Hey guys,

I've been looking into the Dark Side of the Moon merely out of curiosity.

I thought ceramic was a hardened plastic-type material. Can ceramic differ in type and function, and is the ceramic used on the DSOTM essentially a metal, or is it plastic-like material like so many other ceramic products are?

I'm just very curious about this. I read the info on the Omega site, but if someone here is really knowledgeable about this piece, I'd love to hear more on it.

Best,

Jeff

 

I'm not a chemist or materials scientist... but there are many different types of ceramics, none of which are considered metal, but you might want to narrow your searches to "industrial ceramic" or "zirconium oxide"

for more basic stuff you have probably already seen:
start here: http://www.ablogtowatch.com/watch-case-materials-explained-ceramic/
then go here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/arielad...ebrate-all-the-colors-of-the-ceramic-rainbow/

I think Omega's contributions are really around pigmentation (like gun metal color on the Grey Side, or the orange ceramic Planet Ocean bezel), and on manufacturing quality with ceramic. I don't really think Omega is doing much in terms of re-engineering ceramics.

 

The case is made of industrial ceramic, which is one of the hardest, most scratch-resistant materials ever concocted by humans. I work in the mining industry where we use ceramic plating on places where rocks impact critical mining machinery; ceramic plating lasts 10x longer than the hardest steel plating.

I have a simple, low-cost wrist watch that has a 100% ceramic case and bracelet; I wore this watch nearly every day for 2+ years and it still does not have a single visible scratch, or marring, on any of the ceramic parts. The movement, however, is a piece of junk. (which is why I bought two Omegas and discovered that no other watch will make me happy again)

 

Wow, guys. This is some seriously interesting stuff. It sounds like the case on this thing would be nearly invincible. Dang!

 

Except for this? Covered elsewhere in very great detail...



https://omegaforums.net/threads/bad-day-on-the-dark-side-of-the-moon.19011/

 

Yikes! Should I say hard, scratch-resistant, and somewhat brittle?

 

That previous thread has some good discussion about it. Worth a read/skim.

I'm intrigued by the ceramic cases too. They are awesome in the metal, errr ceramic. A very nice material.

 

Oh, wow. I was having a good day until I saw this.

That's a shame. I never knew about the brittle properties of ceramics. Do you know of anyone who has broken a ceramic bezel from dropping their watch?

Also, $9k for a CASE seems extremely ridiculous. Granted, I'm sure Omega had a lot invested into unique machinery for this case. Still though... $9k for a case. Ouch.

 

Well, there's a lot of ceramic watches out there, and omega is pressing ahead with it for many of its newest and most hyped lineups.. sure, it's possible to break, but there's many out there that haven't. So, a pic on the interwebs doesn't mean it sucks..

I was just .

 

From what I know I believe ceramic is more prone to shattering than stainless steel

 

I believe it is as well.

 

Well it's well documented so not so much a believe as a reality. Less scratches, more breaks

 

Guess it depends on which you're more prone to, and what the risk is of a drop or a hard knock.

I'm probably more prone to scatches.. ceramic bezels sure look nice.

 

I was curious how strong these Omega ceramic cases were myself. I love GSOTM, but was afraid I would chip or shatter the case...

 

It's not like they're fragile. The number of breaks reported are nothing against the amount of ceramic watches around. Do they break, sure but it's not like you have to pad them. If you're one of those " of my god I got a scratch on my watch" types it may be a good choice for you... But you have to muster the courage to wear it outside your house...if a truck happens to come by and hit you your watch may break.

 

I've said this in another thread somewhere, but this notion that ceramic Omega's are prone to breakage or shattering is just not true. I'm sure some materials expert can tell us the differences between stainless and ceramic, and give numbers, but the reality is that if you abuse your watch, it doesn't matter what its made of. I have insurance on my Grey Side, but that was mostly for theft, and only secondarily in case I drop it from a 10 foot high ladder onto a hard tile floor and it happens to hit at exactly the right angle on the lug, etc. etc. Guys, don't drop your watches and there is nothing to worry about really.

 

I 100% agree. You should avoid dropping ANY watch, but you should be particularly careful to not drop a watch with a ceramic case.

It seems like the overall consensus is that the case is very tough, but it's arch nemesis is a tall fall onto a hard surface.

If you can avoid doing that, I'm sure you could make a GSOM or DSOM last a very, very long time.

 

@ffej4 -- I think you've boiled it all down to the essential facts. If you go for it be sure to share the joy with abundant photos! I'll be among the first to say Mazel Tov.

 

@dsio I agree. The photo could be a Rolex plant. Seriously.