Scratching the $1300 dollar Apple Watch - is it really 'Sapphire'?

[Lennyvalentin]

I would highly recommend people buying the ceramic edition to get Apple Care. Minimum service cost for out of warranty service for the ceramic version is $800.

Yeah, well, as much as I'd love to upgrade to a ceramic series 4 next year, it's somewhat out of my price bracket I think, especially if I also want to upgrade to an iPhone Y (or whatever the heck they'll decide to call it... )

Applecare costs the same for edition series watches as steel and alu? If yes, then it'd be well worth it I'd think. I will probably have to settle for alu again, but I'll do spaca grey this time, since my silver alu case hasn't scratched to any noticeable degree. I'd hate for the metal to show through the outer anodizing layer, which is why I went with silver the first time, but I seem to have worried over nothing.

Thus, based on personal experience I think space grey will be a safe, more stylish choice, because light color bands (to match lugs with the silver case) look grubby after some time of use. Yuk!

 

[Blas]

Yeah, well, as much as I'd love to upgrade to a ceramic series 4 next year, it's somewhat out of my price bracket I think, especially if I also want to upgrade to an iPhone Y (or whatever the heck they'll decide to call it... )

Applecare costs the same for edition series watches as steel and alu? If yes, then it'd be well worth it I'd think. I will probably have to settle for alu again, but I'll do spaca grey this time, since my silver alu case hasn't scratched to any noticeable degree. I'd hate for the metal to show through the outer anodizing layer, which is why I went with silver the first time, but I seem to have worried over nothing.

Thus, based on personal experience I think space grey will be a safe, more stylish choice, because light color bands (to match lugs with the silver case) look grubby after some time of use. Yuk!

It's $99 for the edition apple care. The edition also comes with 2 years of warranty versus 1 with the aluminum and steel models.

You should be fine with space grey but if it gets a deep scratch, the scratch will be more visible since underneath it's the silver aluminum color.

 

[BarracksSi]

What was that about taking a softer material and rubbing it hard enough to make “scratches” on sapphire?

Yeah, that’s not how this works.

What happens — WAY more often than not — is that the softer material rubs off onto the sapphire.

It’s like chalk on a chalkboard. You obviously didn’t “scratch” the chalkboard with a stick of chalk when you demonstrated 2+2 for your classmates. Uh... you guys are old enough to remember chalkboards in school, right?

SECONDLY, and REPEATEDLY...

That Tissot has an uncoated crystal. It’s not like more expensive watches that have anti-reflective coatings. Those coatings can, and do, scratch, even though they’re used on sapphire (which is part of why Rolex does not use such coatings). The Tissot in his video is just plain sapphire and has no coating to suffer scratches.

Some of you guys need to learn a lot more before passing judgment.

 

[twennywonn]

What was that about taking a softer material and rubbing it hard enough to make “scratches” on sapphire?

Yeah, that’s not how this works.

What happens — WAY more often than not — is that the softer material rubs off onto the sapphire.

It’s like chalk on a chalkboard. You obviously didn’t “scratch” the chalkboard with a stick of chalk when you demonstrated 2+2 for your classmates. Uh... you guys are old enough to remember chalkboards in school, right?

SECONDLY, and REPEATEDLY...

That Tissot has an uncoated crystal. It’s not like more expensive watches that have anti-reflective coatings. Those coatings can, and do, scratch, even though they’re used on sapphire (which is part of why Rolex does not use such coatings). The Tissot in his video is just plain sapphire and has no coating to suffer scratches.

Some of you guys need to learn a lot more before passing judgment.

You are not honestly saying the pick wiped off on the Apple watch display, are you? Come on... You know what happens when you wipe chalk with a rag, you remember from school right?

 

[BarracksSi]

You are not honestly saying the pick wiped off on the Apple watch display, are you? Come on... You know what happens when you wipe chalk with a rag, you remember from school right?

Yes, I am. Go back to post #9 and read the other links that he added, particularly the ones with Corning responding to this same guy.

You push one material against another and, unless both are super-smooth and zero-friction, one will rub off onto the other. It happens with chalk on chalkboard, it happens with car tires on roads, and it happens when a soft Mohs pick gets shoved against a watch crystal.

There are wristwatches with hard ceramic bezels, too. Pretty much every complaint about “scratched” ceramic turned out to be a mark left by material that had transferred onto the ceramic (yes, like chalk onto a chalkboard... again). The usual fix is to rub it with an ink eraser, and the ceramic turns out as clean as new.

And if the soft picks are scratching anything, it’s the coating, not the sapphire.

I don’t think this guy has the balls to buy a luxury watch with a coated sapphire crystal and attack it with his picks.

 

[ManicMarc]

Is it actually the sapphire that's being scratched, or the oleophobic coating? I assumed it was the latter.
For what it's worth, I have a £100 sapphire Casio that's about 11 years old now, and I've bashed it against the metal bit that pokes out of door handles many times. Not a scratch. One time there was a blemish, but I was able to wipe it away - it dawned on me later that this was actually some of the metal from the door mechanism that had come off!

 

[Zxxv]

You are scratching the anti-glare coating. Not the sapphire.

Why in the world would Apple add a coating that scratches?

Is it actually the sapphire that's being scratched, or the oleophobic coating? I assumed it was the latter.
For what it's worth, I have a £100 sapphire Casio that's about 11 years old now, and I've bashed it against the metal bit that pokes out of door handles many times. Not a scratch. One time there was a blemish, but I was able to wipe it away - it dawned on me later that this was actually some of the metal from the door mechanism that had come off!

Why would you put a coating on sapphire at extra cost that scratches easier
[doublepost=1506842248][/doublepost]And the sapphire display doesn’t feel like anything is on it. It feels like any other sapphire watch face and feels different to the sport model which you are feeling the oleophobic coating on. It feels the same as an iPhone.

 

[ManicMarc]

That coating you're referring to on top of the sapphire display, is known as the oleophobic coating. Its an organic material that essentially is used to help prevent against minor scratches, but it does eventually wear off.

It's used to make it easier to wipe fingerprints from the display using for example, your sleeve.

 

[Zxxv]

Did people not watch the video where he talks about the olephobic coating and how if it’s there you can burn it off like he shows in his other videos and then he guess what, burns the watch to see if it’s there and guess what, it doesn’t melt or burn off like it should if it were there. Try and watch the whole video before bashing on your keyboard through a veil of angry tears.

 

[ManicMarc]

Why in the world would Apple add a coating that scratches?


Why would you put a coating on sapphire at extra cost that scratches easier
[doublepost=1506842248][/doublepost]And the sapphire display doesn’t feel like anything is on it. It feels like any other sapphire watch face and feels different to the sport model which you are feeling the oleophobic coating on. It feels the same as an iPhone.

If you can, look at an iPhone that's 2 or 3 years old where it's worn off, or if you still have one, a pre 3GS iPhone/iPod Touch. The screens look noticeably misty, and shiny, whereas the ones with the coating have an almost 'matte' quality to them.

 

[Zxxv]

If you can, look at an iPhone that's 2 or 3 years old where it's worn off, or if you still have one, a pre 3GS iPhone/iPod Touch. The screens look noticeably misty, and shiny, whereas the ones with the coating have an almost 'matte' quality to them.

See my post above. And watch the video from start to end. He covers about the coating.

 

[ManicMarc]

See my post above. And watch the video from start to end. He covers about the coating.

I usually watch those videos without sound, because they often start with some obnoxious choice of music that bears no relation to the content. Don't see any angry tears, just some interesting people having a debate.

 

[Zxxv]

I usually watch those videos without sound, because they often start with some obnoxious choice of music that bears no relation to the content. Don't see any angry tears, just some interesting people having a debate.

Then you’ve just lost all credibility on everything and anything you say.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

The Apple watch sapphire definitely scratches (cracks) when you fall off your mountain bike. The mesh strap is impossible to bend by bare hands, and yet the fall did it...

Watch still runs, hand is not back to normal after 4 months. Apple replaced watch and mesh band under AppleCare+, so that was nice. It's easier to see the screen with the watch off (a few days later when I brought it to Apple).

However, Since April 2015 none of my 3 Apple Watches developed a scratch unless slammed into the ground at 15mph.

PS: My Omega Grey Side of the Moon with Ceramic case/pushers/crown has not a single scratch on the ceramic case or sapphire crystal after 2 years.

 

[Billburns]

Well that’s not sapphire!

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

It's $99 for the edition apple care. The edition also comes with 2 years of warranty versus 1 with the aluminum and steel models.

You should be fine with space grey but if it gets a deep scratch, the scratch will be more visible since underneath it's the silver aluminum color.

The best reason to get the AppleCare+ on the Edition Watch is for the damage protection/coverage, which for a small deductible will get it replaced in the event of damage, not just a manufacturer defect. See above.

 

[richard371]

Yea I’m glad you didn’t have the gsotm on during that accident as that would have been an exp mistake. Don’t think any watch would would have survived that wo a scratch. I’ll prob add the apple care for piece of mind to my gray side of the apple.

I used to own the dsotm and really enjoyed that watch but had to flip it when my ceramic Daytona came in.

The Apple watch sapphire definitely scratches (cracks) when you fall off your mountain bike. The mesh strap is impossible to bend by bare hands, and yet the fall did it...

Watch still runs, hand is not back to normal after 4 months. Apple replaced watch and mesh band under AppleCare+, so that was nice. It's easier to see the screen with the watch off (a few days later when I brought it to Apple).

However, Since April 2015 none of my 3 Apple Watches developed a scratch unless slammed into the ground at 15mph.

PS: My Omega Grey Side of the Moon with Ceramic case/pushers/crown has not a single scratch on the ceramic case or sapphire crystal after 2 years.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Yea I’m glad you didn’t have the gsotm on during that accident as that would have been an exp mistake. Don’t think any watch would would have survived that wo a scratch. I’ll prob add the apple care for piece of mind to my gray side of the apple.

I used to own the dsotm and really enjoyed that watch but had to flip it when my ceramic Daytona came in.

I'd love the ceramic bezel Daytona at a fair price. I turned down an offer to receive a NIB white dial ceramic bezel Rolex Daytona in exchange for my Omega Grey Side of the Moon + my 40mm Rolex Polar Explorer II + a chunk of cash. And the cash he wanted was wayyyy too high. I'd never part with my GSOTM.

I offered my Explorer II and Omega Speedmaster CK-2998 Limited Ed re-issue + $4K and he turned me down (that would have equalled the $16K after he'd sell the watches after the trade).

 

[Blas]

^ haha, I called the rolex store and was told the wait is probably 2-3 years for the white dial one. I'm patiently waiting.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

^ haha, I called the rolex store and was told the wait is probably 2-3 years for the white dial one. I'm patiently waiting.

I put myself on the list 2 days after they were announced, at both Rolex AD in Denver.

 

[44267547]

Well that’s not sapphire!

Yes, it is. You seem to not understand what Sapphire is or its properties.

 

[richard371]

Consumer reports scratch test says it can handle a 9.

https://www.consumerreports.org/sma...-a-top-performer-in-consumer-reports-testing/

 

[KarimLeVallois]

Consumer reports scratch test says it can handle a 9.

https://www.consumerreports.org/sma...-a-top-performer-in-consumer-reports-testing/

Well there you go.... a proper test...

 

[loplop]

I will probably have to settle for alu again, but I'll do spaca grey this time, since my silver alu case hasn't scratched to any noticeable degree. I'd hate for the metal to show through the outer anodizing layer, which is why I went with silver the first time, but I seem to have worried over nothing.

I am a fan of the look of the SG Alu, but my experience with my S0 wasn’t great relating to scratches. I have scratches through the anodizing on 3 sides of the watch, including the side nearest my forearm which totally puzzles me. That said, I wore it through everything and every activity, which I will also do with my S3... so I’m trying SBSS this time to see how it compares. I know it can absolutely scratch through the DLC but maybe it’ll hold up for me.

Conversely, I’m actually quite happy with the performance of the Ion-X Glass. I do have a few scratches, and some pinpricks, but they’re invisible unless you tilt it just right in the sunlight.

In any case, wanted to warn you. Silver is probably the best choice if you’re worried about scratches. Here’s a photo of my SB Alu.

Watch still runs, hand is not back to normal after 4 months.

.

Yikes! Get well soon. I think Sapphire is somewhat brittle, as are bones

 

[DRDR]

He did a material analysis of the crystal in a later video, using professional lab gear getting the molecular compounds through a section of the material and on the material:

He found out, that the composition of the crystal does show some anomalies compared to different manufactures. If this is the reason for easier scratching I do not know. Maybe the manufacturing process can be optimized.