Acrylic vs. Mineral vs. Sapphire crystals:
Once again, long and boring, but somebody might want to know :idea:
This question comes up from time-to-time, and thought a brief (WHAHAHAHA) explanation of what they are and how to tell what they are may be useful. Most collectors, WIS’, and members of this illustrious board already know, but for those that don’t know, here it is;
First off, acrylic is a fancy name for plastic, or Plexiglas. Plexi, of course, is the least expensive. It is also the least likely to shatter and the most likely to become scratched. Mineral glass, even though it has been hardened by a tempering process, is more likely to break than Plexiglas. But it is also more scratch-resistant than that material. Synthetic sapphire is the most expensive glass crystal material and the most scratch resistant. Because it is so hard, it is also brittle, and shatters more easily than mineral glass. There is one other out there, which is kinda a laminate. It uses a base of mineral glass, with a layer of sapphire laminated on the outside. This hybrid offers the shatter resistance of mineral, with the scratch-resistance of sapphire. This stuff is proprietary, and Seiko uses it quite a bit. This is what’s called “synthetic sapphire.â€
Once again, long and boring, but somebody might want to know :idea:
This question comes up from time-to-time, and thought a brief (WHAHAHAHA) explanation of what they are and how to tell what they are may be useful. Most collectors, WIS’, and members of this illustrious board already know, but for those that don’t know, here it is;
First off, acrylic is a fancy name for plastic, or Plexiglas. Plexi, of course, is the least expensive. It is also the least likely to shatter and the most likely to become scratched. Mineral glass, even though it has been hardened by a tempering process, is more likely to break than Plexiglas. But it is also more scratch-resistant than that material. Synthetic sapphire is the most expensive glass crystal material and the most scratch resistant. Because it is so hard, it is also brittle, and shatters more easily than mineral glass. There is one other out there, which is kinda a laminate. It uses a base of mineral glass, with a layer of sapphire laminated on the outside. This hybrid offers the shatter resistance of mineral, with the scratch-resistance of sapphire. This stuff is proprietary, and Seiko uses it quite a bit. This is what’s called “synthetic sapphire.â€
