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Series 2: No DLC coating?

fischersd said:
Only thing I can think of (why they removed it from the website) is that one of Apple's employees saw some of the pictures posted in the owner's thread here (some people that seemed almost purposefully finding surfaces with particulates approaching diamond hardness to grind their watches against) and really didn't want that sort of behaviour to continue. We all know how many irresponsible journalists there are out there - once you have a couple dozen cases of people gouging their watches, you'd have one or more of them making a story out of it.

(to those that don't know - if you're at a resort where the concrete walkways and walls have a "sparkly" look to them - keep your SBSS watch the hell away from it). Other concretes can as well, but if it's fancy looking, you can pretty much be guaranteed it does have those particulates in it.
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I'm not entirely sure if that's the reason. The only thing I can legitimately think of, is Apple wants to sell your product regarding features that the consumer understands. When you start getting to technical terminology with diamond like carbon coursing, it comes to the point where that's not a selling factor for most. Most to purchase the black stainless Apple Watch, likely purchase it because it's a different color and they replaced the DLC advertisement with more pertinent marketing features.

When we're discussing diamond like carbon coating on forums, it makes a difference to us. But for the typical, average consumer who wants to purchase an Apple Watch, they likely don't care about the DLC coating.

Just my opinion.
 
Yep, I think that's right. To put it another way, they've dropped that info so that the decision between Silver and Black is nothing more than a colour choice, as it should be.

Once someone decides on Stainless, they want the choice to be "OK, silver or black?" as equal options, not "silver or black, but the silver one doesn't use this special technique we use with the black one which results in it being super tough", making what should be a colour choice into something more complicated.

It's better that people who buy black unknowingly get a slightly tougher finish than for people who buy silver to feel like they chose the option that was second best in some particular aspect, even if they don't like the look of the black one and wouldn't buy it, etc.

tl;dr They don't want to complicate what should just be a choice of what colour you like best.
 
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maka344 said:
How durable are the DLC SS bands? I have just bought the Milanese SB combo and love how sleek it looks.
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Be careful with that band. Several people have had issues where they wrapped it around the face of their watch and it scratched up the sapphire (as the DLC coating is harder).

The DLC coating on the link bracelet doesn't seem to be nearly as durable as the coating on the watch body itself. Whether it's the material or just a much thinner coating - hard to say. This seems fairly standard in the industry though - many people report similar wear on DLC coated bands (typically around the edges the coating gets worn away over time).

If you don't wear it every day, chances are it will remain pristine for a very long time. I wore mine every day initially, but as I collected more bands, I tend to wear the nylon bands the most often. My link band is still flawless...no signs of wear (June will be two years that I've had it).
 
friednoodles said:
Yep, I think that's right. To put it another way, they've dropped that info so that the decision between Silver and Black is nothing more than a colour choice, as it should be.

Once someone decides on Stainless, they want the choice to be "OK, silver or black?" as equal options, not "silver or black, but the silver one doesn't use this special technique we use with the black one which results in it being super tough", making what should be a colour choice into something more complicated.

It's better that people who buy black unknowingly get a slightly tougher finish than for people who buy silver to feel like they chose the option that was second best in some particular aspect, even if they don't like the look of the black one and wouldn't buy it, etc.

tl;dr They don't want to complicate what should just be a choice of what colour you like best.
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Exactly. No need to confuse the consumer. Provide them the information they understand, options, check out. I enjoy the technicality of things, but most could be easily confused by things they don't understand. Sometimes, technicality can turn off the consumer away from the purchase.
 
I have a tiny micro-scratch on my S2 SS Space Black and have no idea how it got there. I have a knockoff Milanese Loop but the band has never nicked the side of the watch.

The shot makes it look much worse than it is. It only appears under that particular light, and cannot be felt with a fingernail. Still, unsure how it got there and was under the impression this wouldn't happen with the DLC coating on the Space Black.
 

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blasto2236 said:
I have a tiny micro-scratch on my S2 SS Space Black and have no idea how it got there. I have a knockoff Milanese Loop but the band has never nicked the side of the watch.

The shot makes it look much worse than it is. It only appears under that particular light, and cannot be felt with a fingernail. Still, unsure how it got there and was under the impression this wouldn't happen with the DLC coating on the Space Black.
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Unfortunately, the diamond like carbon coating on the space black is not impervious to scratches. It's just merely an added protectant over the 316 L stainless.

Some have been reporting that the Series 2 space black has been scratching easier then the first generation Apple Watch black stainless. I'm not sure if there's any accuracy behind that, as I own the first generation space black and I don't have any scratches on mine yet.

And the other downside with the space black, is its going to show scratches far easier than regular stainless. The other downside with the space black, is the scratches cannot be buffed out with the DLC coating intact.

At Least the scratches are minor and I would look at it like a gives the watch character.
 
Relentless Power said:
Unfortunately, the diamond like carbon coating on the space black is not impervious to scratches. It's just merely an added protectant over the 316 L stainless.

Some have been reporting that the Series 2 space black has been scratching easier then the first generation Apple Watch black stainless. I'm not sure if there's any accuracy behind that, as I own the first generation space black and I don't have any scratches on mine yet.

And the other downside with the space black, is its going to show scratches far easier than regular stainless. The other downside with the space black, is the scratches cannot be buffed out with the DLC coating intact.

At Least the scratches are minor and I would look at it like a gives the watch character.
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How are your link bracelets holding up?
 
abdulkar.im said:
How are your link bracelets holding up?
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No issues. No chipping or scratches. Both of them look like new. They have held up really well. They clean up easily with mircrofiber too. The black stainless band is my favorite of the two.
 
abdulkar.im said:
Awesome thanks, I think I may treat myself. :)
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They are awesome. Absolutely ingenious with the removable links and the bracelet is the perfect weight. It's not to heavy and thin enough where it's not in the way of anything. You'll like it.
 
blasto2236 said:
I have a tiny micro-scratch on my S2 SS Space Black and have no idea how it got there. I have a knockoff Milanese Loop but the band has never nicked the side of the watch.

The shot makes it look much worse than it is. It only appears under that particular light, and cannot be felt with a fingernail. Still, unsure how it got there and was under the impression this wouldn't happen with the DLC coating on the Space Black.
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Are you sure it's a scratch and not residue of something softer that's been left on the watch? (presuming you've tried buffing it?) An old toothbrush or other nylon brush with soap and water may be worth a try. Obviously, don't submerge the watch.

There are particulates as hard or harder than DLC out there. Also, if you have a tungsten carbide pocket knife, its edge could scratch the DLC coating.

If it is residue, it should wear off itself over time.
 
Relentless Power said:
They are awesome. Absolutely ingenious with the removable links and the bracelet is the perfect weight. It's not to heavy and thin enough where it's not in the way of anything. You'll like it.
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I used to have the SS link bracelet with my Series 0, just couldn't justify buying one with the Series 2 with the 25% increase over here.
 
blasto2236 said:
I have a tiny micro-scratch on my S2 SS Space Black and have no idea how it got there. I have a knockoff Milanese Loop but the band has never nicked the side of the watch.

The shot makes it look much worse than it is. It only appears under that particular light, and cannot be felt with a fingernail. Still, unsure how it got there and was under the impression this wouldn't happen with the DLC coating on the Space Black.
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May have been there since you bought it, too. I returned two Space Black AWs because I noticed tiny marks out of the box. They looked a lot like this.

I switched back to the regular stainless steel because I could polish it if need be. But I also covered it with an Armorsuit full body wrap and screen protector. Crazy, I know. But you can't even see it.
 
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