About The Company        
Swiss Industry leader
In 1918 two chemists, Walter Merz and Albert Benteli founded the company Merz & Benteli. They concentrated on the manufacture and marketing of luminous colors which were mainly supplied to the Swiss watch making industry.  In 1968 the “luminous color department” of Merz & Benteli spun-off a new company. That company is today’s mb-microtec.
 
mb-microtec is located in the city of Niederwangen, just outside of Berne, Switzerland. Research and development were focused totally on this new light source, free of the known disadvantages of the traditional luminous paints.
 
Since 1989 the American army has specified the use of tritium gas light sources for military watches destined for troops, in order to ensure that they can be read in the dark.  However, in order to make this possible, the Mil-W-4637 specification relating to the manufacture of military wrist watches would have to be changed. "So I decided to convince the relevant departments in the U.S. Army to create new specifications for the production of military watches. I wrote a draft version of this modified product specification myself", remembers Jim Bickman. This standard not only brought about the change from tritium illuminated paint to light sources with gaseous tritium (so-called Tritium vials).  In connection with the use of the new light system, the dial and the hands of the military watch were completely redesigned.  Very strict requirements had to be fulfilled with regard to the tritium gas enclosed in the glass tube, the light elements were not allowed to contain more than 25 millicuries of H3. And no radioactivity whatsoever might be measured on the surface of the watch.
 
That was the hour in which a completely new generation of military wrist watches was born. mb-microtec, the only manufacturer of these tiny tritium light elements in the world, played a crucial part in this innovative moment.  

All-in-all, the Swiss company mb-microtec ag pioneered the GTLS (gaseous tritium light source) illumination technology more than 30 years ago. Later on, mb-microtec ag made use of GTLS in a wristwatch for the first time on its own watch line "traser® H3". The GTLS illumination technology was specified by the US Army and validated by a nato number. Today, after permanent development, mb-microtec's GTLS illumination technology is used by more than 80 other watch brands worldwide.  mb-microtec ag produces the GTLS illumination technology, so called trigalight®, under permanent control according to approved standards such as ANSI, ISO and IAEA. 
 
The Innovative Technology
The tritium gas light sources produced by the Swiss company mb-microtec, with the help of a special laser, were proven not to release any radioactive material whatsoever.  Trigalight® (Gaseous Tritium Light Source) owned by mb-microtec, is the result of decades of research and development in the field of radio luminescence.  Use of tritium gas light sources offers a series of further benefits in addition to optimal insulation of the radioactive material. The light sources are self-illuminating, in other words they neither need battery current nor any other source of outside energy.   Their luminance is almost one hundred times that of watches with traditional tritium phosphorescent paint.  For the eye of the wearer, the extraordinary brightness of this light system will have a life span of more than 20 years in comparable.  The hands and markings are extremely bright at night, so bright in fact that the soldier in the field should wear a cover bracelet over the watch in order to avoid being identified as a target. trigalight® are self-activated and self-powered light sources, which is applied to all Traser Watches H3 series. 
 
Top Quality Swiss Made Watches
mb-microtec created the world’s first Swiss made watch with trigalight® technology. All traser H3 watches are equipped with trigalight® . They are an absolute must in the emergency, safety and protection sectors as well as in the armed forces. They are ideal for fans of adventure and sports. Traser H3 watches are top quality Swiss watches, extremely robust and reliable.
 
The first gulf war broke out in 1991, and the U.S. army suddenly needed larger numbers of watches for the troops stationed in the gulf. Naturally, the light elements for these first watches supplied to the troops came from mb-microtec.
 
The Navigator was and is very popular with the troops and is also one of the most desirable collector's items for those who collect military memorabilia. It is particularly popular with collectors who like to actually wear the watches themselves.  mb-microtec relaunched the classic Navigator, one model out of whole offerings: the MIL-W-46374F Wrist Watch Navigator P 6500. It then became part of the standard equipment of special units such as the Army Rangers, Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs (SEa, Air, Land), and EOD (Explosives Ordinance Demolition) Teams.  

Depending on the type of phosphorescent material used, «trigalight» 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 an option as well but primarily used in watches for divers because under water, blue remains visible at up to 60m / 187 feet in depth, longer or deeper than any other colour.

All traser H3 watches are warranted against defects in materials and manufacture by mb-microtec for a period of two years from the date of purchase. Watches registered online (simply click www.traser.com) will automatically extend the warranty period from two to three years. The mb-microtec illumination system is guaranteed for 10 years. 

The Science Behind
mb-microtec illumination 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 products containing the mb-microtec GTLS (gaseous tritium light source)- illumination technology powered by the decay of tritium.

What is Tritium?
Tritium is a heavy form (isotope) of hydrogen and for this reason behaves chemically exactly like it. Pure tritium therefore, forms a gas T2 (like hydrogen forms H2). 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. This transformation process is called a pure beta-decay. In this process no gamma radiation occurs and only a low energy electron is emitted.

What are the risks of using Tritium in a GTLS?
None. The low energy electrons of tritium cannot escape the glass body of a mb-microtec trigalight (tradename).
Only the rupture of such a light source would free the tritium gas and it would quickly disburse. A typical traser H3 watch contains anywhere from 15 to 20 mb-microtec trigalight for a total of no more than 25 millicuries. On a yearly bases, the wearer of such a watch must figure on an additional exposure of 0.1 micro sievert, which is about equal to the increase the human body would absorb due to cosmic or random radiation, by living an additional 12 inches above sea level. This 0.1 microsievert is also about 30’000 less than the average yearly exposure due to that same background radiation. Now, lets assume that in a closed, unventilated room all the GTLS of 40 such watches (also 1000 millicuries or 600 to 800 GTLS) would simultaneously burst open and release their tritium gas, the resulting exposure to a person in that room would still be only about 50% of the yearly, random background exposure that every living creature on earth is exposed to. This example, as unlikely as it may seem, serves well to illustrate the scientific facts about this technology and further demonstrates the safe nature of this product.

Comparison mb-microtec illumination (trigalight) and SuperLumiNova
If the luminous markings on a watch are reasonably sized and arranged, the readability in the dark is primarily determined by their total light emitted. In order to assess the relative merits, the light intensity of two dials with identical markings by mb-microtec trigalight ( traser H3-watch ) on one and SuperLumiNova on the other, were measured and compared

The results, with the light intensity expressed in the unit “nanocandela” (ncd) are given below.

after (in darkness)	0 min.	5 min.	1 hour	8 hours
traser (in nanocandela)	6000	6000	6000	6000
LumiNova® (in nanocandela)	10000	6000	400	30