These paints were used on the dials of clocks and watches to make them glow-in-the-dark. When radium was discovered in the early 1900s, people were fascinated by its mysterious glow and it was added to many everyday products, including paints. Radium is one type of radioactive material that could be found in antiques. Glow-in-the-dark paint is now made without radioactive material, but in the early 1900s radioactive materials were used to make paint that glowed. Various clocks and watches are pictured with glowing numbers on their faces, due to radium’s glowing properties. However, it can register on a hand-held Geiger counter if the object is close enough to the monitor. The amount of radiation these items emit is small. Radioactive antiques can continue to emit very low-levels of radiation for thousands of years, if not longer. Cloisonné jewelry gets some of its yellow, orange and off-white colors from small amounts of uranium in the glaze.It also makes the glass glow bright green under a black light. This gives the glass its yellow-green color. Vaseline glass, or canary glass, contains a small amount of uranium.Ceramics made until the 1970s may have glazes colored with radionuclides.Clocks, watches and dials that glow-in-the-dark without the use of a battery may contain radium or tritium.Certain radioactive materials were used in antiques because of their unique color. Some antiques were made and sold before scientists fully understood the health effects of radiation. Antiques that contain radioactive materials are usually not a health risk if they are in good condition.Īlong with furniture, clothing, jewelry, dishes, and other treasures sold at thrift stores and antique shops, you might find some items that contain radioactive material.Antiques containing radioactive material may continue to emit very low-levels of radiation for thousands of years, if not longer.Certain radioactive materials were used in antiques because of their unique color.
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