radium is not "highly" radioactive, it would have been perfectly fine in the amounts used for gage faces.  This same technique is still used today in things like watch faces that you WEAR.,(reply>), Another reason Tritium is safer is because tritium illumination works using small, <b>sealed</b> vials of Tritium coated in phosphorescent material. The radioactive material is, under normal circumstances, completely contained in a sealed container. Radium paint was actually paint, and like all paint, it chipped, peeled, and flaked off. In other words, it's not really safe to be around.,(reply>), Modern self-illuminating watch dials use TRITIUM, not RADIUM. These are two very different things. <br><br>Tritium, while technically more radioactive that Radium, is much safer than Radium because it doesn't emit any gamma radiation. Tritium only emits beta particles, which are easily shielded by thin plastic, or even a sheet of paper. It also leaves your body very quickly if it is ingested, where as Radium accumulates in the bones.<br><br>Radium paint hasn't been used in watch dials, or anything else for that matter, since the 1960s when it was <b>banned.</b><br><br>I will never understand why people who clearly have no idea what they are talking about try to 'correct' others. You should try reading more and talking less. 🤣