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SS Graphite == Space Black?

Tim Cook: «The 2021 Apple Watch.. more durable than EVER..» Also Tim Cook: «…sshhh ? Don’t tell we have replaced the durable coating with trash. Go for all about the glass» ..I believe they must have said.

It’s all a big lie the whole thing about more durable than ever. It’s opposite.
 
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MrGimper said:
Is the graphite being only PVD actually that big of a deal?
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as above post, DLC is more scratch resistant.

But, it all depends, in my case, my SB SS of 2.5 years (I had it replaced through AC+ ~5 months ago) actually had scratches (minor but real) on the sapphire but the body was flawless and I attribute that to the DLC coating, I wear my watch mountain biking, yard work and I bang if frequently, so for me, not having DLC IS a big deal.
 
jz0309 said:
as above post, DLC is more scratch resistant.

But, it all depends, in my case, my SB SS of 2.5 years (I had it replaced through AC+ ~5 months ago) actually had scratches (minor but real) on the sapphire but the body was flawless and I attribute that to the DLC coating, I wear my watch mountain biking, yard work and I bang if frequently, so for me, not having DLC IS a big deal.
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Yeah but the extra cost here to go SSB ti from my SSG is $200AUD more, I already paid $270 more than a aluminium, not worth paying near $500 more for a watch that does the same anyway, my SG aluminium is still excellent after near 2 years, think I would rather get AC and if it gets knocked around replace it, would be still cheaper.
 
ElDuderino91 said:
If you read the posts from the last 7 days in various threads on MR, you’ll find people telling the forum they talked to an Apple Watch specialist and he confirmed it is dlc just like the previous years. 2 minutes later you find a different person telling the opposite. Let’s just confirm those so called specialists have no idea what’s going on and are just reading from the specs. And yes, the specs don’t list it anymore as dlc. But there could be lots of reasons why Apple didn’t advertise the coatings for the SS watches this time. In fact the gold was listed as pvd last year and isn’t anymore. But it’s still pvd coated. And if you dig a bit into coatings and learn why and how they are made and what they look like, you could come to the conclusion the graphite and space black SS are still dlc like they ever were.
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I wanted to share this with you: https://www.apple.com/watch/compare/. Apple updated the finishes section graphite is not dlc. It is pvd.
 
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CWallace said:
Evidently folks found Apple technical documentation for the Graphite Milanese Loop that noted the coating was PVD though that does not necessarily mean the watch uses PVD, as well.

The Gold Stainless was confirmed back in Series 4 to use a PVD coating and yet they don't mention that anymore in their tech documents. So it is possible Apple dropped mentioning the coating for the Stainless watches and only continues with the Space Black Titanium because it is a new(er) finish and in time, it too will also drop the (DLC) mention.

Personally, I'd argue that since Space Black Titanium is DLC and that finish sure looks similar to Graphite to me, I would assume Graphite is DLC for that reason, too.
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Apple updated the finishes section: https://www.apple.com/watch/compare/. Graphite is pvd
 
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jssrea said:
I'm upgrading from an S5 SBSS to an S7. I'm looking to get the same look, but I see this year (and I believe it was the same with the S6), there is no Space Black option for Stainless Steel. Instead there is a Graphite one. Is the Graphite of the same color and also with the DLC coating as the old SBSS, and just a wording thing, or the color is actually different?

Thank you.
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Apple updated the finishes section: https://www.apple.com/watch/compare/. Graphite is pvd
 
Well good to have it official, now.

Mind you, I plan to get Gold for my next SS watch so I always knew I was going from DLC to PVD.
 
sonstar said:
Yeah but the extra cost here to go SSB ti from my SSG is $200AUD more, I already paid $270 more than a aluminium, not worth paying near $500 more for a watch that does the same anyway, my SG aluminium is still excellent after near 2 years, think I would rather get AC and if it gets knocked around replace it, would be still cheaper.
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I just checked. SB ti costs about $100AUD more than graphite. I would pay $100 more for DLC, an extra sport band and longer warranty.
 
Ugh! Why do I keep coming back to this damn forum?!!!?????

Spent time over in the phone section, and between vacillating over color … graphite vs sierra blue, AND dealing with “gap-gate”!! I thought I was in the clear!

Nooooooo, now I’m OCDing about PVD vs DLC!!!
Forget it, I’m keeping this damn watch, I managed to get a good deal $669 for a 45mm SS GRAPHITE. I’ll revisit this next year (S8) and preorder a Hermès.
 
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Why not aim for the Space Black Titanium edition? That’s what I am about to do.
 
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I reached to Apple Support to confirm that the Hermes Space Black SS watch does still utilize DLC coating. Honestly I don't know if I really believe whatever they state but they said that the S7 no longer uses DLC for the Space Black SS watch.

Edit: I see the revised "Finishes" document clarifies that it IS DLC.
 
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dstew201 said:
Ugh! Why do I keep coming back to this damn forum?!!!?????

Spent time over in the phone section, and between vacillating over color … graphite vs sierra blue, AND dealing with “gap-gate”!! I thought I was in the clear!

Nooooooo, now I’m OCDing about PVD vs DLC!!!
Forget it, I’m keeping this damn watch, I managed to get a good deal $669 for a 45mm SS GRAPHITE. I’ll revisit this next year (S8) and preorder a Hermès.
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There is something about this stuff that makes us all less mentally healthy. I sometimes miss the pre-internet times when we went to a store and simply picked out something there. At most, we'd read one or two magazine reviews, but usually not even that. And we somehow survived and still enjoyed our choices.

FWIW, I'm pretty sure the gold SS AW has always had PVD, and people like it just fine.
 
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bluespark said:
There is something about this stuff that makes us all less mentally healthy. I sometimes miss the pre-internet times when we went to a store and simply picked out something there. At most, we'd read one or two magazine reviews, but usually not even that. And we somehow survived and still enjoyed our choices.

FWIW, I'm pretty sure the gold SS AW has always had PVD, and people like it just fine.
Click to expand...

Apple should have put the material specifications on the watch—especially when they charge so much for them. Gold has always been PVD
 
Even though I have been careful I have still managed to knock my S7 Graphite a few times. Lucky no scratches as yet. I'm very happy I went the Graphite this year.
 
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