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S5 Ceramic Owners
- Thread starter garethjs
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The shade of white for the solo loop is indeed different from the ceramic strap which is more of a cream. It’s comfortable though.
The online measurement tool suggested a size 4 for 15.1cm wrist, so I ordered one online. While waiting to be admitted to the Apple Store for a pick-up, the staff offered me to try the printed in-store measurement tool to confirm the size. It suggested a 5 which caused them to scramble. Ultimately, the size 4 fits me nicely.
The online measurement tool suggested a size 4 for 15.1cm wrist, so I ordered one online. While waiting to be admitted to the Apple Store for a pick-up, the staff offered me to try the printed in-store measurement tool to confirm the size. It suggested a 5 which caused them to scramble. Ultimately, the size 4 fits me nicely.
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Well, sold my ceramic as I wanted something different and they’re going for a healthy amount on eBay. Was great to be part of this thread and I wish you all the best. 
That's actually disapointing. I thought it was a milled out piece of solid ceramic.
I would say that’s reassuring as ceramic is very brittle despite its hard surface finish. You are less likely to incur damage with an internal chassis holding components in place.
I also agree with this.. but you're paying a premium for a ceramic coated steel frame. lol
I *think* the series 2/3 also had a steel frame inside, but this definitely looks a little more like coated steel as opposed to an actual build. But then, the ceramic series 5 is less ceramic construction in general since the back is just the same black ceramic (heh) insert as all the watches.
I don’t think it’s a ceramic coating. It a steel insert within a machined ceramic outer case by the looks of it. Judging by some of the images of these watches when they’ve been dropped and the lugs have shattered, I’d say a fair proportion of the casing is ceramic.
Someone a long time ago posted in this thread a photo of their Ceramic - after dropping it onto a tile floor - it was all cracked apart. It was pure ceramic.
It's a ceramic powder that is baked at intense heat to shape,
It's a ceramic powder that is baked at intense heat to shape,
Interesting find. Not that it makes a difference anyone purchasing this watch, so it’s more of a ceramic coating than it is a fully embedded ceramic casing.
Figured I should add this- my Series 2 came with a book that explained the following on the manufacturing process.
Material
Apple's advanced material development team created a custom ceramic powder made from zirconia, yttrium oxide, and alumina. This combination gives the ceramic its unique color and ensures that it maintains its beauty and strength.
Molding
To create the blank from which the case will be machined, the ceramic powder blend is mixed with a binder and formed in a precision-engineered compression mold.
Sintering
After the blank is machined into the case form, it is sintered at 1500 degrees Celsius for 35 hours. This isotropically reduces its size by 20 percent.
Finishing
More than 70 diamond-grit CNC cutters machine every Apple Watch Edition case--a process that takes up to six hours. Each case then undergoes two hours of polishing to increase strength and achieve its characteristic depth and lustre.
No metal insert is mentioned, and the included pictures show a ceramic internal- no metal components added for strength.
In other words... it's likely just a thin support there to screw junk in to. You can see in the button cutout that it's actually really thin. The ceramic is the majority of the thickness, and goes all the way to the bottom side of the button! Not to mention, Series 5 models still have that fat bezel, which points to an overly thick ceramic layer.
(Or maybe it's a coating... based on that book on the manufacturing process, it sounds like it would be pretty hard to stick a steel frame in there with such tight tolerances.)
As far as I know, you can’t just buy an official ceramic case.
You have to buy the entire Series 5 Ceramic Watch, which isn’t sold anymore.
The battery on mine was doing weird things, at 40% it would reboot, then it showed 10% battery left. If I turned it off and back on again it would show the 40% again. I unpaired and repaired but made no difference. Battery health was 88%! Called apple advising on battery issues and did an express replacement. New one is 100% battery health and all ok now.
Good as new. Charge it everyday for 90 minutes overnight. AOD enabled.
Thanks to your post, I’ve only just discovered that watchOS 7 has Battery Health for the Apple Watch.
On your watch, go into Settings > Battery > Battery Health.
thanks for the tip.
Just checked my Ceramic Apple Watch.. after a year i still have 92%.
I charge the watch every day over night, and just in case it should get worse, i still have AppleCare+ for 2 more years.
Pretty bummed they dropped ceramic again for s6. Still rocking my s3 edition and battery life is pretty solid. Hope they bring it back for s7!