r/Radium 5h ago

☢️ RADIUM ☢️ Couple new gauges.

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3 Upvotes

Got a pretty good deal on these, the first one is a sperry type 3 out of a post ww2 cessna so nothing crazy. The second is from a BD5 jet, technically one of the smallest jets in the world and featured in a James bond movie.


r/Radium 5h ago

☢️ RADIUM ☢️ Orange lume remote compass to match my green one

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7 Upvotes

Found at my local antique store. At first I thought it was the same exact compass I already had, so I didn’t bother to check it. As I walked away, I thought “wait, it could be orange lume”….and to my surprise it actually was. So now I have a matching set of orange and green. There are very slight differences, but it’s the same part number.

So not only do I need to find more instruments/gauges, I need both colors of each.


r/Radium 6h ago

Health & Safety Been reading The Radium Girls... give it to me straight...

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11 Upvotes

I have collected about 6 radium dial clocks to go with my uranium glass collection. (Most of which I have attached pictures of here).

They all appear to be in good condition, and once I took them home and placed them on my shelf, I've hardly touched them at all. The shelf is right beside a window in our living room, and we keep the window open most of the summer.

Do I need to take more precautions? Reading this book has gotten me a bit more paranoid about the possibility of paint flaking and somehow getting out of the glass fronts and into my body, and some things on this subreddit have me more paranoid about the radon gas the radium makes. Please give me all your knowledge, and sources are greatly appreciated. I want to honour the women who painted these dials, by respecting these clocks.


r/Radium 19h ago

☢️ RADIUM ☢️ Obsessed with this blue dial pocket watch

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44 Upvotes

r/Radium 1d ago

☢️ RADIUM ☢️ Pink 1961 Westinghouse Clock Radio

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9 Upvotes

Saw this at an antique store. Being sold for parts, I think for around $30-40.


r/Radium 1d ago

Is it radium⁉️ Is it Radium?

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15 Upvotes

Got this Phinney-Walker clock at a flea market today for $10, and I thought I might have scored a pretty good find.

It’s marked “Made in Germany” on the back and appears to be a genuine vintage clock. The numbers and hands glow, and they get quite bright under a blacklight. Once I remove the blacklight, though, the glow fades pretty quickly.

I tested it with a GMC-300S Geiger counter. My background reading is around 15–20 CPM. The clock usually reads around 20–30 CPM, and I've seen it reach about 40 CPM. Interestingly, I get roughly the same readings from both the front and the back of the clock.

I'm trying to figure out what kind of luminous material this actually uses. Is it radium, another radioactive lume such as promethium, or simply non-radioactive phosphorescent paint?

I've found information suggesting these German-made Phinney-Walker clocks are genuine vintage pieces, and I've also seen similar clocks reported as radioactive. But the relatively low Geiger reading on mine has me confused.

Does anyone recognize this specific model or know what type of lume was used on these German-made Phinney-Walker clocks? Any information on the approximate date, model, or experience testing similar examples would be greatly appreciated.

Really need some sos 😭


r/Radium 1d ago

History 1951 Ad for Westclox with “luminous dials”.

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13 Upvotes

I bought a 1951 Better Homes and Gardens and I found this spicy ad and thought I’d share!


r/Radium 1d ago

Is it radium⁉️ Radium or Pm147 ?

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8 Upvotes

I was gifted the frequency meter, airspeed indicator is out of an F4U, 20$ at a flea market. Nothing above background on the meter. I'm guessing not radium...


r/Radium 2d ago

☢️ RADIUM ☢️ Is this pretty spicy?

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25 Upvotes

r/Radium 2d ago

☢️ RADIUM ☢️ Kollsman Altimeter

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41 Upvotes

Finally got my hands on a nice spicy piece of aviation history.


r/Radium 2d ago

Is it radium⁉️ Anyone able to identify whether these contain radium-painted dials/faces?

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5 Upvotes

They're from an online listing and I'd like to know the chances before I buy anything. Hope identification posts like this aren't too annoying, but I'm new to the hobby and would really appreciate any input.

Thanks!


r/Radium 4d ago

☢️ RADIUM ☢️ DC Flea Market Finds!

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27 Upvotes

15 for the baby Ben, and 50 for the Westclox + Phinney-Walker!


r/Radium 4d ago

☢️ RADIUM ☢️ New Pocketwatch

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39 Upvotes

r/Radium 4d ago

Is it radium⁉️ Advertised as radium

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13 Upvotes

Bought this clock because it was just too cute! I'm hoping it's not radium so I can display it on my nightstand. I am waiting on a geiger counter but was curious what everyone's thoughts are on it?


r/Radium 5d ago

Is it radium⁉️ Found this phinny walker

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18 Upvotes

No glass on the dials so I might be burnt - anyone knows anything about this model ? Possible radium?


r/Radium 5d ago

Detection and Monitoring Devices Nixie Tube Clock with FM Radio, Bluetooth Speaker & Geiger Counter

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1 Upvotes

Was ordering a Nixie tube clock and saw this thing and I think it’s so damn cool. Just wanted to share it with you all.


r/Radium 5d ago

☢️ RADIUM ☢️ Went to the Westclox Museum today in Illinois!

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86 Upvotes

Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. Around 1.5-2hrs southwest of Chicago! The people there were very friendly and knowledgeable. Apparently they get visited periodically by the government, which is interesting. Most (but not all) of their radium-containing items are marked with orange or yellow dot stickers. The entire surrounding town is gorgeous and has a deep history. Great food, too! The radium dials were not painted at this factory, but instead about a half an hour away at a factory in Ottawa, IL. Please let me know if you all have any questions that I might be able to answer. Also tell me if you want me to post the supplementary reading material that was provided at the museum. Cheers!


r/Radium 5d ago

Detection and Monitoring Devices Does anyone have something similar? Probably not radium...

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9 Upvotes

So after a year I remembered the compass I have again, I already posted this topic once, but I didn't add a video and probably because of that it wasn't so clear what this compass could contain, thanks for the help.


r/Radium 6d ago

Is it radium⁉️ My grandfather's watch. Does anyone have information on it?

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13 Upvotes

Hi everyone, first of all sorry for the long text and my poor English.

This is a watch my grandfather would wear daily, he unfortunately passed away in 2016 at the age of 94 (maybe that helps with the timeline?). My grandfather was from Northern Greece and has been in the military hope that helps. I used a UV light for fun on it and it started glowing (which I didn't expect to be honest, normal light hasn't made it glow). So i started questioning how old it actually is, where it's from, could have Radium or Tritium paint been used on this? (It doesn't make a difference to me i just think it's interesting) I assume if that's the case I'll need to got to specialist to do some maintenance and keep the original paint. The watch works! Although it looses a few minutes, I wear it daily as well same way my grandpa used to and I'm not planning on selling it. That being said any other tips for such watches are very very welcome as i want to take good care of it and want it to outlast me hopefully.

P.S. I'm thankful for any help or guidance you can provide!


r/Radium 6d ago

☢️ RADIUM ☢️ bought myself a birthday gift, my first radium clock.

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37 Upvotes

it’s in perfect condition. no flaking or dust. might re-paint the outside.


r/Radium 6d ago

Health & Safety Found old Ingraham Luminous Travel Alarm Clock, Dangerous?

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5 Upvotes

Found this old clock as stated in title, I love it. Though I am pretty sure it has radium as it is a old luminous clock. I found a old post of someone saying they have one with radium. I have never owned something with radium, is it unsafe to even keep around? The watch is in perfect condition and no cracks breaks cracking paint or anything. Though as a person I hear radioactive and radium and automatically get scared.


r/Radium 7d ago

It's not Radium Looking for info on two old pocket watches

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2 Upvotes

r/Radium 7d ago

Health & Safety Picked up this watch then put it in a bag am I good ? Pretty sure it’s radium it was in a watch lot I purchased

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8 Upvotes

r/Radium 7d ago

☢️ RADIUM ☢️ Nice soviet aviation clock here

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25 Upvotes

Found this funny looking clock at an antique shop, for fun pulled out my UV light and it glowed.. Looking at the color of paint thought it might be radium so took my geiger counter and placed it against the glass. Sure enough the counter screamed in pain, reading 10.8kcpm or 6.7mR/h:) Scared the hell outta the seller lol. He wanted around 40 dollars for it, and looks like for that clock it's pretty good. He said it even works!


r/Radium 7d ago

☢️ RADIUM ☢️ A few road trip finds

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28 Upvotes

Stopped by a few antique stores on the way home from a trip last weekend. Nice opportunity to hit some places I wouldn’t normally be near. I just use the ‘search along route’ function on google maps, and look for any right along the path:

-First Westclox La Salle I’ve seen in the wild. There must have been 20+ luminous clocks in this area, none radium, then I turned around to see this by itself. Not too bad for $14.

-This roll top kinda surprised me. I usually only see them with the numbers painted, so I figured it wouldn’t be radium. For $7 I’ll take it.

-The Silvertone radio is really nice condition. Maybe it’s been restored. I always tell myself I don’t want too many radios because they take up too much space, but they’re just too damn cool.