Luminox Atacama Field XL.1970.SET Review

Luminox is one of those brands I had always heard about growing up, but I’d never had any real time with any of their watches. I had seen them for sale in various watch and jewelry stores and knew the general history of the brand. Basically Luminox was started in California in the late 80s and specialized in making rugged watches with strong military and adventure themes.

One of the initial steps to creating Hourstriker was to come up with a list of all the brands we would try to cover on the site. Once the site was up and running, we then went about getting in contact with all of those brands, basically introducing ourselves and familiarizing the brands with the site. Another reason behind reaching out to the brands was to get on their press lists, so that we wouldn’t miss any of their new watch releases.



One of the brands that has been super receptive to us and always shares their newest releases has been Luminox. Recently I was alerted to a new release from Luminox, the Atacama Field watch. What really struck me about the watch was the texturing of the black dial as well as the khaki hands and numerals. Being housed in a black case with a black rubber strap also notched up my interest a few levels. It’s no secret that I love blacked out watches, I do own two blacked out IWC Top Gun models, in the 46mm chronograph as well as the Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar variant… even my wife’s favorite watch is a Hublot Big Bang All Black.

I thought this would be the perfect watch to get to know the brand and sent over an email to Luminox asking if they would send me an Atacama Field watch to review. They soon got back to me and said they’d be more than happy to send the watch right over.



When the watch arrived, the first thing that struck me was the packaging. When I heavy in the watch business in the mid to late 2000s, presentation boxes were almost as important as the watch itself… IWC for example packaged their Big Pilots in massive wooden boxes with the watches centered in the middle. Audemars Piguet really went nuts with their boxes, even making a wooden basketball shaped box for their Shaq Royal Oak Offshore. When I was looking for my Royal Oak Offshore Montoya, getting a watch with the box was almost as important as getting a clean example of the watch, since the box is in leather and features a full carbon fiber interior linking it to the race inspired watch.

Now I guess over the past decade plus a lot has changed in terms of watch packaging and presentation. Recently I have seen so many watches that basically come in a cardboard presentation box just large enough to house the watch. The reasoning behind this is that the watch companies are trying to be environmentally friendly with their packaging. Now for items that are purchased maybe a few times a year, if not much less frequently and cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to millions of dollars, why would this be so important? Also, most watch collectors keep their boxes, I personally like to display them in my office if they are nice enough. So I was pleasantly surprised to see Luminox had packaged the Atacama Field watch in a Pelican style hard shell case. This really reminded me of how Blancpain packages their Fifty Fathoms in Pelican cases as well.



The hard case contains a foam insert that houses the watch, an extra khaki NATO strap as well as a strap changing tool and all the documentation and papers. It is a very nice touch when brands include a second strap option, especially one as different as a khaki NATO strap versus the attached black rubber strap. Knowing what straps cost manufacturers and what they charge for them, it’s really nice to get a free one included.

So far I’ve been pretty impressed with my experience with Luminox, but now it was time to look over the watch. Right off the bat the watch feels solid in hand and fairly lightweight, only weighing in at 67 grams on our scale. The weight of the watch shouldn’t be too surprising since the case is made out of their CARBONOX material, which is a carbon compound created by Luminox in 2006. CARBONOX offers a scratch resistant and very durable material that is also very lightweight.



Examining the case, the CARBONOX really looks like the ceramic used in my IWC Top Gun models. The sheen, color and general appearance really mimic IWC’s matte black ceramic. The feel of the material naturally doesn’t feel like ceramic though, and has the more plastic feeling of carbon materials. It’s very interesting that the case looks like ceramic, yet feels like other carbon watches I’m used to. Even stranger is that the CARBONOX looks nothing like the carbon used in watches we’ve own from Audemars Piguet, Hublot and Ulysse Nardin. Adding a bit of heft to the watch is the use of a solid stainless steel case back, it would have been interesting to see how much weight could have been shed from the watch if a titanium case back was used here. The case back also has a nice compass design on it.

The dial lays beneath an AR coated sapphire crystal that is super clear and doesn’t seem to hang on to smudge marks too much. The dial I mentioned earlier is a slightly less dark black with a very nice textured effect to it. There are both 12 and 24 hour markers done in what Luminox calls sand color, which I’d say are a bit more yellow hued khaki. The hands and 100 Meter water resistance text is done in this same color with the tip of the seconds hand being done in red. There is also a Luminox logo at 12 o’clock and a white date window at 3 o’clock with a red arrow.



Overall I think the dial works very well and was the main reason I was attracted to the watch in the first place. The dial with its textures and colors is meant to evoke the Atacama Desert in Chile. I do think the date window might have been better done with a black background versus the white found here. I also can’t stop thinking that the dial would have been a bit more stealth and suited the watch better if the Luminox logo would have been blacked out, which they have done on other models.

The next thing we need to talk about are the constant glow tubes used for lume. Luminox uses 11 green tubes (1 – 11 o’clock) and 3 orange tubes (12 o’clock and hour and minute hands) on the dial. Unlike traditional Super-Luminova that lasts only a few minutes to a few hours and needs to be charged by a light source, these constant glow tubes will provide light for 25 years regardless of the lighting condition. This has pretty much been a calling card for brands like Luminox and Ball. The only downside I can see with using this sort of lighting solution is that the tubes are very visible and can’t just be painted on like Super-Luminova. Personally, I don’t mind the look and Luminox has integrated them well here.



The crown is a push pull crown and does not screw down, even so the Atacama Field still manages to have a water resistance of 100 meters. The first crown position adjusts the date, while the second adjusts the time. The effort to pull out and adjust the crown is very easy as well. The crown has the Luminox logo on it and is fully protected by crown guards.

The watch came on a black textile rubber strap with a black pin buckle. The 23 mm wide strap fits the watch well and makes sure the watch stays put on your wrist. I feel this strap could easily support a much heavier steel or precious metal watch, it’s that beefy. The sand colored NATO strap is equally nice and also comes on a black buckle which has a slight polish to it versus the matte CARBONOX buckle on the rubber strap. I personally prefer a rubber strap to a NATO, so the watch was mainly worn on the rubber strap. On my 7.25 inch wrist I only had 3 strap holes left, which could be an issue for those with larger wrists. The rubber strap is a bit stiff, but I feel that it wouldn’t take too long to break it in. I might also be able to size up one hole if the strap was a bit more conformed to my wrist.



The case has a diameter of 43 mm with a lug to lug of just over 51 mm and a thickness of 12.7 mm. If you’ve read many of my reviews, you know that I really prefer watches that have over a 50 mm lug to lug measurement. I’ve tried on a lot of watches lately that even at 43 mm plus case diameter have a lug to lug of less than 50 mm, which I feel on my wrist end up favoring one side or the other. The Atacama Field being over 51 mm lug to lug sat on my wrist very nicely though, I really wouldn’t size it either down or up to be honest. The thickness of the watch seems just about perfectly proportioned to the case diameter and lug to lug. I feel the watch looks right on wrist and should also fit under most cuffs.

Now we get to my least favorite thing about the Atacama Field watch, the movement. From my early days in collecting watches, I’ve always been fascinated with mechanical watch movements. The very first watch I bought myself was an automatic Omega, and I’ve never purchased a quartz watch since.



I can see the benefit of quartz watches, but they just don’t appeal to me. As we’ve been getting more watches in to review, I’ve found myself not wearing any of my personal watches. Since I don’t like to use watch winders, unless it’s a hard to set calendar watch, all my watches are now wound down, meaning each time I want to wear a watch I have to wind and set it. Also my personal collection is now at five watches, meaning even without the review watches, most of my watches would be wound down. With quartz watches, I’d never have this issue, well maybe once every few months or years.

With all that said, the Luminox Atacama Field watch does come powered by a Ronda 515 quartz movement. The 515 is a quality Swiss made quartz movement boasting a 50 month power reserve. Also one thing that has to be mentioned about using a quartz movement is the ability to offer the watch at an incredibly low price. The Atacama Field is offered at only $495, which is less than some of the straps I’ve had to purchase recently directly from some Swiss manufacturers. For less than five hundred dollars, it’s really hard to argue with what Luminox is offering with the Atacama Field watch…



That does make me think of what could have been with the Atacama Field though. Luminox does offer a different version of the Atacama, reference XL.1904, with an automatic movement. This watch has the super reliable Swiss made Sellita SW 220-1 automatic movement powering it. Sure this automatic version of the Atacama is priced at $1,295, but I feel if Luminox would have put a similar Sellita automatic movement is this version of the Atacama Field, they would have had a huge hit on their hands. Also possibly changing the case back to titanium or a display back, blacking out the logo and date window would have really pushed this watch over the edge. If the price would have been at or below the $1,295 the other automatic Atacama Field is priced at, this watch would have been a truly handsome no brainer. A quick search will show you how much Swiss powered mechanical watches housed in fully carbon cases sell for. I feel Luminox is right on the cusp of something outstanding here.

After a week’s worth of wearing the Atacama Field out and about on errands and various outings, the watch still looks brand new. There are no signs of wear or even minor hairline scratches, which can mostly be credited to the CARBONOX case. Being lightweight and also coming on a rubber strap, the watch never got in my way or made itself known when not needed. Seeing as though my wardrobe, especially as it’s getting warmer here in Austin comprised mostly of black or white t-shirts, the aesthetic of the Atacama Field also totally fit me. Like I mentioned earlier in the review, I have two IWC Top Gun watches that look VERY similar to this Atacama Field Watch, one with an MSRP of $11,900 and the other at $36,000. Now you can see if Luminox could offer this watch in an automatic version for around $1,300, why I think it would be such a great affordable Swiss mechanical option.



So where do I stand on the Luminox Atacama Field watch and Luminox as a brand after my first proper introduction. It’s hard to leave price out of the equation to be honest. At under $500, the Atacama Field watch is a huge bargain. Just the carbon case alone more than justifies the price, adding in a sapphire crystal, great packaging, multiple straps and a Swiss made movement scream bargain. The dial texture and coloring paired with the numeral and hand color really make a handsome watch as well. For anyone who likes the all black look, like I do, and really doesn’t care if a watch is quartz or mechanical, I totally give this watch my full blessing.

Now if you’re a diehard mechanical watch fan, like me, it’s just so hard to get over the quartz movement and the slow ticking seconds hand (unless it’s a deadbeat seconds complication). I do really feel like if Luminox could either put an automatic movement in this case or make a model similar to this Atacama Field that is mechanical, they’d really have a great watch on their hands.



As for a first real introduction to Luminox, the Atacama Field was a great ambassador. The value you get out of this watch is unbelievable, and it’s just a quality built watch. The feel of the watch is solid and substantial while also offering such a high tech and lightweight case. I’d really be interesting in getting more time with some of Luminox’s other watches, especially their mechanical offerings.

I’d really like to thank Luminox for sending us this Atacama Field watch to review. For more information about the Atacama Field watch please visit : Luminox

Technical Specifications

Reference Number: XL.1970.SET

Retail Price: $495

Case Size: 43 mm (51.5 mm lug to lug)

Thickness: 12.7 mm

Weight: 67 Grams

Case Material: CARBONOX (Stainless Steel case back)

Bezel: CARBONOX

Strap: Black Rubber with Pin Buckle / Sand NATO with Pin Buckle

Movement: Quartz Ronda 515 (Swiss Made)

Functions: Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Date

Power Reserve: 50 Months

Water Resistance: 100 Meters