Oh how I love sapphire crystal...

[NotSafeForWork]

That's how I am too. I always think "oh that's it, this time it just has be scratched".

Yep. 4 months of crashing it into stuff and it's still like the day it arrived.

Only wish my iPhone screen was made of the same stuff.

 

[dagamer34]

How does sapphire stand up against brick? My Apple Watch Sport has already been marred by a wall. *tears*

 

[chillg8r]

Thanks for everyones input here as i just traded up from a sport to a watch. My only reservation about my SGS was with the crystal and now I am confident and worry free.....cheers!

I have a Rado that is 26 years old with a sapphire crystal and it looks the same today as the day I received it.

 

[shortcrust]

How does sapphire stand up against brick? My Apple Watch Sport has already been marred by a wall. *tears*

Bad luck! My sapphire's been smashed and scraped against brick walls with quite a lot of force a few times now. Not a mark. Same can't be said for the case, but I'm not really bothered about case damage. I know I can polish it if I want, but it seems to fade naturally over a couple of weeks.

 

[ericgtr12]

I regularly bang/brush mind on the granite tile in my kitchen, the corners are pretty sharp. A couple of times I thought there was no way I didn't scratch it this time, and nothing. Very impressed.

 

[shortcrust]

I've just got home from work and have a scratch right in the middle of my sapphire screen. I've been on a work away day and we had an 'energetic' team building exercise. It's possible that it got scratched by someone's diamond ring I guess. Is there any way to tell whether the scratch is on the coating or the crystal?

PS Also had a cup of tea spilt on an expensive leather bag, which has left a stain. Grrrr!

PPS You can 'feel' the scratch if you pass a plastic tooth pick over it, which I guess means damage to the crystal rather than the coating. I'm trying to comfort myself with the thought that it would be covered in scratches by now if it wasn't sapphire.

 

[jaymc]

I don't think the sunshine is overstated. I run and a number of times, I barely was able to see (in bright sunlight) the watch, I have to figure that the sapphire would be virtually unreadable in that situation.

As for the shattering, I'd say the risk of dropping a watch is more likely then scratching the glass. Just my opinion, its not based on any scientific study. Plus if I get a screen protector, I nullified the scratch resistant advantage of sapphire.

And what does that added screen protector do for readability?

 

[HOODFIELD]

I've owned both the Sport and SS. Bang a sport watch with a screen protector on a brick wall for sure it's either going to start peeling up or show damage. Sapphire is far superior.

 

[shortcrust]

I've just got home from work and have a scratch right in the middle of my sapphire screen. I've been on a work away day and we had an 'energetic' team building exercise. It's possible that it got scratched by someone's diamond ring I guess. Is there any way to tell whether the scratch is on the coating or the crystal?

PS Also had a cup of tea spilt on an expensive leather bag, which has left a stain. Grrrr!

PPS You can 'feel' the scratch if you pass a plastic tooth pick over it, which I guess means damage to the crystal rather than the coating. I'm trying to comfort myself with the thought that it would be covered in scratches by now if it wasn't sapphire.

I've booked an appointment at my local apple store. Will see how much the cost is. I know the max is £266.44 but don't know if the screen might be cheaper (doubt it!). The scratch is actually three pits and they're noticeable when the screen's on. Boo. Anyone had a screen replaced in the UK?

 

[BarracksSi]

Thanks for everyones input here as i just traded up from a sport to a watch. My only reservation about my SGS was with the crystal and now I am confident and worry free.....cheers!

I have a Rado that is 26 years old with a sapphire crystal and it looks the same today as the day I received it.

Hah! A Rado! I'm scared to hit my own Rado (and my SS AW) on a doorknob or concrete wall, but they've been good so far (knock on wood as usual). All my other daily-worn watches have edges of steel or rubber, but the AW and Rado are exposed. My Centrix is a lot newer than yours, though.

 

[omgitscro]

I don't think the sunshine is overstated. I run and a number of times, I barely was able to see (in bright sunlight) the watch, I have to figure that the sapphire would be virtually unreadable in that situation.

As for the shattering, I'd say the risk of dropping a watch is more likely then scratching the glass. Just my opinion, its not based on any scientific study. Plus if I get a screen protector, I nullified the scratch resistant advantage of sapphire.

I had a Sport model for about three and a half months, and a SS model for about a month. The only situations where I found it difficult to read one watch due to sunlight, I would have found difficult on the other.

I suggest giving the SS Watch a try, it will cost you nothing if you choose to return it. The sunlight issue is very strongly overstated.

 

[douglasf13]

There are stories and articles showing cracked sapphire screens. I don't know; I can't discredit them. All I know is I've owned many watches with sapphire screens, and it would take an awful lot to crack/shatter them. My Watch has proven its resilience and toughness a few times (band, too, which I'm even happier about). Then again, it could just be that one awkward fall and BOOM. Then again... again... my watches rarely share the same risk of falling that a phone might.

I've seen videos of cracked screens, though. They never show exactly how the screen cracked (9to5Mac had an article with a decent breakdown), but the only ones I've seen for myself involved some idiot and a hammer on YouTube, and another purposefully performing an exaggerated drop test on Facebook. I have a sneaking suspicion that if I were to drop it, say, in the sink, and it hit just right, it would crack. But so would the Ion-X glass. If that's the same glass they use on iPhones, a 1.5 ft. drop from the couch to the floor is (evidently) fatal.

Scratches? There's no contest. That's my biggest concern, and likeliest damage.

Sunlight? I can't tell a huge difference between the two, after comparing them with a coworkers' while out in the field, but it is there. Not enough for me to be bothered, or give up the scratch resistance of the sapphire screen.

As mentioned on another thread, it's likely because our Swiss watch sapphire is protected by a bezel, whereas the AW sapphire curves down around the outside edges. Also, both Ion-X and sapphire still have a coating that potentially shows scratches.

 

[chillg8r]

Hah! A Rado! I'm scared to hit my own Rado (and my SS AW) on a doorknob or concrete wall, but they've been good so far (knock on wood as usual). All my other daily-worn watches have edges of steel or rubber, but the AW and Rado are exposed. My Centrix is a lot newer than yours, though.
View attachment 579882

I actually do have a teeny weeny itsy bitsy chip on the edge of my Rado but you cannot see it without a glass, you can only feel it. This is the Rado model I have in case you are curious: http://www.watchallure.com/images/35/Rado-R22301152-Rado-Coupole-Collection-Ceramic-Watch_1_35_0.jpg Its similar to yours only its black ceramic.....

 

[Four oF NINE]

I've had both sapphire and ion-x glass Apple Watch, and I have a 20 year old mechanical watch with sapphire crystal that looks like it did when it was new. Yes, there's a bezel around the mechanical watch, but the sapphire protrudes outside the bezel too.

Ion-x glass is used for Space shuttle windows; while not up to sapphire, my hunch is that it's reasonably close.

 

[douglasf13]

I've had both sapphire and ion-x glass Apple Watch, and I have a 20 year old mechanical watch with sapphire crystal that looks like it did when it was new. Yes, there's a bezel around the mechanical watch, but the sapphire protrudes outside the bezel too.

Ion-x glass is used for Space shuttle windows; while not up to sapphire, my hunch is that it's reasonably close.

The sapphire that protrudes above the bezel is pretty thick, though. On the Apple Watch, the sapphire that curves around the corner edges of the watch looks pretty thin. For durability's sake, Apple probably should have gone with a bezel like the iPhone 3G at the edges, but it certainly wouldn't have been as elegant looking.

Ion-X is more shatter proof than sapphire, but at the cost of more potential scratches. It's just a trade off.