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kingping
107
Nov 1, 2016
To be clear this watch offers a "sapphire coated" mineral glass crystal, not a sapphire crystal, correct?
dholik8503
Nov 2, 2016
kingpingCorrect---the idea is that sapphire is very resistant to scratches, but is more expensive and more brittle than mineral glass, so you put sapphire on the outside over mineral glass--which is the same thing as regular window pane glass. At this price point, you are not likely to ever find a sapphire crystal watch. I am a nature photographer and have broken more than my share of watch crystals. My rule is--i fyou think you might be in a situation where you would break your watch due to rough wear--wear something you don't mind breaking. I would not wear this watch in the field, I have the watch it's a great watch but not for field photographers.
kingping
107
Nov 3, 2016
dholik8503Thanks for your reply/comment. I think I was primarily trying to clarify the specs as the Massdrop description is written incorrectly. I personally will not purchase a mineral glass watch--the superiority of sapphire is significant to me, and the "brittle" argument is mute (IMO) in all but a very few particularly rough scenarios. I'm curious--did you shatter sapphire crystals in your past? I've heard virtually no first hand accounts of actually breaking a sapphire crystal, just rumor. It does take some patience to find more affordable sapphire crystal watches, especially autos, but they're there. I have a beautiful, minimalist Enclave quartz with full sapphire crystal which was $89 on this very site. My other watches are all automatics in the $200-$350 range.
dholik8503
Nov 3, 2016
kingpingI have never shattered a sapphire crystal, but after I broke several mineral crystals I just don't wear sapphire crystal watches if I expect rough useage. I agree with you, I never buy a mineral crystal watch, unless it's a really good deal. When I do purchase a mineral crystal watch, it is with the expectation that I need to watch how I wear it. The sapphire mineral sandwich idea is popular--Invicta and Seiko use it among others.