PLS HELP! Hologram vanished from holographic watch

Holography related topics.
mrlb
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Dec 20, 2018 10:41 pm

PLS HELP! Hologram vanished from holographic watch

Post by mrlb »

Friends,

I'm clutching at straws here, with the hope that someone might be able to give me some positive insights here.

My friend had a LASART holographic vintage watch which was a prize possession. The battery was flat but she still used to wear it around because the hologram looked awesome. In trying to do something nice I replaced the battery and got the watch going again.

HOWEVER, almost a week later I picked up the watch and the hologram had vanished. It's no where to be seen!! The watch had been sitting in my car a few days and the car would of been hot (Australian summer). The watch was on the seat slightly covered by something but not in direct sunlight that I was aware of nor was the face physically in contact with anything.

I don't know if these holograms are underneath the watch glass or on top. I suspect it is a film on top as the orginal photo attached shows partial wear of one part of the watch face. If on top then I thought maybe the transfer film might of come off in the heat but there's absolutely no evidence of this.

Does anyone know what could of happened?
Could direct sunlight exposure destroyed the hologram? Or lack of light caused it to loose it's affect?
Could expose to heat destroyed it?
Could there be any way I could magically restore it?

I put the watch in the freezer for a while in the hope it might magically reappear to no avail.

If there is nothing I can do to restore this beautiful art piece hologram AKA if I'm screwed. Is there some way I can get a new art work printed/made and apply a new transfer film?

I've attached some before and after photos for reference. I don't know how I am going to break this news to my friend i'm quite desperate for a solution :( :( thank you.
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HoloM
Posts: 89
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2015 4:53 pm

Re: PLS HELP! Hologram vanished from holographic watch

Post by HoloM »

No good news , so on the second picture you see already
that it had begun vanishing on one edge. The problem with this watches is that they may have not been sealed very good and so moisture is going in very slightly, which damages the hologram permanently, maybe that big heat also has the same effect.
Maybe also mechanical stress can start it or fasten it.

So many of the watches and pendants from these time have vanished in the meantime. I also have a few which have begun or are already off completely.

I don’t know if anyone successfully restored one, I think bob tried it in alcohol but don’t know the result.

Normally it’s not a film on top but a Gelatine layer between two glass plates which should be sealed that no moisture can come in.

Some of the watches allow to change the hologram by screwing off a ring. If so you could try to find a replacement.

But I think it will be difficult to find the same, and maybe even more difficult to find a complete watch .

So sorry for the bad news but you are in company of many other vanished holograms...
Joe Farina
Posts: 804
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:10 pm

Re: PLS HELP! Hologram vanished from holographic watch

Post by Joe Farina »

Unfortunately, not repairable. Sorry.

I might suggest checking eBay from time to time, for a similar DCG watch by Lasart. They do show up, now and then. The following is a sold listing, but this seller has quite a collection of DCG which he sells regularly on eBay (you might want to look at his sold listings also, in addition to the current ones):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hologram-Lasar ... 7675.l2557

What happened with yours is that moisture penetrated the edge of DCG (dicromated gelatin) layer, which is sealed (somewhat) between two pieces of glass, with some kind of clear optical adhesive. (One plate has the DCG layer, adhesive is applied on top of that, and the other piece of glass is brought into contact to form a sealed sandwich.) Moisture gets in the edge of the sandwich, and begins to collapse the tiny air voids in the gelatin layer. The combination of air voids/solid gelatin throughout the gelatin layer provides the index modulation to enable the hologram to reconstruct an image.

With older DCG holograms especially, it can be a hit-and-miss affair with regards to longevity. It depends on the knowledge, care, and effort that went into the sealing of the hologram. If the quality of the sealing is unknown, DCG holograms should be kept in a dry indoor environment at all times, less than 70% RH, preferably less than 65%. The below photo below shows a hologram I bought a couple months ago. This hologram may have been made in the 70's or 80's, but I'm not sure. When I received it, it was in perfect condition. I removed the metal band. There was some kind of shellac-like adhesive that was applied around the perimeter of the glass sandwich, to guard against water vapor penetration at the edge. I removed this adhesive, and within maybe a month, the hologram started to vanish along the edges (visible at the left bottom edge of the image in the photo). This hologram was even kept inside a dry house during the last couple of months.
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