Titanium AW5 thread

[LostAggie]

I didn’t have any scratches on my SBTI when I returned it. Seeing the store models, it definitely scratches but seems to take some effort to do so. I always have bought SBSS before and never scratched those.

I went with ceramic because of the uniqueness, durability, and love the white.

 

[Toonartist]

This seems to be a common myth on this forum and all depends on how an individual plans on treating their watch. Sure the Ion-X will scratch easier than Apples version of sapphire due to it being a softer material but if you are not someone who regularly bashes your watch into hard objects then it’s not an issue. I’ve worn an aluminium for years and not had an issue. MKBHD did a Series 5 review last week and commented that he’s never had an durability issues.

I only point this out because it’s becoming quite a theme in this section to suggest the aluminium watch scratches easily and some poster who are first time AW users have invested in more expensive models due to this fear when it’s likely it wouldn’t have been an issue in the first place.

When I bought the SBSS I also got my wife the Alu silver as she preferred that over the stainless. She opted not to use a screen protector and managed to get to about the 3rd week before a 4mm scratch appeared. She wasn't aware of knocking it and she isn't exactly clumsy. I've been applying a screen protector film every 3 months or so ever since.

If someone is concerned about scratching a watch then I wouldn't recommend the Alu myself... they may be lucky or, extremely careful and not get a mark... but, it is more than likely to pick up a scratch or two.

I wear my SBSS when working on the car, in the garden etc and it is still mint. I'll certainly be buying my wife one of the Sapphire glass watches next year.

 

[spinedoc77]

I imagine the crystal on the watch is sapphire and still looks pristine, unless you have a Rolex with an acrylic crystal, so I'm assuming the swirls you are referring to are on the metal case.

Aren't these swirls basically scratches in circular patterns? And is it stainless steel?

And have you ever sent your Rolex for servicing and had it polished?

It would be interesting to see a picture of the swirls for comparison purposes.

Yes only on the case, the sapphire is still flawless. I've scraped that watch hard against concrete walls and really banged it with power tools but it's indestructible. I haven't had it serviced, I've been meaning to do that but I don't wear it much anymore and it's out of sight/out of mind. I don't think I'd even have it polished, I'd mainly just have it serviced internally.
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Did you try to scratch the natural titanium or the space black titanium? The space black titanium has a DLC coating so I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't get it to scratch. I would be surprised if you weren't able to scratch the natural titanium.

I noticed faint scratches on the underside of my natural titanium watch which I find odd because of the location. There is only three things that could scratch that part,

1. My skin - We can rule this out.
2. A band - I've only used the sport band so even if I did fumble putting it on, it's too soft to scratch the casing.
3. The charger - Maybe but every time I place the watch on the charger the magnets connect it so it's not like I'm fumbling around with it.

Odd, makes me wonder if there are some issues with the way the coating is applied. All of the scratches on my watch are also perpendicular to the brushed finish, including the scratches on the underside of the watch.

It was the natural titanium one. I took the sharp corner of the link bracelet and pressed firmly and ran it across from left to right right over where it normally slides in, repeated this a few times and no scratches. I don't have my own yet as the leather bands are constantly out of stock and I'm waiting to get a leather band with it, hopefully soon.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

When I bought the SBSS I also got my wife the Alu silver as she preferred that over the stainless. She opted not to use a screen protector and managed to get to about the 3rd week before a 4mm scratch appeared. She wasn't aware of knocking it and she isn't exactly clumsy. I've been applying a screen protector film every 3 months or so ever since.

If someone is concerned about scratching a watch then I wouldn't recommend the Alu myself... they may be lucky or, extremely careful and not get a mark... but, it is more than likely to pick up a scratch or two.

I wear my SBSS when working on the car, in the garden etc and it is still mint. I'll certainly be buying my wife one of the Sapphire glass watches next year.

That’s fair enough and my advice would be if on the other hand someone is concerned at smashing their watch then the sapphire will be weaker than the Ion-X. The pros and cons of each eh?

 

[Toonartist]

That’s fair enough and my advice would be if on the other hand someone is concerned at smashing their watch then the sapphire will be weaker than the Ion-X. The pros and cons of each eh?

Yeah, with improved scratch resistance it loses out on drop resistance. One reason why I still bought Apple Care + for both. That said, I haven't broken my Fenix 5 Sapphire or SBSS yet... but it is a watch and accidents can happen... if you keep your watch for 2 years or more the extra cover is worth it.

 

[LostAggie]

Yeah, with improved scratch resistance it loses out on drop resistance. One reason why I still bought Apple Care + for both. That said, I haven't broken my Fenix 5 Sapphire or SBSS yet... but it is a watch and accidents can happen... if you keep your watch for 2 years or more the extra cover is worth it.

I love the new monthly option for Apple Care!

 

[Toonartist]

I love the new monthly option for Apple Care!

Yeah, makes it a no brainer to be honest... for the peace of mind alone!

 

[afallnstar]

I’ve been following this thread for weeks. Finally pulled the trigger today. Hopefully it holds up.View attachment 869522

What band is this? Do the lugs match the titanium?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Yeah, with improved scratch resistance it loses out on drop resistance. One reason why I still bought Apple Care + for both. That said, I haven't broken my Fenix 5 Sapphire or SBSS yet... but it is a watch and accidents can happen... if you keep your watch for 2 years or more the extra cover is worth it.

I don’t think monthly AppleCare is offered outside of the States and it’s pretty expensive in the UK for the full policy. I do without it and if I need to replace a device I have my home contents insurance which covers accidental damage anyway. I’m not interested in the most expensive iPhones or AW’s though so it’s less of a need I suppose.

 

[wileycoyote]

So I was in Vegas and picked up the ceramic... I had to return my original SBTi because the screen glass had an imperfection but the local stores in PHX didn’t have SBTi to replace. Had every intention of getting another SBTi while in Vegas but really was drawn to the ceramic.

Then looking at the SBTi i the store it was scratched on the crown! The Apple store employee said he has seen some of the SBTi units scratches. I asked to clarify it was the SB variant and he did. He did say he has seen the SBSS scratched but that was super rare.

I really like the look of the SBTi but the ceramic is calling me this go around.

I was a similar situation in that I lived with the SBTi, Ti and Ceramic for a week each. And I’ve finally settled on the SBTi.

The ceramic was just too white and felt bulkier. I had a S3 grey ceramic and loved it, but the white seriously cuts down on my band options and I am not paying $1400 to only be stuck wearing sport bands or loops. I did like the ceramic with my SBlink band but that would have literally been the only band I would have worn it with if I had kept it. I just wanted more variety in band choices.

Natural Ti is probably my favorite looking of the three. Something about the luster of the metal. I did end up getting some nicks and decided I needed to settle for the SBTi for it’s hardiness.

Back to my trusty SBTi

 

[Donstil-nl]

Yesterday I ordered a TI with Sportloop.
delivery was 4 weeks.

Now it’s on “Prepare for shipping” and my CC is charged. So that’s quick!

 

[maka344]

I returned the SBTi. It looked too similar to the Alu for my liking - at a glance, you simply cannot tell the difference. And if spending that amount, I want something that stands out so went back to SBSS.

it’s like buying a base spec BM vs the M-Sport Plus - the package just makes it look like a whole different car/class.

 

[Toonartist]

I don’t think monthly AppleCare is offered outside of the States and it’s pretty expensive in the UK for the full policy. I do without it and if I need to replace a device I have my home contents insurance which covers accidental damage anyway. I’m not interested in the most expensive iPhones or AW’s though so it’s less of a need I suppose.

I'm in the UK. I paid £75 for SBSS last year but it's gone up to £89 this year. iPhone Pro this year is £199... which is quite a lot.

 

[andyw715]

Ordered a natural Ti, saddle loop, lg, yesterday; OCT 28-Nov 4 delivery date

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I'm in the UK. I paid £75 for SBSS last year but it's gone up to £89 this year. iPhone Pro this year is £199... which is quite a lot.

Yeah it’s just too much to entertain for me and especially as I look after my devices. £199 is a third of what my iPhone cost new so it’s probably best just to lose it should I damage it badly enough.

 

[markol]

In Canada, the saddle brown leather loop just got bumped to delivery for Friday in the GTA. This morning it was still showing early-mid November delivery.

 

[MusikerB]

My 44mm Ti with Black leather loop was delivered today. I am so far very happy with my choice although taking sharp pictures of the watch seems harder than expected. Greetings from Berlin

 

[Ariaizadi]

What band is this? Do the lugs match the titanium?

I bought it from a Shinola store. They have a watch bar and they can fit any leather band with the Apple Watch mechanisms. They have the parts in stainless steel silver and a matte gunmetal color.

 

[44267547]

I returned the SBTi. It looked too similar to the Alu for my liking - at a glance, you simply cannot tell the difference. And if spending that amount, I want something that stands out so went back to SBSS.

The space black titanium is a matte black finish, obviously whereas the stainless space black is a high gloss. Realistically, I have to agree with what you said about how the black titanium is comparable to the aluminum in terms of ‘looks’, I do think the natural titanium versus the regular aluminum has some striking differences in terms of how it looks. But it depends really how closely you look as well.

 

[Strangedream]

The space black titanium is a matte black finish, obviously whereas the stainless space black is a high gloss. Realistically, I have to agree with what you said about how the black titanium is comparable to the aluminum in terms of ‘looks’, I do think the natural titanium versus the regular aluminum has some striking differences in terms of how it looks. But it depends really how closely you look as well.

A woman was sitting across me in the bus the other day and from a 6-7ft distance I couldn't tell whether she was wearing a SBTi or SGAl but I definitely knew it wasn't a SBSS and she had an S5 because of the AOD.

 

[maka344]

The space black titanium is a matte black finish, obviously whereas the stainless space black is a high gloss. Realistically, I have to agree with what you said about how the black titanium is comparable to the aluminum in terms of ‘looks’, I do think the natural titanium versus the regular aluminum has some striking differences in terms of how it looks. But it depends really how closely you look as well.

Nail on the head. I love the finish, the quality and the look the SBTi offers but it just looks like the regular Alu model - the differences are just not enough for the price point. The high gloss SS obviously stands out and can you tell instantly that it’s a cut above the Alu, just like the SS too.
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A woman was sitting across me in the bus the other day and from a 6-7ft distance I couldn't tell whether she was wearing a SBTi or SGAl but I definitely knew it wasn't a SBSS and she had an S5 because of the AOD.

Yes, this too! Someone was holding the door for me and had a standard SG Alu, I quickly looked at mine and at a glance, you cannot tell the difference so the SBTi literally just looks like the standard Alu model.
The natural Ti not so much but the scratch potential is too high.

 

[jxfo]

Had my natural Ti for three weeks now and still not a single scratch. Even dropped it from the charged in a hotel room once but it was fine. Really happy I went with the Ti, I think it's the best looking AW made so far!

I've been using the included light grey Sport Band so far but I'm thinking about picking up a Pine Green Sport Band and/or a leather band as well. Either the Apple Saddle Brown one or a more classic third party leather loop...

 

[tcuphk]

has some scratches, but guess they are come with. Some of them are slight, able to view in some direction under room light.

 

[Strangedream]

The ceramic looks quite funny on the SBSS link bracelet and doesn't match imo. I mean you have this beautiful dark yet reflective very professional-looking bracelet. And then you have the happy peppy clear white pure ceramic that almost look like a toy from a distance sitting on your wrist.

Don't get me wrong, the ceramic is gorgeous and feels and looks very premium when you look at it up close ... from a 5-15" distance.

 

[BaddAdvice]

EDIT: wrong thread - sorry guys and gals!