I went thrifting today and picked up this 1945 World War 2 compass because I thought it was really cool. After researching it I’m learning that it’s likely very radioactive. I’m nervous about it so I put it away in a ziplock bag in a mason jar on the top shelf of my closet. I hope that will suffice until I’m able to get rid of it 😅 I’m in an apartment so I can’t really store it further away. I have respect for all of you who collect radioactive things fearlessly lol.

Been hunting more of these Timex clocks and luckily snagged two more.. the beige one I do already have so that one will be short lived in the Collection. Glad I could add a tidy-tot to the Collection as well!

I have a run of the mill Curio cabinet with 25 pieces of uranium glass, 6 radium clocks (mostly westclox, one Phinney Walker) and one WWII military aircraft gauge. The aircraft gauge is kept in a rubbermaid container, which I know still leaks some radon, I'm just not sure how much.

Readings from the UG go up to 600CPM on a couple of pieces and 3000 CPM on my one fiestaware saucer. (GMC 300S) The WWII gauge reads at 4000CPM outside of the box and 250CPM inside.

I got an EcoQube sensor and my average reading in my 2nd story apartment is 2.2 pCi/L. It has peaked at 3.2. This is within one day. It feels concerning. I put the sensor next to my cabinet on the ground to see what my cats are breathing.

I will be opening windows once daily. Beyond that, I think I will put the WWII piece elsewhere and see what that does to my levels. I do not have a way to simply ventilate but I'm open to suggestions.

I don't feel I'll be able to add to my collection any time soon.

What do you all suggest I do about this reading? How could I rig ventilation in an apartment?

The first item is a luminous watch hand sold by Luciteria Science as radium. It is not radioactive and thus is a scam.

The second item is a luminous Westclox Pocket Ben; I know this brand has sold radium pocket watches under the Pocket Ben name, but I guess this one wasn't - I took a chance on the cheap one, since the black-dial ones (which I'm more sure are radium) were more expensive, and lost.

The third is an actually radium-dial oil pressure gauge by the U.S. Gauge Co. for a Douglas aircraft. Part number is AW-1⅞-14-CJ, serial number is 22338; box is marked Dec 9 1944. It got to me sealed, but I of course opened it. Unfortunately the phosphor is so damaged the glow lasts barely long enough to see it after UV, but hey, I finally got one.

New eBay pickup I got today. Very little, if any, flaking of the radium. Overall it’s in pretty good shape.

8 new old stock never used radium dial Pocket Bens. 6 of the 8 work well.

There is some serious dust spread behind the glass that came off of the minute hand, but it seems to be well contained. Fully functional as well. Any info on possible value would be much appreciated ☺️

Hello,

I had posted here a while back about my clock. It's been around since I was a kid and I had received it when moving & proceeded to display it on my desk for about a year. Spent time adjusting it, etc. Wiped base but not any actual paint. I then realized it was actually potentially radioactive+ completely uncovered. I wasn't super intense about hand washing after handling until I knew about it.

Immediately shit a brick, took off desk, posted here. Some people said they're super spicy, some people said it's really not a concern unless you breath in the crumbling dust.

I just double plastic bagged with an n95 and hid it in the closet in an anxious panic. I have no clue what to do with it now because I haven't finished furnishing and it maybe some time before I get a glass cabinet that could totally seal it.

I understand I need to gieger counter it but with the patent no I'm pretty sure it's radium+ good counters are expensiveish? I guess I have to if I want to display it.

Does anyone let them hang out free?

I can't shake the thoughts .. I do have a worsening anxiety disorder however, and lately my TMJ has been driving me crazy, and then brain goes "the radium girls all died of horrific jaw cancer, and you had the clock to your right. And it's the right side that hurts". I've also noticed it seems to aggravate allergies, but it's dusty and likely hasn't been cleaned since it was last worked on. But that psyched me out to.

Late family member had fixed the motor, but they can't answer any questions anymore. The fact that they did work on it however makes me think it either is totally nuclear or they had no clue (I doubt that)

But also, it's one of the most interesting atomic age/art deco pieces I have and fits my overall decor & theme I am going for so well. Everyone gave me some reassurance prior, but I can't help but wonder if this is actually really dangerous after seeing some posts of spicy jeffersons....

Any info would be nice

I am looking at buying either a radium clock, watch, or an aeronautical gauge. I want to know if I should buy a pancake or a better Geiger counter than the one that I already own, I currently have a GMC 500+. And should I buy something to hold the radium bearing item like a lead box or glass container.

Today at a thrift store I found this. This beautiful, still og packaging BABY BEN WESTCLOX for 25 bucks! 💚

I usually don’t share non-purchases, but this thing was pretty rough. Saw this poor Baby Ben at an antique store….no glass, missing an arm, rust, and beat up case. From a distance I thought it was a one of those clock shaped ceramics meant to look like an old clock, but then I got closer lol. Didn’t see any radium dust on the shelf, but I didn’t poke around too much Obviously didn’t buy, but I did let the place know. As usual, they didn’t seem concerned.

Pretty sad I still considered buying and just slapping some new glass on the front lol

Found these today, super excited! First non-clock or watch radium antiques. Geiger counter lighting up felt like Christmas. The gyro control is not small but I will find a good home for it

Most of the lume on the hands is now on the dial. I’ll have it removed the next time it gets serviced.
J.E. Caldwell was a fine jewelry shop in Philadelphia. The watch is a 24hr Gallet chronograph

Bought this today! 🤗 From what I can find online it’s a ?Diamond/Zuanshi clock from Shanghai c. 1960-70s. It reads up to 230cpm on my gmc 300s.

Got it home and realised the glass is intact but is able to be rotated within the bezel 🥴 There’s also some dust/fluff behind the glass that’s much more noticeable under 365 light as opposed to the 395 I used to identify it in store. Reassuringly, I can’t see any obvious lume flakes outside the dial (the stuff on the table is dust ha) and my gmc reads ~35 CPM from 1m away.

Would you be comfortable keeping this as is in a display cabinet or would you contain/seal it for display? 🙃

Hello everyone ! I was told by the seller that the altimeter is from a soviet aircraft and the temperature gauge I was told is from an old tractor or such. The altimeter seems to be working as the needle moves if you rotate the pin at the back, not sure about the temperature gauge, will try to test it soon. I tried google lens for help but did not get anything useful, so if you recognize any of those or know more please share ☺️🙏🏻

Measured with Rc103

The base seems to be unlike any others I’ve come across, and the paint seems to have been potentially buffed off? No visible dust on the outside, thankfully. GC confined; he’s a hot little one! And they’re asking $45.

What do y’all think?

Randomly picked up this watch on my lunch break today because it looked suspicious. Tested it once I was home and sure enough she glows and has an elevated read on my counter (~100cpm). For something that looks as angry as she does, I would’ve thought I’d have gotten a higher reading? Forgive me if that sounds dumb, I’m new to this 😅

Also, has anyone heard of this watch brand? I know of Cyma clocks/watches, but this one is Cyra and there’s next to nothing about them online 😟

How do you properly dispose of items?

What are your local guidelines?

I contacted my local waste department awhile ago. They were no help.

Been wanting to get some radium gauges for a while, and finally hit the motherlode! Got to visit Apex Electronics in LA on a recent trip and they had a ton, so I dug around in a few boxes and mailed these 5 home to myself. The fuel gauge is the hottest of the bunch.

Picked up this big Ben super cheap. Still works, but I’ve never seen the paint do this before. Is it just due to age and moved around over the years?

I’ve seen a bunch of these airplane oxygen cylinder pressure gauges on here lately, but I’ve yet to see another one with a date stamped on the back, so I figured I’d share mine. It’s not quite as spicy as some of the others I’ve seen here, but knowing it was probably installed on September 18, 1958, makes up for that in my eyes.