so... how did this happen to my "sapphire" crystal?

[crazyfastbeats]

Hi all,

After about a few weeks of ownership of my PAM111, I decided it was time for an AR removal using methods from our fellow RWI members, which entailed the cape-cod method.

After 15 min of elbow grease, this was the result:

to my dismay, it looks as if I scratched it pretty good... but the question is.. HOW? Also, is it fixable?

 

[ostatecowboy67]

I am pretty new to here and don't know what the Cape-cod method is, but I have owned both gen and replica Omegas. In fact, the reason I got into reps is because one night my girlfriend and I were wrestling on the couch and her Guess watch band hit the crystal on my Omega Seamaster. It chipped it and put a crack in it. I found out from research that sapphire or synthetic sapphire are "scratch resistant," but not scratch proof like I always believed. In fact, I had a couple of gen Submariners a few years back, and both of them got scratches on the crystal with a month. I know that doesn't help fix it, and to tell the truth when I checked into getting my Omega fixed I was pretty much told you can't buff out the scratches.

Thankfully, there are some great members, Moderators and Administrators on here, and I am almost sure they can direct you to someone to get a replacement crystal (either you can install it or they can). Best of luck to you. I feel your pain.

 

[takashi]

Well, most probably you can fix that by using dremel tools and also diamond paste polishing. For more instant result: http://2geek.net/eMart/index.php?c=21&p=69

Not only you are getting a sapphire glass but it comes readily coated

 

[Wiz]

Are you sure the crystal is scratched? Looking at the pic, it seems like only the AR coating is scratched.

Did you try to remove the AR coating using only the cape cod cloth?? Crazy you! That cloth is soft, you need something more abrasive if you don't want to spend hours on it.

Just rub your cape cod against a piece of paper untill the paper seems wet, and then quickly rub the crystal against the paper. Once the paper is "dry", rub your cape cod on another part of your piece of paper, etc...

Much more easier

 

[trailboss99]

There is no way that a CC cloth will scratch a crystal, mineral or sapphire so if the only thing that has touched that crystal is that cloth it's the coating that is scratched.

I would sugest a more abrasive method of removing the coating any way as has been stated above. Consider a diamond polishing kit from Watchbitz: http://watchbitz.com.au/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=70


Col.

 

[Wiz]

There is no way that a CC cloth will scratch a crystal, mineral or sapphire so if the only thing that has touched that crystal is that cloth it's the coating that is scratched.

I would sugest a more abrasive method of removing the coating any way as has been stated above. Consider a diamond polishing kit from Watchbitz: http://watchbitz.com.au/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=70


Col.

I like Alan a lot, in fact I ordered again from him just last week , but why buy another product when you already have everything you need at home?

 

[crazyfastbeats]

Hi everybody,

Thank your for comments and suggestions.

To further clarify, I used only cape cod when the scratches started to appear. However, there seems to be different colors of scratches. The more obvious one is easily seen from the abobe picture, that of a darkish color. Another is a pale color, similar to what you would see if you were to scratch plexiglass very slightly.

 

[Wiz]

Try the cape cod + paper thing and let us know

 

[crazyfastbeats]

Try the cape cod + paper thing and let us know

ok, i will try that when i get back :thinking:

 

[kkj]

+1 on the replacement sapphire from Takashi.

best mod you will ever have on your pam !

thick sapphire, super clear high quality a/r ... seeing is believing my friend....

 

[aardian]

I had that problem before. You get that when confronted with a strongly applied AR coating. The coating is just very thick, that's all. You have some more ways to go.

What I did was use a little piece of scotchbrite and brasso and elbow grease that sucker till they're all gone. For hard to reach corner, use toothpick to remove the coating on the side. Use cape cod again at the end to make sure you don't have small dots and lines left and you're golden.

If you want a completely clean look, you might wanna ultrasonic clean your case set after removing the AR.

 

[crazyfastbeats]

update:

i tried the several methods mentioned but it didnt do a thing. Getting a replacement is no problem for me, but my issue is that this isn't really sapphire crystal as advertised...

 

[Wiz]

Weird. It really seemed like only the coating was scratched.

 

[hooligan]

update:

i tried the several methods mentioned but it didnt do a thing. Getting a replacement is no problem for me, but my issue is that this isn't really sapphire crystal as advertised...

Buy a diamond tester off eBay (or elsewhere) and test it?

If this is not a sapphire and was advertised as such, we need to know.

 

[crazyfastbeats]

Buy a diamond tester off eBay (or elsewhere) and test it?

If this is not a sapphire and was advertised as such, we need to know.

funny story; i decided to have a little fun with it before purchasing a new one. I sanded it down with an emery filer to haze it up and see what it would do. Then I went to wash the dust off, and at that moment it slipped out of my hands and fell to the ground, shattering into several pieces. I just chucked it, and will cough up for a new one.

 

[JellyJoe]

funny story; i decided to have a little fun with it before purchasing a new one. I sanded it down with an emery filer to haze it up and see what it would do. Then I went to wash the dust off, and at that moment it slipped out of my hands and fell to the ground, shattering into several pieces. I just chucked it, and will cough up for a new one.

lol sry about the incident but its somewhat funny too. Destiny, it was