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Sapphire is the second hardest naturally occurring mineral substance on Earth, In theory, only another sapphire or diamond should be able to scratch it.

I am not sure if something like ceramic or tungsten is sufficiently hard enough to scratch sapphire.

 

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Most of my collections consists of saphire crystals and I have never scratched one of them. It is my crystal of choice.

 

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I never have and plenty of times slammed it on metal and other things....

 

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no scratches at all for me

 

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Never a scratch, but I've chipped the crystal on 2 different Rolex DateJust watches.

 

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Well, I ask because there appears to be empirical and finite proof (photos) that FF scratches far easier than Sapphire. Several enthusiasts from various forums have now experienced some disappointment over the "ease" in which they are scratching their FF crystals.
I know, I know, but it has been implied that it has the scratch resistant properties of sapphire and the durability of mineral...remember, best of both worlds?? But yet no long drawn out thread about people scratching their sapphire crystals?? A few unfortunate enthusiasts have posted claims of scratching their FF's at other forums and are getting the standard unsympathetic defensive responses:
- Nothing is scratch proof. (no kidding, but I find it hard to believe that these guys bumped up against real diamonds or sapphire).
- Sapphire is not scratch proof (again no kidding, what does that have to do with someone claiming their FF was scratched??)
- FF costs more....(uh, then someone is getting ripped off).
- This has been discussed....do a search.
- Here we go again with FF discussion.

Again, if you are cool with FF and accept it for what it is, no problems. But if you are expecting it to have the scratch resistant properties of sapphire I think in time you will be disappointed.

How can people blindly buy into something and then defend it when it is proving to be less than what it claims to be?? If I am off base I will gladly take my 30 whacks but I don't think I am.

 

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I don't think you are off base - BUT I think the reality is we just don't know 100% for sure. I have read just about EVERY online forum and people discuss back and forth the merits of each.

I think one constant truth is that if you bang almost any of them hard enough (I mean really wack them) you run the risk of some damage.

 

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I have a coupe of FF pieces -only one of which i have given a couple of good bangs to (door handles, furniture etc)

knock on wood, so far i am lucky, but to me it is not a selling point - i buy a watch if i like it- whether its mineral or FF doesnt really matter -if its a high end piece
most use Saffire with the exception of Invicta - so far as i've seen the only High end piece of interest to me is the SAS which has the FF - i think its a moot point in THIS case as the design of the watch outweighs the crystal debate

with that said - there is no proof it is as tough as stated
and argueably none that i've seen that it isnt

i also have alot of mineral crystals that i've banged pretty good with no ill effects except 1 watch that got good and scraped - so unless you are dragging them on the sidewalk the mineral's arent bad either!!

i would be more concerned with shattering a saffire than scratching another type

 

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Good points George; if the crystal material is not an issue in your buying decision than no harm or foul.

My contention is that if you are buying a watch and the scratch resistance of the crystal is critical, you should know hands down what you are getting.....not learning about it through trial and error.

WATCHURSELF wrote:

I have a coupe of FF pieces -only one of which i have given a couple of good bangs to (door handles, furniture etc)

knock on wood, so far i am lucky, but to me it is not a selling point - i buy a watch if i like it- whether its mineral or FF doesnt really matter -if its a high end piece
most use Saffire with the exception of Invicta - so far as i've seen the only High end piece of interest to me is the SAS which has the FF - i think its a moot point in THIS case as the design of the watch outweighs the crystal debate

with that said - there is no proof it is as tough as stated
and argueably none that i've seen that it isnt

i also have alot of mineral crystals that i've banged pretty good with no ill effects except 1 watch that got good and scraped - so unless you are dragging them on the sidewalk the mineral's arent bad either!!

i would be more concerned with shattering a saffire than scratching another type

 

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Yeah James and I'm that guy that whacks his watches into everything and anything imaginable!!! :x In most case I scratch something but never the sapphire crystal.

TVDinner wrote:

I don't think you are off base - BUT I think the reality is we just don't know 100% for sure. I have read just about EVERY online forum and people discuss back and forth the merits of each.

I think one constant truth is that if you bang almost any of them hard enough (I mean really wack them) you run the risk of some damage.

 

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Have you ever Shattered a saffire??

Seattle wrote:

Yeah James and I'm that guy that whacks his watches into everything and anything imaginable!!! :x In most case I scratch something but never the sapphire crystal.

 

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if i'm spending high end money and it's expected to be a saffire -i doubt that i would be buying an Invicta - the only exception to me would be the SAS or SAN III

but i am a poor boy so i got lots of Invicta's !!! LOL

Seattle wrote:

Good points George; if the crystal material is not an issue in your buying decision than no harm or foul.

My contention is that if you are buying a watch and the scratch resistance of the crystal is critical, you should know hands down what you are getting.....not learning about it through trial and error.

 

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Surprisingly no George. Maybe I should have but the stars have always been aligned?? There were times after hitting something I would slowly look down to see the inevitable "shattered" crystal and nothing. I watched a buddy shatter his Rolex while we were loading a motorcycle onto a trailer.....ugly! Sapphire has been really, really good to me and I have clearly developed some loyalty and bias towards them.

WATCHURSELF wrote:

Have you ever Shattered a saffire??

Seattle wrote:

Yeah James and I'm that guy that whacks his watches into everything and anything imaginable!!! :x In most case I scratch something but never the sapphire crystal.

 

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And NOW i understand the LOYALTY to saffire many have stated and the resistance to the FF

i would have to say ONLY TIME WILL TELL WITH THE FF CRYSTAL

if they scratch easily enough -it will come out and as RICKY used to say to LUCY - "you have some Splaining to do"!!

 

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All high end watches have Saphire crystals. They have these because it has been proven that they are very scratch resistant. I don't think these companies would be placing saphire on them if they didn't prove to be good durable crystals. Just my 2 cents. I think FF is simply a way to save money and make the consumer feel as if they are getting a better crystal or one that is comparable to the Saphire. I will always choose Saphire over FF.

 

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WATCHURSELF wrote:

And NOW i understand the LOYALTY to saffire many have stated and the resistance to the FF

i would have to say ONLY TIME WILL TELL WITH THE FF CRYSTAL

if they scratch easily enough -it will come out and as RICKY used to say to LUCY - "you have some Splaining to do"!!

LOL!!!

 

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I have scratched a Sappire crystal on a piece of S.S. that ran acrss my wrist and scratched the watch as the crystal. This was done on my SAN III! I can also tell you that if you take a Self tapping machine screw and rub it across sapphire it WILL Scratch!!!

 

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RipitRon wrote:

I have scratched a Sappire crystal on a piece of S.S. that ran acrss my wrist and scratched the watch as the crystal. This was done on my SAN III! I can also tell you that if you take a Self tapping machine screw and rub it across sapphire it WILL Scratch!!!

I am cringing; your SANIII, argghhhh!!:x

 

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I'm not bashing FF (I don't have any reason to just yet), but if it's so damned good, then why isn't it an industry standard? If "proprietary" claims are to be made, well, I would have thought companies like Rolex would have spent the $$$ to come up with something similar, years ago. [I recall that Rolex has been using sapphire since the early- to mid-1970s -- one of the first companies.]

I've seen some reports of scratches on FF crystals and the "standard responses" that get dished out. I wouldn't expect it to be any different. Even if many more instances surface over time, I still don't think that it will change the overall consensus for some folks. I think it will end up as another "buy them or don't buy them" type of dynamic that has become all too common.

With all of that said, I believe that some of the watch collecting community may not wait for future instances to amass, and jump ship now. I think that many will have a "wait and see" attitude, and I think that there will always be those that will defend anything all at costs. :whatever:

 

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Hod on there CT, them are 'fightin words"........oh wait, we're on the same page. My bad, have a nice day!!

CurrentTime wrote:

I'm not bashing FF (I don't have any reason to just yet), but if it's so damned good, then why isn't it an industry standard? If "proprietary" claims are to be made, well, I would have thought companies like Rolex would have spent the $$$ to come up with something similar, years ago. [I recall that Rolex has been using sapphire since the early- to mid-1970s -- one of the first companies.]

I've seen some reports of scratches on FF crystals and the "standard responses" that get dished out. I wouldn't expect it to be any different. Even if many more instances surface over time, I still don't think that it will change the overall consensus for some folks. I think it will end up as another "buy them or don't buy them" type of dynamic that has become all too common.

With all of that said, I believe that some of the watch collecting community may not wait for future instances to amass, and jump ship now. I think that many will have a "wait and see" attitude, and I think that there will always be those that will defend anything all at costs. :whatever:

 

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well there is a FF battle going on right now at another site!!

i always get amused at these as there seem to be 2 kinds of people

1 -the kind that will defend there brand to the Nth degree

2- the kind that think their watch is made of Indestructable materials that only Superman could demage

when are people gonna get off of it!! LOL

 

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Seattle wrote:

RipitRon wrote:

I have scratched a Sappire crystal on a piece of S.S. that ran acrss my wrist and scratched the watch as the crystal. This was done on my SAN III! I can also tell you that if you take a Self tapping machine screw and rub it across sapphire it WILL Scratch!!!

I am cringing; your SANIII, argghhhh!!:x

It was repaired many months ago, and looks like new!

 

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did you do this (with the screw) after it was already ruined?? that sounds painful

RipitRon wrote:

I can also tell you that if you take a Self tapping machine screw and rub it across sapphire it WILL Scratch!!!

 

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Myself I would always prefer Sapphire crystal for it's scratch resistance, but , there is a new material coming out of the Hi-Tech industry.



Transparent Ceramic. Harder and more scratch resistant than sapphire and more shock resistant (unbreakable) than either sapphire or mineral.

It is being used in the next generation of Police hand held shields due to being lighter and stronger than the current Plexiglas units.



I fully expect to be hearing about it used in optics and the jewelry industry very soon.

We could then put to rest what the real scratch and shock resistant crystals are.

 

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I am careful with my watches so I have never scratched any crystal.



Clearly..sapphire is my first choice...Before FF was" born ",I went around the internet for a couple of years buying up swiss movement , sapphire crystal watches at fairly low prices.



Glad I did. Generally I do not follow trends.