Combining Gaseous Tritium Light Sources (GTLS), a Helium Release Valve and a diamond hard PVD finish in one diving watch has never been done before, making the C600 Tri-Tech™ Diver Elite, one of, if not the, most advanced diver’s watches in the world. Tested to 50 ATM This is the ideal deep dive watch.

For further information on the C600's main features please select from one of the following:

The Helium Release Valve

A Helium release valve, or Helium escape valve, as it is also called, provides functionality for professional divers operating at great depths for prolonged periods of time or under saturation.

When commercial divers operate at great depths, they often spend prolonged hours in diving bells under pressure breathing a gas mix like trimix or similar, that contains the gas Helium.

Since Helium molecules are the second smallest found in nature, the gas is able to work its way inside the watch, around any O-rings or other seals the watch may feature.

This is not a problem as long as the divers stay under pressure, but when the decompression stops during resurfacing aren't long enough, a pressure difference builds up between the trapped Helium inside the watch and the environment.

A small, one-way valve integrated in the watch case is activated when the differential between the inner and the outside pressure reaches a critical level. Result: The valve releases the Helium trapped inside the case.

The C600 Tri-Tech™ Diver Elite Helium release valve operates with a screw-down crown at the side of the watch. When the diver starts to ascend, he or she simply unscrews the valve's crown to the full open position, allowing any Helium that may have been trapped inside the watch to escape during decompression (see the diagrams below illustrating how to use the C600 Tri-Tech Diver Elite Helium Release Valve). back to top

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Mb Microtec GTLS Technology

Mention radioactivity and the image of men in orange radiation protection suits holding geiger counters may come to mind.

However, many industries are making good use of radioactive isotopes and in the process are saving lives in the medical arena and/or manufacturing with illumination technology powered by the decay of Tritium. The C600 contains Gaseous Tritium Light Source tubes that emit a blue light. This is preferred over green emission as it is more visible at depth when diving.

Decades of research in the field of radio luminescence preceded the development and commercial use of GTLS in watches. GTLS are tiny glass vials hermetically sealed, coated on the inside with a phosphorescent material and filled with a minute amount of tritium gas.

Electrons emitted from the gas excite the material to give off a permanent, cold light. Depending on the type of phosphorescent material used, GTLS can be made to give off light in different colours.

Green is the preferred colour because the human eye perceives it to be the brightest. Orange is also available and only slightly less bright. Blue is option as well but primarily used in watches for divers because underwater, blue remains visible at up to 60m/187 feet in depth, longer or deeper than any other colour. The serial production of these GTLS requires precision technology. Individual GTLS are laser cut and sealed airtight, so no gas ever escapes.

Unmatched in either size (small) or quality (brightness and lifespan) mb-microtec's light sources are state of the art and without equal in the marketplace. back to top

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What is Tritium?

Tritium (symbol 'T' or '3H', also known as 'Hydrogen-3') is a radioactive isotope of Hydrogen. The nucleus of Tritium (sometimes called a triton) contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium (most abundant Hydrogen isotope) contains one proton and no neutrons.

Pure Tritium therefore, forms a gas, however, Tritium is not stable but decays to the inert gas Helium with a half-life of 12.3 years. This means that after this time half of any amount of Tritium will have become Helium. The amount of radioactivity in your C600 watch is so small, even a banana is more radioactive, so therefore there is absolutely NO RISK involved. back to top

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What is PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) Coating?

In the mid 1800's a scientist named Faraday evaporated thin films in a vacuum when he exploded wires in his laboratory. It was not until the late 1800's that the first films would be deposited in a vacuum by Nahrwold. This was the beginning of the vacuum deposition method that we now call PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coating.

The application of this technology remained primarily academic until the post World War II era. The branch of PVD coating technology called ion plating was not developed until 1963 by Donald Mattox. PVD processing is carried out in a vacuum at high temperatures between 150 and 500 °C. The PVD technology consists of three primary deposition methods, evaporation, sputtering and cathodic arc.

Ilustrated right: The layering within the C600 Tri-Tech Diver Elite (1) Top layer: Black finish (2) Middle layer: Titanium Nitrade (3) Bottom layer: Marine Grade 316L Stainless Steel Casing

The PVD coating process is an environmentally friendly vacuum coating process that has the ability to apply various films at various process temperatures. This flexibility allows coatings to be applied to a variety of substrates.

Components manufactured from diverse materials such as plastic to steel have been successfully coated using the PVD coating process. Ion plating is a branch of PVD coating. The ion plating process ionises the material being evaporated.

This ionisation greatly enhances the properties and adhesion of the film being applied The PVD coating process is often confused with the CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) process. The CVD process is a thermal deposition process rather than a physical deposition process. back to top

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Coming soon... we are in the process of compiling a series of pages documenting the history of diving watches alongside the story and research behind our very own unique C600.

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