You can keep your sapphire glass! RANT....

[Angrybear]

Im really going off sapphire crystals. All my watches that have sapphire crystals I have stopped wearing. I just don't think they add anything to a watch (apart from scratch resistance )

I have been designing and building a number of my own watches recently, and do you know what isn't on my list of must have features? You guessed it....a sapphire crystal. They are just soulless in my opinion. Practical yes, romantic no. And I want a bit of romance in my watches. A bit of tradition. 

Im very lucky to have a rolex submariner in my collection (don't judge), with the ceramic bezel and the sapphire crystal. I haven't worn it in ages, but I got it out the other day to give it a clean and check everything was in working order. What struck me was that after a quick wipe down it looked like new. I went through a period of wearing this thing every day, all day, no matter what I was doing. I spent a good deal of my working day under cars, or inside engine bays, fabricating stuff, welding, etc etc. Through it all I wore that bloody submariner, and there still isn't a scratch on it!

On the other hand I finished building my new favourite watch about a week ago. I specced it with a big old high dome acrylic crystal because I just think they are special (almost as special as domed, flat bottom mineral crystals). Ive never seen a watch that doesn't look better with a high dome acrylic crystal on it. This evening I glanced down at it to check the time and noticed it was covered in scratches. I grabbed the poly watch, gave it a quick buff and it looked as good as new. NO, it actually looked better that new! I don't know what it is about acrylic crystals but the more you polish them the better they look. And you know what? Sitting down buffing that glass I bonded with that watch. I had to put some effort it and look after it, and now I can't stop looking down at the beautiful reflections on the glass when the light hits it in just the right way.

I think I never really bonded with the submariner because it was too easy. I never had to put any effort it. It left me cold.

I just don't think ease of ownership makes an item special. Out of all the cars I've owned my favourites certainly weren't the most reliable ones.

Sometimes I think we appreciate things more when we have to look after them. It feels like something that is perhaps being lost in more recent times. Everything feels a bit more 'throw away' than it was when I was growing up. When I was younger it was common to spend your free time taking care of your valued possessions, because you worked hard for them! Whats wrong with polishing your shoes every morning, and waxing the car on Sunday?!

Sapphire crystals are very convenient, very practical. But I think ill take a pass.

[Klassiker]

Hardly a rant, more a well-reasoned argument for why you prefer the look and feel of acrylic, and vintage in general. I definitely understand that emotional connection you get with something you've cared for and maintained yourself. Just as a matter of interest, the crystal on the Submariner is a flat sapphire, correct? Do you have any domed sapphires, and how do you feel about them?

[Angrybear]

On 12/11/2021 at 4:39 PM, Klassiker said:

Hardly a rant, more a well-reasoned argument for why you prefer the look and feel of acrylic, and vintage in general. I definitely understand that emotional connection you get with something you've cared for and maintained yourself. Just as a matter of interest, the crystal on the Submariner is a flat sapphire, correct? Do you have any domed sapphires, and how do you feel about them?

Thank you for your response Klassiker. I wrote this while overtired from spending 20 hours straight working on watches, and was worried I had crossed a line and said too much. 

In response to your question my Rolex does have a flat crystal and I’m not a fan. I also have an omega planet ocean with a domed double AR coated sapphire crystal. It is by far the best sapphire crystal I own, but the only reason for this in my opinion is that I can’t see it. It does make the omega dial really pop which I love, but the dial pops just as much when the crystal is removed. 
My opinion is that without AR a sapphire crystal gives too many reflections whether it’s domed or flat. With AR (specifically double AR), the reflections are controlled and the glass disappears. Does this enhance the look of the watch tho? I’m not entirely sure. 
I would be really interested to hear your view? 

[watchweasol]

Hi  I have no fee.  l what ever for soul less watches and prefer to work on old ones that have seen life scratches and all, they have a personal feel to them. If the acrylic is scratches then its polished and even if all the  scratches dont come out no worries  just because your hands collect cuts and scars through life you dont cover them up and pretend they are silky smooth .  Life for anything animate or inanimate leaves marks just get to like them and live with them.  That goes for all mechanical/quartz watches, Itreat them all with the same respect. Some of my clocks have seen the world but I like them as they are bruises and all.

[Klassiker]

On 12/12/2021 at 6:46 PM, Angrybear said:

I would be really interested to hear your view?

I don't really have a strong opinion that would universally apply. Sometimes a flat sapphire works just fine (for me), even without AR, e.g. on my Alpinist. I don't think an acrylic of any shape would look right on that one, even though the cathedral hands and the dial have fairly old-fashioned look. A slight dome or AR might be even better though, to stop those complete "white-out" reflections. I think a cold, hard sapphire works with the stainless steel and the weight, especially as it's on a bracelet. That would be the closest thing I have to your Rolex, and I think a sapphire is right for both.

Then I thought about the contrast between two Bauhaus-style watches I have, a Junkers (if you are not familiar with it, a bit like a Max Bill) and a Nomos Orion. The Junkers has a hugely expansive domed acrylic on it, which is warm to the touch and distorts and softens the light, is absolutely one of my favourite features of the watch, but I would not want it on the Orion, because the slightly domed sapphire fitted there keeps the watch extremely thin, and the (non-AR) transparency reflects and sparkles and lets the blued hands and gold indices shine through.

[spectre6000]

I'll take the opposing view then... I've had plastic, glass, and sapphire. My favorite is the sapphire. I do a lot of... high impact/abrasive things. I live in the mountains, and am always fighting boulders, logs, bears, etc. I like to work on cars and other machines. I work-work with caustic chemicals. I weld, solder, and just do a lot of mean stuff to watches. Scratchy things scratch, hot things melt, and chemically things do all manner of fun things. A sapphire crystal can handle those things, glass takes the sort of damage you typically see with plastic, and plastic is just a liability. The cases and bracelets get plenty of love scratches on their own, I don't need a bum crystal making it hard to read as well.

Additionally, I try to avoid plastic pretty universally as best I can. Part of the reason I'm into mechanical watches in the first place is because they're made of quality materials. Plastic is not in that category in my book. Metals, precious and otherwise, and rubies, even if they are synthetic. I would never buy a 7750 because there's too much plastic in the movement. Also, for the kind of money some of those go for, I want a column wheel. I have a Seiko NH35 (plastic parts in the date mechanism) in a parts watch with a domed sapphire crystal, but it's my "shop watch" for especially abusive activities.

[KarlvonKoln]

I could go either way.  Sometimes, a particular kind of watch just looks better with a domed acrylic crystal.  And they're easy enough to care for.  Some watches look better with a flat crystal, and a sapphire one can last a while there.  Sometimes the adverse conditions a watch might suffer will warrant the investment in a sapphire crystal.  But in other cases, the watch may not suffer much abuse and/or the bezel projects outward in some way to protect the crystal somewhat, such that a mineral glass is all that is needed.  
I look at it this way: if a customer wants sapphire, and it would work for the watch, it's their money.  I'll put it in, figuring they may know a thing or two about what the watch may be going through.  

[Angrybear]

First of all I would like to thank everyone for such detailed and interesting replies. I haven't been a member of this forum for long, but the one thing that really stands out is the tolerance and acceptance for differing view points. It really is a genuine pleasure chatting to you all. I have been a member of numerous forums over the years, and there aren't many others where such respect is shown for fellow forum members. 

Second -spectre6000 - would you like to swap lives with me? Yours sounds very exciting. I live in the city, and the only thing I fight on a daily basis is traffic and queues.

But in all seriousness there are some very valid views here.I guess I wasn't really considering the toughness of a sapphire crystal in my rant. They are extremely practical but I never look at one and think "Wow! that is stunning!". Maybe they do exist and I just haven't come across one yet. 

Spectre - I do totally agree with you in the use of plastic in watches. I just pretend they aren't made out of plastic.

Klassiker - Ive just googled that Nomos. What a beautiful watch.