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Sapphire vs. Hesalite

Archer
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MrMartini MrMartini
it feels like a talking point made by people who's never actually tried it . acrylics is meant to replace, not maintain. the quintessential opposite of a fine mechanical watch

Well if you had actually tried it, something you accuse people here of not doing, then you would know that scratches are easily polished out without speed and heat, just using a cloth and some compound. Deeper scratches and gouges can be removed with more aggressive abrasives, and then brought back with the use of progressive abrasives like any polishing is done.

The line about it not belonging on a fine mechanical watch is what actually sounds like a talking point, or regurgitated ad copy written by a marketing team.

Keep in mind that before sapphire, acrylic crystals were the standard and everyone got along just fine with them.

Cheers, Al
 
Mtek
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MrMartini MrMartini
what's that?

It’s the case, movement, strap and buckle part of the watch. Basically everything except the clear cover of the dial.

C’mon, what do you think it is?
 
89-0
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MrMartini MrMartini
what's that?
dznp8yO.gif
 
MrMartini
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Mtek Mtek
It’s the case, movement, strap and buckle part of the watch. Basically everything except the clear cover of the dial.
how confusing; sapphire is an actual crystal, whereas 'acrylic crystal' is a contradiction in terms
 
Mtek
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MrMartini MrMartini
how confusing; sapphire is an actual crystal, whereas 'acrylic crystal' is a contradiction in terms

Google it, you’ll find people and manufactures using the term for chandeliers, jewelery, watches, etc.

Go set the internet straight that it’s a contradiction in terms.
 
MrMartini
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Mtek Mtek
C’mon, what do you think it is?

idk; as far as I know, there is no thing as an acrylic crystal outside of buzzwords used in misleading marketing, but I would very much like to know if I'm mistaken
 
Mtek
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MrMartini MrMartini
idk; as far as I know, there is no thing as an acrylic crystal outside of buzzwords used in misleading marketing, but I would very much like to know if I'm mistaken

You are correct, thanks for the contribution. Have a nice day.
 
Archer
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MrMartini MrMartini
how confusing; sapphire is an actual crystal, whereas 'acrylic crystal' is a contradiction in terms

The "crystal" is the name of the transparent part that covers the dial. They can be made from acrylic, mineral glass, or sapphire. In the past they were even made from other materials, such as celluloid.
 
MrMartini
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Mtek Mtek
Google it, you’ll find people and manufactures using the term for chandeliers, jewelery, watches, etc.

I'm sure they do, as per my previous post, but that doesn't change the fact that acrylics doesn't crystallise and my mistake was to assume that connoisseurs of fine wrist watches were relying on a less wishy-washy connotation when deciding on material to use. my bad
 
MrMartini
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and I thought they used glass before they used acrylics (and put a metal
Archer Archer
The "crystal" is the name of the transparent part that covers the dial. They can be made from acrylic, mineral glass, or sapphire. In the past they were even made from other materials, such as celluloid.
cheers! I did no know that it was a generic term for that part of the watch. seems rather prone to misunderstanding when comparing material to actual an crystal. also, english is not my first language so it's difficult to keep up with the prose
 
auxpomme
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tbh, I thought the general person of this forum enjoyed replacing very expensive things. :whipped:
 
BlueOxy
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bigtang1 bigtang1
I had a great weekend and picked up a Speedy with hesalite [no pictures till bday later in Aug 🙁] I looked at both the sapphire sandwich and the original moonwatch with hesalite - I'm sure it a personal choice but the hesalite face is much much nicer in my humble opinion.
This is legit. After months of internet research, I had my heart set on an FOIS as my first Speedmaster. I walked in to an AD a few days ago, and I’m so glad that I saw both the sapphire and hesalite in the flesh. I love sapphire in most of my watches, but something about the Speedmaster makes the sapphire glass look and feel just a bit “off.” It was totally an intangible, aesthetic concern, but I walked out with the Speedmaster Pro on my wrist and a big smile on my face. I’ll take a sapphire glass on any other watch, but the Speedmaster needs a hesalite.
 
RCpeedy
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Archer Archer
Well if you had actually tried it, something you accuse people here of not doing, then you would know that scratches are easily polished out without speed and heat, just using a cloth and some compound. Deeper scratches and gouges can be removed with more aggressive abrasives, and then brought back with the use of progressive abrasives like any polishing is done.

The line about it not belonging on a fine mechanical watch is what actually sounds like a talking point, or regurgitated ad copy written by a marketing team.

Keep in mind that before sapphire, acrylic crystals were the standard and everyone got along just fine with them.

Cheers, Al
And mic drop! I had a Rolex Explorer 1 1016 36mm my father gave me and it had an acrylic dial cover that If I ever scratched it I would use a little toothpaste and some elbow grease and they would mostly fade. It wasn’t until I got a somewhat deep scratch that I had an authorized repair guy use something that was meant for acrylic and when he was done the whole watch looked brand new. I’ve seen the Hesalite and the Sapphire models right next to each other and find the Hesalite warmer if that makes sense. And by the way, my $600 Tissot Seastar has sapphire on the the dial and open case back, but what makes it a “fine” automatic timepiece or whatever is how much of a beating its “ modified” ETA 2824 can take without missing a beat, while my Patek Calatrava, granted a few years old but sporting sapphire, looses 5 seconds if the wind blows to hard on it. Both watches are great in their perspective categories but come Friday the Submariner goes on and doesn’t get taken off until Monday. I’m new to the Omega groups and I’d thought you’d all be up in arms about how everyday ending in Y gets a new anniversary edition or a Bond watch comes out with only 10,007 watches in its run. But without the moon thing would Omega be right behind Rolex in sales? And with lower priced models competing ( Seamaster v Submariner ) has to put Omega at or over Rolex. Add that with the fact that they just canned the MOTM Hesalite model and I think it’s a good time to discuss it. But I’m a Rolex guy so what the heck do I know?
 
Cayohuesovespa
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ive had both.
i like worrying less about scratches but hate the milky ring of the sapphire.
i dont have to worry about smashing it and getting pieces of glass in my eye when in space when wearing the hesalite though.
thats about it for me...
tomato/tomaoh
 
bikerfox
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thanks for the thread and now more educated as to the crystal.
 
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