AR Scratches

Bugbait

As has been mentioned many times, it's extremely difficult for the average person to apply their own AR coating versus the ease of removing it themselves. Any fragility concerns aside I think most would agree that AR on both sides looks better. Given the cosmetic advantage of having AR on both sides versus the difficulty of adding it yourself versus removing it then it makes sense for manufactures to sell watches with AR applied to both sides.

Keep in mind that regardless of marketing, watches costing upwards of several thousand are not really "tool" watches based on how many owners on enthusiast forums treat them. If people want to use them as such them just take the AR coating off, it's cheap and simple to do.

dstfno

It's not even about using watches as "tools". Non watch fans buy a watch like a Submariner or Seamaster to wear it daily. When worn daily a watch is subject to abuse such as accidentally bumping into things. That's why we have sapphire glass and ceramic bezels, because of the material's scratch resistant properties. Putting AR coating on the outside of the glass defeats the whole purpose of having scratch resistant sapphire.

Bugbait

I'd say most owners buy their watches to use daily or in regular rotation. It's not like the outer AR is so soft that rubbing it with a t-shirt will scratch it. I know because I use whatever material is on me to clean the watch face. I've even used my jeans before. Yes, the AR is a lot softer than the underlying sapphire crystal surface but it can take years for it to be marked so badly that it's worse than it not being there. It might also only take a few weeks.

However, it's very easy to remove so I fail to see why so many people make a big issue of it. If you don't like the fragility of the outer AR coating then just remove it. It doesn't take special tools or even much elbow grease. Most of the AR on my X-33 was stripped off in under 60 seconds with gentle rubbing with a microfibre cloth and Autosol. I removed the outer AR on my X-33 because it got damaged over time. I much preferred how it looked before the AR was damaged and removed and got to enjoy it in that state for a while.

The outer AR on my DeVille (daily for 6 years) and Speedmaster (daily for 2 years so far) are still intact. There may be very minor scratches on the DeVille AR coating but nothing obvious without a serious attempt to look for them at every angle. The Speedmaster has a 2mm one that is quite visible from a certain angle but not noticeable at all from regular viewing angles when worn. If either get bad enough then I'll simply remove the AR from them as well. However, I've had years of pleasure staring at a watch face with double AR coating. I personally find a watch with double AR coating on the sapphire to look far better then those with only inner or none at all.

So, all the way back to my point. It's far easier to remove the AR coating than put it on by orders of magnitude so my wallet votes with Omega in double coating the sapphire from the factory.

applebook

you probably just aren't looking hard enough

E eldiano84

The AR on the outside definitely feels like my SMP 300 has Hesalite Glass, I haven’t gotten the diamond polish or autosol but I will soon, I follow Omega’s cleaning recommendations by using a toothbrush with soapy tap water using a soft cloth for drying but to my horror when I went to see a movie and saw the reflection of the AR crystal with the theater lights they were brush marks everywhere lolol. I get the philosophy of not to find flaws but i have one long and huge scratch that bothers me a bit, but I honestly feel that it’s a scam from omega to pay them 200 bucks for a new crystal and then force you into automatically paying the 180 bucks required for water pressurized testing lmao.

Archer

Out in the "real world" away from watch collectors, I've not heard any person comment on AR at all, let alone complain about it scratching. Omega has no trouble selling watches with double coated crystals, along with many other brands who do the same.

PandaSPUR

Doesnt omega only recommend that for the metal surfaces. . .

dstfno

200 is for replacing the hesalite crystal in the Speedmaster. Getting a new sapphire glass is at least three times that amount.



Of course it doesn't stop anybody from buying the watches. But I've personally heard owners of older planet oceans and aqua terras complain about micro scratches on their crystals. They didn't know it was because of the coating but certainly saw they were there, you don't have to be a watch collector to notice.

cjoedaniel

I too have had my watch for 2years and the AR looks fine. No scratches

rahul718

Do scratches on the AR or crystal itself impact the water resistance in any way?