Thank you Marc for sharing how luminox evolved with the founder. As a watch collector I have a few luminox watches such as the 911 and the lume is great. As a LE Officer I do appreciate the tritium on my duty issued Glock 21. Thank You.
❤Barry Cohen! He designed a beautiful series of custom luminox watches for my brother (an F-117 stealth fighter pilot) and his squadron during the Kosovo campaign. Black stainless with both stainless link and leather and pvc bands, with an F-117 engraved on the back. That meant a lot in terms of morale - and that watch was actually used by dozens of F-117 pilots on combat sorties in Kosovo and also in Iraq 2003. Barry is an absolute legend! Genuinely nice guy and passionate about making beautiful and truly combat-spec watches!
It was my honor to make those for them, and I would love to do it again. I you know of any such opportunities pls let us know. We are already in development for several law enforcement agencies but would love to do work for military groups too.
I met a few of those guys when they relocated to Spangdahlem. I believe they were pushed out of Aviano due to so many aircraft coming there. The F-117 guys moved to the Spangdahlem base hotel. My wife stocked the mini bars there. She would talk about the pilots when she got home, but she usually only remembered their call signs. I wouldn’t be surprised if your brother remembered her. She was a pretty blonde in her 20’s with a southern drawl. In an area with heavy German accents, she stood out. During Kosovo, I was sent to Rhein Main to support cargo jets, tankers and JSTARS aircraft. When I came back to Spangdahlem, the home station fighters were gone and the base had been taken over by F-117’s. It was a great aircraft and I enjoyed watching them fly around our home. I’ve not seen any in recent years, but I hear that they are still flying out there.
YES, I am very happy to be on my own doing this as I know it should be done and without the constraints of partners telling me to cut this corner or that corner or do other things I think are .... well, frankly stupid.
Fascinating story. Seems like his ability to pivot intelligently has served him well over the years. That's the kind of person you want to get stuck on a deserted island with...lol
Great to see this interview today. As a matter of coincidence, I'm wearing the ProTek Titanium Field 3000 Series Tritium Blue which has been great for me. Thanks Marc and Barry for an informative talk.
Great story and great interview Mark. I bought a Luminox Navy Seal chronograph with a Rhonda movement back in the 90s and its still going strong. I wore it daily for 10 years and beat it to death. I replaced the crown stem once and put a new Luminox factory bracelet on it and it still glows bright enough at night even though we have reached the half life of the tritium. I have several other Luminox watches and I will now follow Barry over to Protek. I have 30 plus watches including several luxury models but my tritium watches always go with me into my deer blind and to bed!
Wow, thank you. I'm thrilled you will now consider our ProTek watches and I can assure you when you get one you will be more than pleased. I guarantee it. BTW, and onoy as an FYI, it's Ronda without an H. Certainly nothing against Ronda - they are great people and make great movements, but this time since we are building these in Hong Kong opted for Citizen's Miyota movt, considered by many to be the most robust in the business.
Great guy. Great story-and it truly is about the story, as you know. This reminded me of your recent conversation with Random Rob, Mark. Kepp ‘em coming. Btw are you going to do a vid on the new Islander Calabro GMT-or are you still building inventory, bc I’m sure the first run is going to sell out! Another great Islander GMT-from the enthusiast’s brand. Congrats!
Enjoyed the interview. Definitely need another one with him sharing more info. I really liked the image of that Protek blue dialed Field ⌚ that popped up briefly near the end. Another one on my radar. I'd like to hear more about his interaction with BALL and big hitters when Tritium started to gain traction.
Wonderful interview and fascinating story. I bought a luminox F-17 Nighthawk in titanium with integrated bracelet and green tritium. Lasted 20 years and was worn every day. Don't like what Luminox offer at moment so will definitely check out your new pro tek line. Do you ship to Australia? It was fantastic to hear the story from the man who was responsible for the watch I loved.
Managed to get my hands on one of the 1000 series. Nice build quality, light weight . They have the t25 illumination. The t100 is much brighter imo. I thought the price was a bit steep on these for a quartz movement but the 10 year life is nice. If he ever makes it into an automatic or even charging with light like an eco-drive with t100 illumination it be totally worth the 450.00. Barry seems like a great guy.
First, thank you for picking one up. The Field series has T-100 lume if this is what you'd seek, so of course it reads as brighter since it has more tritium in the watch. As for the price, we just got a stellar review from A Blog to Watch on the carbon watches from a certified watchmaker, and he opined that we offer the best value in tritium watches for what we put into the watches, and build quality. Sure, they can be made to sell for less, but then we would have less quality features and lesser components in them. When I conceived this brand, the whole idea was to make them the best way I thought they could be made without compromises. and in in fact we are living with smaller margins than watch industry standards in order to offer more quality for less and offer an outstanding value for what one gets.
Yes, it's sort of unfortunate that marketing is so important in getting products to the people. We see plenty of sub-par products that can be big successes solely because of this, because of massive amounts of money being spent to scream their story, and show their goods, but I can assure you our manufacturing is exemplary with all built in clean-room conditions. I would also beg to differ with you on the design, but of course this is a very subjective assessment. Our designer created some of the best TAG Heuers ever including the Formula One, so he is no slouch, and I think he did another masterful job on ProTek designs. But agian, I'm subjective and love what we created. Thankfully, most have agreed, at least thus far.
What a nice guy! Great show. Do more of these. I first saw Luminox in a LL Bean catalog. I thought they MUST have had a long history even then. Now I know the story. I'll be looking at the Protek ti field watch. I have a Marathon now and like you said, any time of night...they are bright. Hey, you can use that if you want. Ha!
Very kind comment - thank you. As for your offer, we already have a "through line" of Rugged at Heart to define the brand, and a tagline of All Terrain Watches.
@@barrycohen3733 No I haven't. The summer has flown by and along with it any spare shopping time. My "collection " is in fact shrinking. Hope business is going well.
For waht it's worth, I had some trepidation about going down to 40mm and was waiting for some of the bigger guys we met at the SHOT Show to challenge the size. Remarkably, not one did even when asked for their thoughts on the size! I think you will find it to be wonderul as a dialy-wear timepiece.
@@barrycohen3733 hey Barry, thank you for the reply especially from the owner of the company… it shows that you care which means a lot to the customer. I will be purchasing one very soon and hopefully it fits my wrist. It should because it has a short lug to lug to fit on my 6 3/4 inch wrist The thing that made me want this watch is the T 100 tubes. I already have a tritium T25 marathon GSAR
@@barrycohen3733 Yes Barry I got the blue field watch version with the T 100 tubes and I love it and it’s much brighter than my Marathon GSAR….. I have been wearing it almost nonstop since I’ve got it….oh I wear it now on rubber straps…..Thanks for a killer watch 👍
@@barrycohen3733 So far I'm loving my carbon case Protek Diver! I wear it over my other watches because it is so lightweight. I dislike how much the crown needs to be spun to advance the date complication by one; thankfully the movement is quartz and hardly requires any adjustments. If Protek offered a pure white fkm rubber 22mm strap I'd buy it as well as the steel diver with white face in a heartbeat, although the included dark brown strap is alright.
Those in the know tell us we have the best value in tritium lume watches on the entire market so that should men ours are worth the prices we have set. Try one and see if you love it. I think you will.
Of course, sorry to read this. I know the quality is actually very good so that is not in question. If that night view does nothing for you, I'm really sorry. I find it mesmerizing.
@@barrycohen3733 I want to like it, really. And I’m sorry I had to say that, but I can’t. I went ahead and put in my box and will revisit it in a few months
Thank you Marc for sharing how luminox evolved with the founder. As a watch collector I have a few luminox watches such as the 911 and the lume is great. As a LE Officer I do appreciate the tritium on my duty issued Glock 21. Thank You.
I hope you will try a Protek and add this to your watch assortment. I am confident you will love our watches.
@@barrycohen3733 how does LumiBrite fit into the story?
❤Barry Cohen! He designed a beautiful series of custom luminox watches for my brother (an F-117 stealth fighter pilot) and his squadron during the Kosovo campaign. Black stainless with both stainless link and leather and pvc bands, with an F-117 engraved on the back. That meant a lot in terms of morale - and that watch was actually used by dozens of F-117 pilots on combat sorties in Kosovo and also in Iraq 2003.
Barry is an absolute legend! Genuinely nice guy and passionate about making beautiful and truly combat-spec watches!
It was my honor to make those for them, and I would love to do it again. I you know of any such opportunities pls let us know. We are already in development for several law enforcement agencies but would love to do work for military groups too.
I met a few of those guys when they relocated to Spangdahlem. I believe they were pushed out of Aviano due to so many aircraft coming there. The F-117 guys moved to the Spangdahlem base hotel. My wife stocked the mini bars there. She would talk about the pilots when she got home, but she usually only remembered their call signs. I wouldn’t be surprised if your brother remembered her. She was a pretty blonde in her 20’s with a southern drawl. In an area with heavy German accents, she stood out.
During Kosovo, I was sent to Rhein Main to support cargo jets, tankers and JSTARS aircraft. When I came back to Spangdahlem, the home station fighters were gone and the base had been taken over by F-117’s. It was a great aircraft and I enjoyed watching them fly around our home. I’ve not seen any in recent years, but I hear that they are still flying out there.
Thanks for the interview Mark, I love these style of videos. Barry sounds happy to have left to start his own thing again
I aree
*agree!
YES, I am very happy to be on my own doing this as I know it should be done and without the constraints of partners telling me to cut this corner or that corner or do other things I think are .... well, frankly stupid.
Maybe a longer interview than you planned for, but all interesting good stuff! Thanks!
I was totally engaged and found this video interview fascinating and entertaining. Thanks Marc for making it possible. You rock!
GREAT INTERVIEW!!!!!
Thanks for sharing 👍
Excellent video Marc, please do more interviews!
Fascinating story. Seems like his ability to pivot intelligently has served him well over the years.
That's the kind of person you want to get stuck on a deserted island with...lol
Great to see this interview today. As a matter of coincidence, I'm wearing the ProTek Titanium Field 3000 Series Tritium Blue which has been great for me. Thanks Marc and Barry for an informative talk.
Thank you so much for your purchase. It means a great deal to us as such a young brand.
The world has changed, $50,000 deals could be made with a handshake, the end of an era!
Sad, but so true.
Great story and great interview Mark. I bought a Luminox Navy Seal chronograph with a Rhonda movement back in the 90s and its still going strong. I wore it daily for 10 years and beat it to death. I replaced the crown stem once and put a new Luminox factory bracelet on it and it still glows bright enough at night even though we have reached the half life of the tritium. I have several other Luminox watches and I will now follow Barry over to Protek. I have 30 plus watches including several luxury models but my tritium watches always go with me into my deer blind and to bed!
Wow, thank you. I'm thrilled you will now consider our ProTek watches and I can assure you when you get one you will be more than pleased. I guarantee it. BTW, and onoy as an FYI, it's Ronda without an H. Certainly nothing against Ronda - they are great people and make great movements, but this time since we are building these in Hong Kong opted for Citizen's Miyota movt, considered by many to be the most robust in the business.
I'm curious if you ever pulled the trigger and picked up a Protek? We want you in our fold and with us.
Great guy. Great story-and it truly is about the story, as you know. This reminded me of your recent conversation with Random Rob, Mark. Kepp ‘em coming. Btw are you going to do a vid on the new Islander Calabro GMT-or are you still building inventory, bc I’m sure the first run is going to sell out! Another great Islander GMT-from the enthusiast’s brand. Congrats!
Enjoyed the interview. Definitely need another one with him sharing more info.
I really liked the image of that Protek blue dialed Field ⌚ that popped up briefly near the end. Another one on my radar.
I'd like to hear more about his interaction with BALL and big hitters when Tritium started to gain traction.
Thanks. Always available for more discussions with Marc, who is a terrific guy. All his videos are great.
I think we will have another discussion soon. Stay tuned. I do have a VERY FUNNY Ball story to tell Marc.
Wonderful interview and fascinating story. I bought a luminox F-17 Nighthawk in titanium with integrated bracelet and green tritium. Lasted 20 years and was worn every day. Don't like what Luminox offer at moment so will definitely check out your new pro tek line. Do you ship to Australia? It was fantastic to hear the story from the man who was responsible for the watch I loved.
Thank you for your very kind words. We can help you if marc does not ship to Australia. We ship globally.
Managed to get my hands on one of the 1000 series. Nice build quality, light weight . They have the t25 illumination. The t100 is much brighter imo. I thought the price was a bit steep on these for a quartz movement but the 10 year life is nice. If he ever makes it into an automatic or even charging with light like an eco-drive with t100 illumination it be totally worth the 450.00. Barry seems like a great guy.
First, thank you for picking one up. The Field series has T-100 lume if this is what you'd seek, so of course it reads as brighter since it has more tritium in the watch. As for the price, we just got a stellar review from A Blog to Watch on the carbon watches from a certified watchmaker, and he opined that we offer the best value in tritium watches for what we put into the watches, and build quality. Sure, they can be made to sell for less, but then we would have less quality features and lesser components in them. When I conceived this brand, the whole idea was to make them the best way I thought they could be made without compromises. and in in fact we are living with smaller margins than watch industry standards in order to offer more quality for less and offer an outstanding value for what one gets.
Def like the looks and feel of the 1000 series Barry. Thx
Notice that it's 100% marketing that's important for watches. Not manufacture, not technology, not engineering, not design.
Yes, it's sort of unfortunate that marketing is so important in getting products to the people. We see plenty of sub-par products that can be big successes solely because of this, because of massive amounts of money being spent to scream their story, and show their goods, but I can assure you our manufacturing is exemplary with all built in clean-room conditions. I would also beg to differ with you on the design, but of course this is a very subjective assessment. Our designer created some of the best TAG Heuers ever including the Formula One, so he is no slouch, and I think he did another masterful job on ProTek designs. But agian, I'm subjective and love what we created. Thankfully, most have agreed, at least thus far.
That’s an awesome story almost like Carol Shelby had fifteen or so different versions of the Shelby hut same cars basically
Humbled by your kind comment.
❤Barry Cohen! LEGEND!
Deeply humbled by your more than kind comment.
I enjoy sarcasm if this is what was intended.
@@barrycohen3733nope you’re pretty popular in the watch community amigo
What a fantastic story !!!!
Sincere thanks. All true.
Did you ever pick up a Protek yet? We hope you will.
Any chance we will see an Islander tritium watch in the future?
For Marc to respond but more than happy to help him.
Terrific Story. makes me want to buy a PROTEK.
Thanks. Needless to say, we would love to welcome you to the brand.
Did you ever pick up a Protek?
i have not yet!@@barrycohen3733
What a nice guy! Great show. Do more of these. I first saw Luminox in a LL Bean catalog. I thought they MUST have had a long history even then. Now I know the story. I'll be looking at the Protek ti field watch. I have a Marathon now and like you said, any time of night...they are bright. Hey, you can use that if you want. Ha!
Very kind comment - thank you. As for your offer, we already have a "through line" of Rugged at Heart to define the brand, and a tagline of All Terrain Watches.
Curious if you ever picked up a Protek yet?
@@barrycohen3733 No I haven't. The summer has flown by and along with it any spare shopping time. My "collection " is in fact shrinking.
Hope business is going well.
What a great f@@king story! Thanks for doing this, Mark!
Thank you.
Nice looks on the 3000, but I can't be bothered to replace any batteries. Make an automatic or solar and I'd buy one
I have been looking at the Protek field watch online at Long Island watch and really like it….just have to judge if the 40mm will work on my wrist
For waht it's worth, I had some trepidation about going down to 40mm and was waiting for some of the bigger guys we met at the SHOT Show to challenge the size. Remarkably, not one did even when asked for their thoughts on the size! I think you will find it to be wonderul as a dialy-wear timepiece.
@@barrycohen3733 hey Barry, thank you for the reply especially from the owner of the company… it shows that you care which means a lot to the customer. I will be purchasing one very soon and hopefully it fits my wrist. It should because it has a short lug to lug to fit on my 6 3/4 inch wrist The thing that made me want this watch is the T 100 tubes. I already have a tritium T25 marathon GSAR
@@garyz0611 I hope you do pick one up and enjoy it. and yes, I do care ..... a lot. I also have a small wrist and they all fit me perfectly.
did you ever pull the trigger and get a Protek?
@@barrycohen3733 Yes Barry I got the blue field watch version with the T 100 tubes and I love it and it’s much brighter than my Marathon GSAR….. I have been wearing it almost nonstop since I’ve got it….oh I wear it now on rubber straps…..Thanks for a killer watch 👍
I may have to try one of these out.
Of course we would love for you to do so. I think you'll be more than pleased.
@@barrycohen3733 So far I'm loving my carbon case Protek Diver! I wear it over my other watches because it is so lightweight. I dislike how much the crown needs to be spun to advance the date complication by one; thankfully the movement is quartz and hardly requires any adjustments.
If Protek offered a pure white fkm rubber 22mm strap I'd buy it as well as the steel diver with white face in a heartbeat, although the included dark brown strap is alright.
You could pick up a watch and then look for an after market white strap? @@ComeOnPelican91
Maybe will buy.
I have one a wore on patrol in the 90’s and I would like to have it reconditioned how can I do that? It doesn’t work and the lum is shot
One what?
I wore the luminox for years love that it
Shame video freezes up after the 8 minute 40 seconds mark
Any idea what the three brands that are going out of business/ being sold?? I got the vibe that Luminox was one of em. Hopefully not marathon
I'm sure Marathon is quite secure, and no way Luminox is going under.
@@barrycohen3733 oh ok thanks Barry ! Great interview looking forward to more!
@@jjjfffppp Very kind of you to say this. I'm open to move interviews if Marc is. Always stories to tell.
Did you ever pick up a Protek? @@jjjfffppp
Are these going to be sold in Europe?
We just put on a European distributor. Get my email info from Marc and I will get you in touch with him. Hes a great guy!
From. Luminox. To. A. Founders. Story
I thought he was talking about Casio I’m surprised about this name it’s confusing
Branding is a bit confusing, given that Pro Trek is a thing ...
Trek is a journey, Tek is for our (lume) technology. Very different things.
@@barrycohen3733 But very small edit distance; surprised that PTO were willing to approve the tm.
I have owned two luminox watches, and I personally don’t think they are worth the price. G shocks are cheaper and ALOT tougher.
Those in the know tell us we have the best value in tritium lume watches on the entire market so that should men ours are worth the prices we have set. Try one and see if you love it. I think you will.
Got the ProTek field 3000. I actually regret buying it. It’s not bad quality, per se. It just does nothing for me.
Of course, sorry to read this. I know the quality is actually very good so that is not in question. If that night view does nothing for you, I'm really sorry. I find it mesmerizing.
@@barrycohen3733 I want to like it, really. And I’m sorry I had to say that, but I can’t. I went ahead and put in my box and will revisit it in a few months
@@meskes4059 I'm glad you were honest about it, but of course I'd love it if you got to enjoy it and wear it.
Pls revisit it and wear it and see if you fall for it. @@meskes4059