Someone has the same problem like Adrian? Have been wearing mine for 2 months now and no issue at all. (Or I don’t see those scratches)

 

Yep. Bought my Seamaster 300m new in Jan 2020 and it has some minor scratches in the AR coating. I thought I was the only one with this issue on the newer Seamaster. I don’t recall having done anything overly rough with it also, so I’m not sure how they got there. I guess that’s the scary part.

 

Has anyone done an AR removal with polywatch? Wonder if that voids warranty...? Would love to see results.

 

I saw this video and immediately checked my seamster 300m. I don't find any scratches and I've had it for 18 months. So maybe it was just his.

 

I can't understand why any watch manufacturer would put AR coating on the outside, especially if it's on the inside.

 

To encourage the purchase of expensive replacement sapphire crystals?

 

Personally, I prefer it on both sides, as do many others. When it works, it works very well, and the crystal just disappears.

Since the outer AR coating can be removed easily in a few minutes, those who don't want it can remove it if they so choose, and crystals don't have to be replaced.

 

I'd have to agree with this. I think having it under the crystal is plenty. Rolex uses none and I have not issue with it.

 

It makes the crystal almost disappear which creates a very nice visual effect, guess that's why. I actually like it and don't have any issues with my Aqua Terra after almost 3 years of ownership. And I am not exactly babying my watch.

 

Is anyone willing to share some pictures of the watch after removing outer AR? Or is it rather "you can remove the AR but no one actually did it"?

I'm personally very afraid of such scratches.

 

Rolex finally started to use AR on the inside recently.

 

Here's mine with no outer AR.

 

Before with scratches.

 

Thanks a milion! This tells me everything, definitely better with AR removed than with scratches. And the watch is still pretty without the outer AR. Did you do it by yourself or you rather had it removed by some professional?

 

I wonder if it's a problem that is confined to the new 2018 model? I own the previous generation of the SMPc and it also has the AR coating on both sides of the crystal. I've knocked the crystal more than a few times on door frames, chairs, etc. and it still doesn't have a scratch. I think that the AR is pretty tough stuff and is similar to the coating on eyeglass lenses. Perhaps Omega used a different forumula for the coating on the new model? In any event, good to know that it can be removed and the appearance of the crystal restored without having to replace it. Under those circumstances at least one still has the benefit of the inner AR coating.

 

I used a Dremel and Autosol.
Just go for it and don't be scared of it.
Didn't bother masking anything off as the bezel is ceramic anyway.
Good luck.

 

It wouldn't void the warranty unless you damage the crystal itself and even then it probably wouldn't. I mention damaging the crystal may (still unlikely) void the warranty since it would take some force and a very sharp object to do so and this may be enough to justify "abuse". Although I doubt Omega would claim this but it's something to consider. Just removing the AR by normal means (diamond paste for instance) would not impact the warranty at all, otherwise simply scratching the case would as well.

In the 2 years as a daily wearer I've put one scratch on the outer AR of my Speedmaster that I can see with the naked eye on the right angle. If it ever gets worse I'll just polish off the AR, not a big deal. That's what I did to my X-33 G2 but that had a known flimsy outer AR coating.

 

This picture is no coating.
I probably scratched it during a lot of regular use ( every day wear, including diving, off-roading, and general play ) and never noticed, but I think I must have gotten something caustic on the AR coating. I saw what were more like... splotches?
Anyway, the tech at the OB rubbed off the coating during a check-up. So that answers the question of whether or not it voids the warranty, I guess.

 

Very interesting. I'm going to have a closer look at mine. I've had a few watches with outer AR-coatings that didn't hold up to even regular wear but hadn't heard of it being an issue with modern Omegas.