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Stainless vs Aluminum - Why buy SS?

Mikeeee said:
I had the aluminum version before returning it for the SS. On day 5 with the aluminum I accidentally banged a metal door. Sure enough there was a scratch right in the top left quadrant. It drove me crazy. Every time I looked at the watch I immediately focused on the scratch. You do not want to experience this level of suffering. If you can, buy SS and sapphire.
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I don’t obsess over scratches, my watches are used and I’m under no illusions this particular watch will be redundant in a drawer in a couple of years. I certainly won’t pay more money than the £360 I paid, for a stainless steel version with the same shelf life.

My 11 1/2 old AW2 is in good condition and I’m happy with its durability for its price.
 
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Mikeeee said:
I had the aluminum version before returning it for the SS. On day 5 with the aluminum I accidentally banged a metal door. Sure enough there was a scratch right in the top left quadrant. It drove me crazy. Every time I looked at the watch I immediately focused on the scratch. You do not want to experience this level of suffering. If you can, buy SS and sapphire.
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Agreed. I had a similar situation when I first owned the Sport model, the scratch annoyed me and I sold it shortly after. Then I purchased the stainless model and zero scratches thus far. I know it's more expensive and the stainless model doesn't hold anymore value Over the aluminum necessarily, but if that means the trade off is added protection, then I can justify the price tag.
 
The SS model is a much more luxurious watch in terms of feel as well as it's visual impact on the wrist and is worth every penny of the Aluminium Model.
 
The SS model is ridiculously overpriced. It probably costs about $10 more to make. I would never ever buy a brand new one because of that and the depreciation.

But. I have one! I bought one from CEX and 2nd hand it's an absolute bargain! SS is much better than Alu (feel and look wise) and the screen has not one single scratch in over 1 year! I would say it is flawless!

My advice, buy one new if you can afford it if you can't, wait a year and buy one for less than half price! :)
 
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honglong1976 said:
The SS model is ridiculously overpriced. It probably costs about $10 more to make. I would never ever buy a brand new one because of that and the depreciation.

But. I have one! I bought one from CEX and 2nd hand it's an absolute bargain! SS is much better than Alu (feel and look wise) and the screen has not one single scratch in over 1 year! I would say it is flawless!

My advice, buy one new if you can afford it if you can't, wait a year and buy one for less than half price! :)
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I had an SS series 0 since launch. I just replaced it with a SS series 3. It is overly expensive but, I am delighted every time I look at it. If Apple offers an SS in two or three yrs I will get one. Well worth it to me. I tried the aluminum but, returned it a week later.
 
Sold my 3 month old spacegrey Aluminium series 3 two days ago and got a new series 2 SS silver.
Couldn't stand the scratches on the display which were caused by the black milanaise loop which I won't use with the new sapphire watch anymore as I read it might also scratch the sapphire glas.
Will use a black leather band and a black sportsband for hiking and mountainbiking etc.
 
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Arni99 said:
Sold my 3 month old spacegrey Aluminium series 3 two days ago and got a new series 2 SS silver.
Couldn't stand the scratches on the display which were caused by the black milanaise loop which I won't use with the new sapphire watch anymore as I read it might also scratch the sapphire glas.
Will use a black leather band and a black sportsband for hiking and mountainbiking etc.
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That is true, the black Milanese loop can scratch the sapphire and the heart rate sensor area. You just have to make sure you're careful how you set the watch down with the black Milanese loop.
 
BasicGreatGuy said:
The black has a coating on it that gives it its color. Both bands will scratch the watch if one is not very careful. There are plenty of reviews on the Apple site warning against the band scratching the face and back of the watch.
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Absolutely. I have many bands and the one I’m most careful with is the black Milanese loop band. It has the same diamond like coating as the SBSS watch case.
 
Thanks for the heads up! I will stay far away from those bands although I love the way they look.
 
dmaxdmax said:
Thanks for the heads up! I will stay far away from those bands although I love the way they look.
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No need to reject it. Just take a little care. My SBSS w/Milanese loop is in perfect condition. Don’t let it scare you if it’s what you really want. It’s really a beautiful combination.
 
lyutin said:
i had aluminum before (original) and at some point couldn't stand it - it felt like a cheap toy. Even wearing it to work I felt it had the yack appeal. As my other mechanical watches, even smart watch should be stainless steel, its a whole different ball game. I too like you at first questioned why the hell would i pay 2x premium if internally its identical? But after I got SS version my frustration went away. Yes its heavier, I see it as more substantial, its a positive thing for me. I also have few bands, one of my favorites is link bracelet - yes, before you say anything, its expensive - but when you pair it with SS AW its elegant, sharp and I can pull it off in 99% of scenarios (work, out and about, taking my kid to the park, with a suit, etc.) So yea its more expensive then aluminum, but the premium is worth it. Every kid and their friend is wearing Aluminum, and I think SS stands out more. I would never go back to aluminum after having SS.
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This is exactly how i feel about SS vs aluminium. I tried S1 aluminium last year and after only 1-2 weeks, I returned it. It looked tacky, toy like and just didn't fit me at all. I disliked it so much that I decided to rather not have it at all than to have aluminum even-though I liked the AW added functionality. Fast forward year later and I scored a nice deal on SS S2 from Best Buy and I love it. I have the one with Milanese band and not only it looks and feels more substantial, but more importantly, it does not feel like I have a cheap toy on my wrist!

I understand that SS is not for everyone simply because of the cost or perhaps even because some might not like the look, but if you are questioning if you should go with SS, you probably should forget the aluminium and jump right into SS - you wont regret it.
 
My original watch was aluminium and my Series 3 is stainless steel (both silver); I really like both and I’m not sure which way I’ll go next time I upgrade (which probably won’t be for 2 or 3 years unless some great new feature comes along).
 
Well, after the paranoia of scratching the screen of my aluminum AW3 Nike + edition (GPS only), I decided to bite the bullet and return it for a SBSS AW3 (GPS + Cellular). Of course I don’t really need the cellular feature, but the SBSS only comes in cellular and what is an extra $10/mo, right? Lol
 
Srbell67 said:
Well, after the paranoia of scratching the screen of my aluminum AW3 Nike + edition (GPS only), I decided to bite the bullet and return it for a SBSS AW3 (GPS + Cellular). Of course I don’t really need the cellular feature, but the SBSS only comes in cellular and what is an extra $10/mo, right? Lol
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you were able to return it scratched?
 
I am sorely tempted to get a SS. I have a series 3 aluminum, and the screen is already really scratched up. I love the look and weight of the aluminum watch, but I hate the scratched screen. I had a series 0 SS and I hated the dim screen and the weight. I honestly cannot decide which I like better.

The screen protectors seem to only last about a week before peeling off, so that isn’t really a great solution. I even bought a glass screen protector and cracked it after two days.
 
gorkt said:
I am sorely tempted to get a SS. I have a series 3 aluminum, and the screen is already really scratched up. I love the look and weight of the aluminum watch, but I hate the scratched screen. I had a series 0 SS and I hated the dim screen and the weight. I honestly cannot decide which I like better.

The screen protectors seem to only last about a week before peeling off, so that isn’t really a great solution. I even bought a glass screen protector and cracked it after two days.
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Think of how much better your life will be with the SS in your life and on your wrist. The sun will be brighter, the skies blue and clear. Co-workers will think twice before giving you unnecessary grief. Men will notice something different and intriguing about you. The faint whisper you have recently heard in your head is your heart longing for what it needs; the SS model. Your heart wants to be happy. You want to be happy. Do the right thing and empower yourself with a new watch. You deserve it.
 
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