McGilli 1 Posted March 24, 2018 McGilli's Carnival Carbon Dial T25 Tritium Watch Review I ruined a magicians vibe one night. I was at a restaurant for a work party and a magician was making the rounds doing tricks right in front of everyone. So, when he came over to me, I kept my eyes locked on his right hand. No matter what he was doing - I just kept watch of that hand. Half way through his routine, he stopped, and in front of everyone he had to say “It’s not going to work if you don’t look at me.” I love magic though. A lot. I think that’s why I really love this watch. It’s like magic, compared to every other watch I’ve ever worn. I’m talking 45 years - I have never seen a watch that can do what this does. For me, it’s a huge plus. Some people won’t care. Let’s see where you stand… INTRO I was looking through Aliexpress for watches. Just browsing. I came across the Carnival brand of watches, and it was because of this watch. It was the carbon dial. I love carbon weave. I kept seeing the word tritium in the descriptions of almost every Carnival watch. I had no idea what that meant. So I looked it up, then looked up reviews of watches with tritium. I was like - no - this can’t be possible? A watch whose lume would stay active 24 hours a day… But all the reviews said it does. The reviews on Youtube showed it. Carnival. Hmmmm. I guess I can trust a name like that. Sounds fun… Like…. Somewhere a magician would work!!! A watch I can read during the middle of the night is very important to me. And besides, lumen is just really cool. I love how it works. But - tritium is different. Blah blah blah radioactive gas in glass tubes etc etc etc. Sounds like a fun time to me. Glad I don’t work in the factory making these tubes - “McGilli your hands are glowing!” - “Yeah - you should see my cock”. I have no idea what that means. CARNIVAL CARBON TRITIUM REVIEW PART I WATCH ORDERED: Carnival waterproof military sports T25 tritium self luminous men watches quartz movement luxury brand wrist watch men dual calendar digital time scale fine hight carbon steel watch circles analog fashion casual male full steel watches strap smart luxury gifts free shipping relogio masculine creative watches reloj hombre erkek saat erkekler Seriously? “reloj hombre erkek saat erkekler“ How could I not order this? Brand : Carnival Item No. : C8638 Dial Color : Black Strap Color: Black full steel Function : Date display, Week display, Performance: 30M Waterproof, Antimagnetic, Shock-proof Time scale: Tritium self-luminous dial Watch circle: 316L fine steel Movement of watch: Quartz movement Mirror : Hardlex mirror Dial Material: full steel watchcase Strip Material: 316L fine steel Buckle: Butterfly double click clasp Packaging: Exquisite watch box, Instruction manual, Warranty card Warranty ( SF832922): 1 Year (Appearance of artificial damage is beyond the scope of the warranty . ) Product Size as below: Dial diameter : Men: About 39mm , Mirror diameter: Thickness : About 11mm Strap length ( including dial) : About 21cm Net weigh : about 130g UNPACKING THE WATCH: Nothing special in the packaging. The box comes with instructions and a credit card like warranty card. CARNIVAL CARBON TRITIUM REVIEW PART II RESIZING THE BRACELET: The first thing to do was resize the bracelet. My wrist is 7.25” and I would need to remove 3 links this time. This still allows just a bit of play which I like - I do not like tight watches. Standard friction push pins. The links are the kind made of 5 pieces. I like these - they are comfy. The links have nice brushed/polished contrast on them. THE BRACELET RATTLES: I’d never had this before. I wear all my watches a bit loose. I can just slide my pinky from my right hand under the bracelet and it’s fully tightened. But this bracelet rattles louder than any other bracelet I have. I don’t really care. But, it is noticeable. This might be common with many watches? (Days later - I don’t even notice it any more - I had to read this again to remember about the rattle) THE CLASP AND WEIGHT: This has a butterfly clasp I believe it’s called. Works well. It has a release button that when pressed releases both sides of the bracelet from the clasp. Stamped on the outside is CARNIVAL 1986. I like the detail on the inside of the clasp. Well done. The weight is a healthy 119g. Not too heavy, not too light. This is right in the zone between my Ti PAM and my tank Franck Muller. THE CASE: I was surprised that this was thicker than my Rolex Explorer II. But, then I realized it’s because the dial is recessed so far down under the glass, it makes for a deeper watch overall. And that is because… of…. the watch hands! They have glass tubes mounted on them - so they need more clearance! CARNIVAL CARBON TRITIUM REVIEW PART III THE MARKERS AND HANDS AND DATE & DIAL PRINTING DIAL & DIAL PRINTING I tried. I really did, but I have failed you. The carbon dial on this has such amazing depth to it - but it just doesn’t turn out in photos. On top of the carbon is a nice thick gloss - with the printing on top of that. It’s a great effect and classes it up some. The printing on the dial is actually pretty thick. It has an embossment to it as it’s raised above the dial. All printing looks clean and consistent. Simple numerals. This was definitely not made in the same factory as my Blood Dial. 24 hour time is also printed on the dial - adding a little more versatility to this watch yet not being obtrusive in any way. DATE & DAY The date and day wheel work nice. I was confused at first by this having English and Chinese printing on it. The city I live in is now about %75 Chinese so resale value has gone up for me here. The day starts to shift at 11pm. By midnight it is in Chinese with date still changing. At 1am it’s still in Chinese with the date changed. Then it takes until 3am to change to english which you just have to imagine since I fell asleep. Then I fell asleep - but you get the idea…. A few from when I got the watch HANDS The hands are nothing fancy - but in this case the simplicity works well. Stark white. Normal shaped hands. Except these hands each hold magic. As seen below. TRITIUM MARKERS Glass tubes, filled with phosphorus and radioactive goo from a Kaiju. And that is cool. There are also tritium markers at all 12 clock positions. On this watch they are blue, and the 12 o’clock is orange. This is a photo of it against a fully charge R.EXP II I got from Mary. The Rolex will fade away to almost nothing during the night - the Carnival will never fade. CARNIVAL CARBON TRITIUM REVIEW PART IV NIGHTTIME LUME SHOOTOUT! This has to be done. Indulge me. All watches were left on a counter - underneath 3 bright bulbs for 60 minutes. The light was then turned off, and voila… THE CONTENDERS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT COLOURING / ROLEX SKULL / CARNIVAL / SEIKO SUN059 / ROLEX EXP II / SEIKO SJN009 / PANERAI 177 AFTER 00 MINUTES AFTER ALMOST 30 MINUTES Hmmmmm. Ok. Some of the other watches - could still be seen by my eyes. However, as you can see - only the tritium stayed full power - allowing the camera to pick it up on the sensor. BTW - I’m not using a camera phone - this is a decent Sony camera I have… And - this is how it stays all through the night - 24 hours a say. Pretty Cool! BLACKLIGHT TIME! Everyone loves this section of my reviews. Especially me. Black lights are another magical device. I have found stains you would not believe in my house because of this light. Creepy really. Usually - this is done to check for extra pubes sent from China. However, it also leads to fantastic lume shots on watches with regular lume paint. But - I was very curious - would a black light actually do anything with tritium tubes? I brought out my Rolex Exp II and my new Seiko SUN059 for a comparison with this. I was surprised that the black light did not interact with any of the white paint. Also of interest was how black the dial stayed, compared to the other watches - although that has to do with the angle of the photos. The black light was reflecting off the inside of the reheat on the other watches and causing a cool glowing effect in them No pubes in the new watch! Can’t say the same for my bathroom counter… CARNIVAL CARBON TRITIUM REVIEW PART V HOW DOES IT KEEP TIME?: There is no indication of where the quartz movement comes from - however all the Carnival material online says Japan. Quartz ‘just works’ as far as I’m concerned. Keeps time fine. It works - that’s really all I need. It’s hackable. Time, day and date set separately etc etc. Usual stuff. The crown is not screw down. It’s a simple push in. I saw on another forum that when removed there are two small rubber gaskets that act as moisture protection going into the case. I will not wear this in the water - just to be safe. Carnival logo embossed on the crown - very hard to photograph. CARNIVAL CARBON TRITIUM REVIEW PART VI HOW DOES IT LOOK? Simply, it’s a very simplistic, smart looking watch. It’s casual, yet has no problem poking out from a collared shirt sleeve. Sexy in the dim or dark, very legible in the light. Great in the pitch dark. SHOULD YOU BUY A TRITIUM WATCH? Absolutely. If you care about seeing what time it is in the dark. But it’s just a fabulous ‘technology’ to have on a watch. Yes - tritium gas does have a half life of about 12 years or so. So, in about 25 years the watch will have no more lume at all. That’s a consideration. However, I’m good with that. I’ll just be happy to still be alive in 20 years, let alone this watch working in the dark! And for less than $100CAD? No brainer. NOTE - This watch uses T25 tritium. There is also T100 - which commands a premium price, but is brighter and used in more tactical watches. SHOULD YOU BUY THIS WATCH? Yes. Right now - I can say that this Carnival will replace my Rolex Explorer II as my everyday watch. I love the carbon dial. I love the easy to read high contrast numbers. I love that it has day and date. And, I love that it is visible 24 hours a day, no matter how dark it is, or how long you have been in the dark. I think it’s classy enough as an all-rounder, and can pull off a night out on the town. Sure, it’s not ‘Rolex’, and it only cost $100CAD. Hell, that’s all the more reason to wear this as an everyday watch. FIN I also have a silver steel version coming with green tritium. When that arrives I’ll update this post with some photos. Cuz it’s obvious this review needs more photos. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Glaude 1,615 Posted March 24, 2018 Nice review as always buddy ! I find that the carbon pattern is coming out of your pics quite well (nothing like IRL I guess, but still !) The pic in your car is superb ! Oh and the pattern in the inside of the clasp is called "perlage" I have two of the same clasp (pretty universal on Ali and the Gate) and I found them really reliable compared to other cheap one ! Enjoy it ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paccbet 7,176 Posted March 25, 2018 Oh I like that. Looks like a Marathon! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Stubbs 0 Posted March 25, 2018 Awesome review, fantastic pics and I really enjoy the tone of your commentary. The only time I've ever said 'reloj hombre erkek saat erkekler' was when I woke up after a party face down under an aquarium stand. Something to do with weed and tequila. The best part of your review is that you've convinced me. I'm flipping through Ali on the other screen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cvp3 2,103 Posted March 25, 2018 One of my personal favs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
McGilli 1 Posted March 30, 2018 UPDATE: Just photos.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xpletiv 16 Posted April 20, 2018 Nice! Looks more expensive with a SS case. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slashdotcom 0 Posted April 26, 2018 Nice! Looks more expensive with a SS case.I agree with that Inviato dal mio SM-G930F utilizzando Tapatalk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
