Patek Philippe

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Aquanaut lume: C1 vs C3

There has been speculation that Patek has changed the lume type on the Aquanaut over the years, and that the original dial had C3 type lume, while some time over the last few years they have changed to C1 type lume.

I recently got an opportunity to compare a new vs old watch side by side, so I was hoping to shed some light (pun intended) on this topic. In all pictures, the new 2020 watch is on the left, and the old 2011 watch on the right.

The new watch from 2020 has the C1 lume; the color is whiter (with a hint of blue) and it is crisper, but doesn’t hold charge as well.  The old watch from 2011 has C3 lume, with a greensh tint, it’s brighter and holds charge longer.

The picture below is taken immediately after charging the lume with a bright light.  Note the color difference:

The blue tint in the C1 lume disappears almost instantly after charging.

The picture below is taken less than 1 minute after charging:

12 minutes after charge:

25 minutes after charge:

Just over 1 hour after charge:

Just over 2 hours after charge.  The new C1 lume is almost gone, while the old C3 still holds up:

Another thing I noticed is that the new C1 lume appears to be unevenly applied on the numerals.  Take a look on the details below on the C1 dial, notice for example on the “10” marker that the number 1 is not as bright as the number 0.  4 and 6 is bright, but 5 is uneven.  I got one word for Patek here:  sloppy!!
 

In the end, do I prefer the C1 or the C3 dial?  It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but during the day, the new C1 lume somehow appears “crisper”; however it’s obvious that the C3 is much brighter in the dark.  So I prefer both: the C1 during the day, but C3 during night!  Which one do you like the best?

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