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Which has the hardest wearing finish?

Retroglide08

Retroglide08

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 4, 2013
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Ok, I’m late to the game but I’m going to pop into my local Apple Store today and have a look at both the SS and Titanium variants (if I’m stock) my question is, which finish is the most durable? I know that none are mark/scratch resistant but I’m wondering if any finishes wear better than others.
TIA ☺️
 
ruslan120 said:
To complicate things, stainless steel has a satisfying weight to it, titanium is tougher but lighter. The additional weight of the watch is nice for added resistance when worn on the non-dominant wrist
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Believe it or not, The difference between the 44 mm stainless and 44 titanium, is a mere 6g. That’s not much lighter under the stainless. They’re both very comparable to each other in the weight category.

Edited for weight measurement from Oz to Grams.
 
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Relentless Power said:
Believe it or not, The difference between the 44 mm stainless and 44 titanium, is a mere 6 ounces. That’s not much lighter under the stainless. They’re both very comparable to each other in the weight category.
Click to expand...

Think you mean 6 grams? 6 ounces is 170 grams!

Couldn’t find S6 data but S5 (44mm) numbers are:

Aluminum 36.5g
Titanium 41.7g
Stainless 47.8g

So Titanium is closer to Aluminum than Stainless.
 
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Mike Boreham said:
6 ounces sounds a lot for something strapped to your wrist...that nearly half a pound. I would have thought it would be noticeable.
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This is one of those times where I need to go back and edit my post to put grams instead of ounces. Huge difference. 😁 Thanks.
 
6 grams, not six ounces. The 44 mm SS watch weighs 1.69 ounces without the band. The Ti 44 is 1.47 ounces. Hardly noticeable.
 
Like another poster, I have a black S3 S S and it still looks brand new. I've banged it so often that I deadset thought it'd have scratches, and it may, but to the naked eye it's perfect.

I don't know what the price diff is between the two, but if that's a major point of purchase for you, then I have no hesitation in recommending the S S if it's cheaper.
 
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I would go with whichever you prefer the look of ......... both are very durable, although I did return my original Titanium when the S5 was released because of small marks it attracted but I now understand that these are fairly easy to buff out.

I had a SBSS S4 (my son still uses this daily) and currently S5 which I wear for pretty much everything, neither have any marks to the naked eye. I'm waiting for delivery today of my new graphite :)
 
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George Dawes said:
Having had a titanium seiko , I can vouch it’s very light , almost too light ...
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Weight isn’t really an issue to be honest. It’s the durability of the finish that I’m more focused on. But I appreciate your point. I have some monstrous G-Shocks. So anything else will definitely seem lighter
 
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For me:
1. SS silver. dificult to scratch, but in case of scratches you can polish it very easily.
2. Natural Ti. A little more easy to scratch than the SS, but you can also polish
3. SS black. Very very difficult to scratch, but no solution if you scratches
4. TI black. the worst. In the thread of the ti s5 you can see a lot of ti black with scratches

the most beautiful for me is the Ti black, but reading the thread of Ti and see all the scratches... I have canceled the order..
 
Protozo said:
For me:
1. SS silver. dificult to scratch, but in case of scratches you can polish it very easily.
2. Natural Ti. A little more easy to scratch than the SS, but you can also polish
3. SS black. Very very difficult to scratch, but no solution if you scratches
4. TI black. the worst. In the thread of the ti s5 you can see a lot of ti black with scratches

the most beautiful for me is the Ti black, but reading the thread of Ti and see all the scratches... I have canceled the order..
Click to expand...
Thanks, I’m really leaning towards the natural Ti at this moment. But the SS Silver could be a plan b
 
Retroglide08 said:
Ok, I’m late to the game but I’m going to pop into my local Apple Store today and have a look at both the SS and Titanium variants (if I’m stock) my question is, which finish is the most durable? I know that none are mark/scratch resistant but I’m wondering if any finishes wear better than others.
TIA ☺
Click to expand...

are you in the US? According to apple.com, not a single store in TX is reopened. I‘m curious about other places.
 
The brittleness of titanium makes me wary of it, it's also naturally softer than most stainless steels. I've had poor experiences with titanium cased products in past, including Apple's infamous "TiBook".
 
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grade 5 ti omega uses is pretty awesome. Based on the color it looks like Apple is using the softer grade 2 which scratches easier then steel. Dlc I feel SS and ti are about the same. People think ti is harder then SS. Its not its stronger . I tried to bend my Apple Card and it was nearly impossible. For a small watch case I’d say hardness is more important. That’s why I go dlc with either.
 
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richard371 said:
grade 5 ti omega uses is pretty awesome. Based on the color it looks like Apple is using the softer grade 2 which scratches easier then steel. Dlc I feel SS and ti are about the same. People think ti is harder then SS. Its not its stronger . I tried to bend my Apple Card and it was nearly impossible. For a small watch case I’d say hardness is more important. That’s why I go dlc with either.
Click to expand...
Well, I visited the Apple store and fell in love with the Graphite Black SS. Love how it’s not quite black and not a dark silver. You also lose where the screen ends and the case starts. Really pleased with it.
 
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The DLC watches are more scratch resistant than the bare steel or titanium watches, initially, and it appears the shiny Space Black DLC (and likely Graphite DLC) on steel are more scratch resistant than the duller Space Black DLC on the titanium.

That being said, once the DLC watches scratch, the scratches are there to stay. The bare steel and titanium watches scratch and wear-in more like a regular luxury watch, but the scratches can be brushed out, if desired.
 
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