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I've read here and on the Amazon reviews of the Seiko SKA427 that TiCN, Titanium Carbon Nitride, is more scratch resistant than PVD. Over and over I heard that PVD scratches, making me reluctant to get a black PVD watch.
Is this true? The Seiko SKA427 shown above is apparently treated with TiCN, not PVD.
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I can't answer that question. I've also wondered whether the Breitling blacksteel is actually blackened steel, or PVD-coated. I just couldn't buy a watch for thousands of dollars that is PVD-coated. It doesn't look great when it starts rubbing off, so you either have to pay for it to be re-coated or just consider the watch as having less longevity than a steel watch.
Posted by: jonnybardo | February 27, 2014 at 02:22 PM
All I know is what I read online. Which is that Titanium Nitride (TiN) is used to coat machine tools due to its hardness and costume jewelry because of its gold color. Titanium Carbon Nitride (TiCN) is a variant which is even harder and can be various colors depending on I couldn't figure out just what, but apparently one of the colors is gray. Wikipedia, eHow, and various gunsmiths' sites (they use this stuff as a gun finish) basically all claim this, but the toolmakers and gunsmiths are trying to sell it, so keep that in mind.
Posted by: bill | February 27, 2014 at 04:13 PM
If I sell off some of my watches that aren't getting enough wrist time----I probably still won't have enough to buy this watch. But it does say "Best Offer" so I can bid a little less than the Buy It Now price.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mens-Rolex-GMT-Master-II-White-Gold-116769TBR-G-Color-Diamond-Watch-Collection-/171002484865?pt=Wristwatches&hash=item27d08ad881
Posted by: Angelo | February 27, 2014 at 04:44 PM
Further reading tells me PVD is not a material, it is a technique- Physical Vapor Deposition. One of its advantages is "Ability to utilize virtually any type of inorganic and some organic coating materials on an equally diverse group of substrates and surfaces using a wide variety of finishes." (Wikipedia)
Since a PVD coating could be almost anything, its abrasion resistance could be anything from great to essentially none.
Guess what? TiCN is one of the materials commonly applied using the PVD technique. From what I read it should be plenty hard enough regardless, but if it isn't applied properly TiCN isn't going to stick to the substrate, regardless of how hard TiCN itself is-- and I bet that has happened on occasion.
Posted by: bill | February 27, 2014 at 05:39 PM
As mentioned, PVD is a coating process and doesn't tell you what the coating is. TiCN is insanely hard stuff, very close to diamond, but there's no such thing as a "scratch-proof" surface - just as dropping a diamond on its points can cause it to shatter, any concentrated enough force can cause a scratch in any kind of surface. But TiCN will give you the best odds of any kind of coating, and won't have any of the annoying hairline/faint scrub scratches that bare metal watches get over time.
If you're really worried about scratches, go with bare titanium, as minor imperfections can simply be polished out.
Posted by: StarHalo | February 27, 2014 at 07:05 PM
Angelo, I find it amusing that there are 431 offers I'm wondering how many of those are jokes, like $10.
Good info on PVD, Bill and StarHalo.
Posted by: jonnybardo | February 27, 2014 at 08:08 PM