« 7 Ways to Survive as a Watch Lover on a Budget | Main | 7 in the Watch Rotation Might be All I Can Handle »

February 08, 2015

Comments

jonnybardo

Well I hate to say it, but those two watches aren't "high end" in the watch world - so that's part of your answer. But I think the question could be asked of the MarineMaster 300m, which at $1800 retail must be one of the most expensive watches on the planet with mineral crystal. Any watch over $500 should be sapphire.

On the other hand, it is worth noting that "sapphire" is a bit misleading as not all sapphire crystals are created equal.

Jeff, you should really consider "modding" some of your watches. It is the thing to do with Seikos. I think that's a Japanese thing, sort of like those pimped out Honda Civics with spoilers and crazy rims.

Gary

I've read that one reason Seiko uses Hardlex mineral crystal rather than sapphire on their better dive watches is that Hardlex is much more shatter resistant than sapphire. These watches are built for actual scuba diving, so shatter resistance is probably more important than scratch resistance for this application.

jonnybardo

That may be true, Gary, but it doesn't explain the fact that they use sapphire on the even higher end SBDB001. I think the newer tunas and other high end divers have sapphire as well.

Angelo

I've read/heard the same thing Gary mentions. Sapphire doesn't do too well with hard impact, which sometimes happens with a watch. I really wonder about Invicta's "proprietary Flame Fusion" which claims to have elements of Sapphire and Mineral Crystal to give some of the benefits of both. But they also use sapphire on some of their more expensive watches too.

Gary

I suspect Seiko can use sapphire in place of Hardlex as long as it's thick enough, but this will increase the manufacturing cost and presumably the retail price.

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment

Your Information

(Name and email address are required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)

Advertisements






  • Advertisements

Advertisements






  • Advertisements

Advertisements






  • Advertisements
My Photo

Advertisements






  • Advertisements

Advertisements






  • Advertisements

Advertisements






  • Advertisements

May 2024

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
      1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31  
Blog powered by Typepad

Pages

Companion Website: Breakthrough Writer

My Photo

Become a Fan