BWC watch serves even in the dark

Watches have always tried to shine in the dark. In the early 20th century, pocket and wristwatches used radium paint until it became clear how hazardous it was. Tritium followed, safer but still radioactive. The world remembers the Radium Girls who paid the price for that glow.

Then came a breakthrough. Japanese inventor Kenzo Nemoto developed a safe, non-radioactive glow for military cockpits. His creation became known as Luminova, later perfected as Super-Luminova. It’s now the standard for luxury watches around the world.

And it’s part of ours too – because a watch should tell the time clearly, even in the dark.

Today, the gold standard for watch lume is Super-Luminova. For the world, it marks a big leap in safety and performance. For us, as an Indian luxury watch brand, using it in our watches is a statement. 

From the Mach 1 collection, inspired by aviation, to the Peninsula, built for the outdoors, each watch uses lume chosen to fit its purpose.

When it comes to reliability and brightness, two Super-LumiNova shine the most: C3 and BGW9.

C3, the green glow, is the brightest of them all. At BWC, our first three collections use Grade A C3, ensuring maximum legibility through the night.

In the Peninsula Professional collection, BGW9 shines in a clear white by day and emits a striking blue at night. Nearly as bright as C3, it has become a favourite for its balance of clarity and style.

Together, C3 and BGW9 set the benchmark. For us, they are non-negotiable.

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Some watches are built for the day. Ours are built for both day and night.

In the Mach 1, India’s aviation stories shine with the glow. The hands and indices are layered generously with Super-Luminova C3 Grade A, the brightest and most reliable lume available. In the limited-edition Mach 1 Synchro, the lume goes further; every single minute marker carries a glowing dot. The airspeed-style minute hand, tipped in red, contrasts against the glowing green, echoing the language of aircraft instruments.

In the Cover Drive, the lume tells a subtler story. Its sandwich dial design hides the C3 on the bottom layer, allowing the light to shine through cut-outs above. When night falls, the stump-shaped markers glow with purpose, much like a scoreboard under floodlights.

The Apogee collection of space-qualified watches turns the glow upward, toward the stars. Its avant-garde design carries C3 lume on diamond-cut, rhodium-plated hands and indices. Combined with its tonneau-shaped case and dual-time bezel, Apogee becomes a companion not just for daily wear, but also for moments spent under a starlit sky, tracking time across worlds.

Where C3 is bold and commanding, BGW9 is refined. In daylight, it appears a clean, understated white. But once darkness falls, it transforms, radiating a cool, soft blue glow. 

This lume finds its home in the Peninsula Professional. Inspired by India’s diverse landscapes, its diver-style hands and indices are designed for visibility even in the darkest depths. At 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock, engraved motifs of a wave and a tree reveal their shape through the lume, glowing blue against the dial. Whether it’s a dive below the surface or a climb into the mountains, the Peninsula’s glow guides you through the unseen.

As an independent watch brand, we have built watches with the highest standards of watchmaking, while ensuring that every detail showcases stories of modern India through the design and features. Adding to this story is the lume, which enhances both design and functionality. Our Indian aviation-inspired watch, Mach 1, cricket-inspired Cover Drive, and Indian space programme-inspired Apogee feature green C3 Super-LumiNova, while the Peninsula collection carries the blue BGW9 Super-LumiNova. When you own one of our watches, the glow in the dark will remind you of the stories and the legibility it delivers.

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