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How scratch resistant is "carbotech"?

joerep

Getting To Know The Place
29/6/15
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Basically as the title says, how scratch resistant is "carbotech"? I am in the market for a new PAM and I was originally going for the ceramic as my understanding is they don't scratch as easily but then I saw these. They look AWESOME and would love to grab one but only if the body doesn't get too banged up too easily. The noob one I have now is about a year old the body has a few scratches on it and am looking to minimize them as much as possible. Any info would be great, thanks!
 

mysterio

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19/8/08
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You don't specify what your Noob one is, so can't comment on that. If it's a stainless steel Luminor then that's hardly surprising.

Carbotech, from what I've read, is supposed to be stronger than titanium or steel, but that's talking about the gen. It is lighter than either titanium or steel but in terms of scratch resistance, I am not quite sure. Even gen owners are unclear about it, nor would they want to try it as it is very expensive, which makes the owners a bit more careful when wearing the watches. You would be better off with a ceramic cased submersible such as the PAM508 or PAM607.
 

trailboss99

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Unsure about carbotec but remember if you go ceramic that yes it is very scratch resistant but the trade off is that it is very fragile. The harder a material the more frangible it is.
 

joerep

Getting To Know The Place
29/6/15
50
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You don't specify what your Noob one is, so can't comment on that. If it's a stainless steel Luminor then that's hardly surprising.

Carbotech, from what I've read, is supposed to be stronger than titanium or steel, but that's talking about the gen. It is lighter than either titanium or steel but in terms of scratch resistance, I am not quite sure. Even gen owners are unclear about it, nor would they want to try it as it is very expensive, which makes the owners a bit more careful when wearing the watches. You would be better off with a ceramic cased submersible such as the PAM508 or PAM607.
Thanks man, went with the 508 instead. Did some reading and chose one that is considered a super rep and read the carbotech body doesn't match the gen.
 

joerep

Getting To Know The Place
29/6/15
50
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Unsure about carbotec but remember if you go ceramic that yes it is very scratch resistant but the trade off is that it is very fragile. The harder a material the more frangible it is.
Ack, how fragile? I mean, I'm pretty careful as it is with my watches and I don't construction or anything, lol, but I do have kids so sometimes I knock the body on a wall, door frame, etc. here and there.
 

mysterio

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Ack, how fragile? I mean, I'm pretty careful as it is with my watches and I don't construction or anything, lol, but I do have kids so sometimes I knock the body on a wall, door frame, etc. here and there.

As long as the impact isn't violent (like dropping the watch on a tile floor), the ceramic PAM508 is pretty resilient to knocks. This behavior has been observed in gens as well so don't be so alarmed.

It's a similar situation with resin crystals and sapphire crystals. Resin crystals are not scratch resistant but they hold up to impacts pretty well whereas sapphire is pretty much scratch proof against anything except diamonds but can shatter or fracture more easily that a similarly shaped resin counterpart.
 

joerep

Getting To Know The Place
29/6/15
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As long as the impact isn't violent (like dropping the watch on a tile floor), the ceramic PAM508 is pretty resilient to knocks. This behavior has been observed in gens as well so don't be so alarmed.

It's a similar situation with resin crystals and sapphire crystals. Resin crystals are not scratch resistant but they hold up to impacts pretty well whereas sapphire is pretty much scratch proof against anything except diamonds but can shatter or fracture more easily that a similarly shaped resin counterpart.
Thanks dude! Yeah my current Pam has the sapphire glass and I've accidentally hit it pretty good against other hard/semi-hard surfaces and it hasn't cracked (no scratches, either, of course). I doubt it'll get hit any more violently than what has already occurred so I doubt I have to worry. I don't envision the watch getting dropped, either, as it's only ever off my wrist at night/early morning and then it's secured high up away from kids, cats and any ledges, lol. Appreciate the time you took to help!
 

mysterio

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19/8/08
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Thanks dude! Yeah my current Pam has the sapphire glass and I've accidentally hit it pretty good against other hard/semi-hard surfaces and it hasn't cracked (no scratches, either, of course). I doubt it'll get hit any more violently than what has already occurred so I doubt I have to worry. I don't envision the watch getting dropped, either, as it's only ever off my wrist at night/early morning and then it's secured high up away from kids, cats and any ledges, lol. Appreciate the time you took to help!

You're welcome. That's why we're here. :)