

The Luminox Navy Seal does very well in this category. Although I can't pinpoint exactly why, I've been wearing it pretty consistently for weeks. I think it's a combination of comfort, tritium gas tube illumination (which I've really come to love), high-contrast readability, and overall value. How do I judge the overall value of a watch? Let me put it this way: the Luminox Navy Seal isn't the most sturdy watch I own, but if I ever managed to destroy it, I would have no problem spending the money to replace it, and would probably do so at the first opportunity.

That's not to say I expect to destroy it. The Luminox Navy Seal is a relatively inexpensive watch made from relatively inexpensive materials, however it's quite sturdy (don't confuse inexpensive with cheap). The polymer case is very solid, the crown is protected, and the mineral glass crystal should stand up to anything but a hard direct impact.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again: I love the tritium gas tube illumination system which allows the hands and hour indices to glow brightly and consistently for 25 years without having to absorb light. Since I don't use an alarm clock, and since I have kids who feel compelled wake me up throughout the night, I love always being able to easily read off the time. The Luminox Navy Seal is more than comfortable enough to wear to bed, so I've gotten in the habit of putting it on at night (if I'm not already wearing it), and wearing it all the way through my workout the next morning. Now that I have other watches to review, it usually has to come off when I get out of the shower, but occasionally I'll continue wearing it throughout the day.

Features of the Luminox Navy Seal 3001 include:

I've really been intrigued by Luminox watches for some time, and I've been been looking for just the right one to add to my collection. With the new Luminox Blackbird 9000 series, and specifically the 9032 chronograph (pictured at right), I may have finally found just the right one.

What primarily makes Swiss-made Luminox watches unique is their illumination system. All Luminox watches contain tiny, gas-filled glass tubes installed in the hands, hour markers, and sometimes bezel which glow up to 100 times brighter than other watches with luminescent paint. Additionally, the Luminox illumination system does not require recharging (meaning you don't have to expose it to light before it will glow), and does not use batteries. The glass tubes will glow continuously for about 25 years, and are guaranteed for 10. So if you need a watch which must always be visible in low light without having to press a button, Luminox is a good bet.

The new Blackbird 9000s are really nice, tough, military-looking watches. They are all stainless steel with a black PVD (physical vapor deposition) coating which gives them a very cool, stealthy look (although in the dark, Luminox watches are anything but stealthy, so be sure to cover them up if you really need to be invisible). The one I like best -- the 9032 -- has a smaller 24-hour quartz module embedded in the 6 o'clock portion of the bracelet for tracking an additional time zone. I like this solution for a GMT watch because it allows the main dial to remain uncluttered and readable. I first saw this feature in the Breitling Chrono Avenger which I still drool over every time I come across one.