First World Watch Lament: "If Only Seiko Would Use Double-Domed Sapphire."

I could sit down and make a list of several dozen such laments. But why doesn't Seiko use double-domed sapphire on their high-end timepieces?

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.