WTF!!! Can the crystal be pitted by seawater?

[cbrenthus]

Update: I'm 90% sure it is the "Off" that cause the spots on my watch. I couldn't find any info on what DEET does to sapphire crystals, though. HOWEVER, I got home and started cleaning with a small jewelry brush that I have. I seemed to help but was taking to long, so I grabbed a soft tooth brush and went to town with just a little bit of liquid hand soap. Most of the spotting is gone or at least reduced, so at least it is not the crystal itself that is damaged. I think the rest will come off with repeated cleaning and wearing.

Thank you all for your help!

Originally Posted by original post

******ATENTION***THIS IS NOT AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE************

I went kayaking in Tampa Bay on Saturday. Wore my GMT-II because I'm under the impression that its just as good at water stuff as the SD or Sub; however it doesn't have the depth capability.

Anyway, It got seawater on it, and I was out for about 2 hours. After I got home, one of the first things I did was rinse it in fresh water very thouroughly, dry it, and polish it with a microfiber cloth. On Sunday, I noticed small dots all over the crystal that actually look like some sort of pitting visible in certain lighting. I've tried rinsing and drying again, and even washed with a little bit of mild hand soap, to no avail.

Can the sapphire cystal get pitted or could this be something else entirely?

If it is pitting, do all sapphire crystal watches do this?

[Prince]

Never heard of such a thing! Sapphire crystal is one of the hardest substances around. Something else must be at work here.

[nko51]

Where & when did you buy it!

[GerardoG]

I had a similar experience once (this one is true). Every morning, my watch had something on it, small drops of something sticky and sometimes hard. It took cleaning with a toothrbush to get rid of it, but happened DAILY for a a week. One day, I noticed my wife getting ready for work; she uses hair spray and BINGO, that stuff goes EVERYWHERE! I put my watch @ another place that evening...problem solved!

We all have a tendency to look after the WORST possible scenario, I also did. Most times, this are just simple things. Check your environment, any sprays closeby??!

[cbrenthus]

Originally Posted by nko51

Where & when did you buy it!

I bought it new from an AD a few weeks ago.

Originally Posted by GerardoG

I had a similar experience once (this one is true). Every morning, my watch had something on it, small drops of something sticky and sometimes hard. It took cleaning with a toothrbush to get rid of it, but happened DAILY for a a week. One day, I noticed my wife getting ready for work; she uses hair spray and BINGO, that stuff goes EVERYWHERE! I put my watch @ another place that evening...problem solved!

We all have a tendency to look after the WORST possible scenario, I also did. Most times, this are just simple things. Check your environment, any sprays closeby??!

I did spray some "Off" later on that day. I took the watch off to spray and set it aside, but it was in the same room.

I think im going to try some soap and paper towel.

[bwalkerVintage]

Originally Posted by GerardoG

I Every morning, my watch had something on it, small drops of something sticky and sometimes hard.

I guess I have a dirty mind...when I first started reading this, I thought, "oh boy, get ready for this one"

[padi56]

Originally Posted by GerardoG

I had a similar experience once (this one is true). Every morning, my watch had something on it, small drops of something sticky and sometimes hard. It took cleaning with a toothrbush to get rid of it, but happened DAILY for a a week. One day, I noticed my wife getting ready for work; she uses hair spray and BINGO, that stuff goes EVERYWHERE! I put my watch @ another place that evening...problem solved!

We all have a tendency to look after the WORST possible scenario, I also did. Most times, this are just simple things. Check your environment, any sprays closeby??!

Agree with Gerrardo must have been something on crystal that reacted to the salt water.Saltwater cannot damaged or pit the sapphire crystal,are you sure its on crystal surface and not underneath.Sometimes salt crystals dry they can leave a spot marks, and need a bit of elbow grease to remove.

[GerardoG]

Originally Posted by bwalkerVintage

I guess I have a dirty mind...when I first started reading this, I thought, "oh boy, get ready for this one"

[GerardoG]

Originally Posted by padi56

Agree with Gerrado must have been something on crystal that reacted to the salt water.Saltwater cannot damaged or pit the sapphire crystal,are you sure its on crystal surface and not underneath.Sometimes salt crystals dry they can leave a spot marks, and need a bit of elbow grease to remove.

I agree. I just went scuba diving yesterday (only 60 ft), rinsed the Sub and it perfect as always!

[nko51]

[QUOTE=cbrenthus;201576]I bought it new from an AD a few weeks ago.

Pitting is when there are indentation in the crystal not laying on top. Golf ball has dimpling.

[cbrenthus]

Well, apparently the paper towel didn't work. I have a little jewelry brush very similar to a toothbrush that I'll try later, when I get home.

[cbrenthus]

Originally Posted by nko51

Pitting is when there are indentation in the crystal not laying on top. Golf ball has dimpling.

Right, I was thinking along the lines of chrome and polished aluminum, how they can get pitted. I did ask if it could be something else, I really didn't think sapphire crystals would be prone to pitting at all, but it just looks alot like it and won't come off

[cbrenthus]

Well, I just saw it specifically says on the warnings not to spray "Off" near watch crystals. However, when I searched the net it seems as though this only applies to plastic crystals.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by GerardoG

I agree. I just went scuba diving yesterday (only 60 ft), rinsed the Sub and it perfect as always!

Done quite a bit of diving myself in the Cancun area last time I was there we used a guide from Manta divers.Below scan of there card,they came and picked us up everyday.And all my own gear was assembled for us,never had to carry a thing.Remember having to force a very large moray away that
was getting a bit to inquisitive with my video camera.

[GerardoG]

Originally Posted by padi56

Done quite a bit of diving myself in the Cancun area last time I was there we used a guide from Manta divers.Below scan of there card,they came and picked us up everyday.And all my own gear was assembled for us,never had to carry a thing.Remember having to force a very large moray away that
was getting a bit to inquisitive with my video camera.

They do a pretty good job

[mike]

Wow! That's a new one on me. I've both acryllic and saphire in saltwater a lot over the years and never had a problem.

[JJ Irani]

If you're still not sure about what it is, don't try any solvents or chemicals to remove those spots.

Suggest you show it to your AD and have his watchmaker check it out.

Good luck and do keep us posted.

Cheers - JJ

[cbrenthus]

Well, don't forget about the "Off". Apparently, it contains DEET which is known to damage watch crystals. BUT all the research I'm showing is that it only affects plastic / acrylic crystals. So I'm still at a loss.

I'm going to try a soft brush, if that doesn't work I'll take it back to the AD :(

[Earl]

Originally Posted by cbrenthus

Well, I just saw it specifically says on the warnings not to spray "Off" near watch crystals. However, when I searched the net it seems as though this only applies to plastic crystals.

Take it back to your AD or send it to RSC it's under warranty, and let us know how that turns out.

[Prince]

Originally Posted by bwalkerVintage

I guess I have a dirty mind...when I first started reading this, I thought, "oh boy, get ready for this one"

LMAO

[Chris B]

Jeez, this is a puzzler, please let us know how it goes, good luck

Originally Posted by Earl

Take it back to your AD or send it to RSC it's under warranty, and let us know how that turns out.

Don't quote me but I always assumed that the sapphire wasn't covered under warranty, hope I'm wrong.

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by Chris B

Jeez, this is a puzzler, please let us know how it goes, good luck




Don't quote me but I always assumed that the sapphire wasn't covered under warranty, hope I'm wrong.

I'm pretty sure that the entire watch is covered under its 2-year warranty.

JJ

[cbrenthus]

But would it still be covered if it is indeed the DEET or something else I did?

[sevykor]

I've heard of regular glass being eaten away, but not just by salt. Various minerals that are present in ground water (for example) have the tendency of "eating away" at glass. This phenomenon is very evident if you have ever washed your car with non-filtered ground water and just left it to dry. The spots on the windshield are actually a combination of surface precipitate and corrosion damage. I don't know what, if any, chemical would cause sapphire to become damaged. Sapphire, although a 9/10 on the Moh hardness scale, is in fact a chemical reaction of 2 elements and hardness often has little to do with corrosion resistance (which is a chemical process). Some chemical compounds are just more susceptible to certain chemicals. Perfect example, gold is resistant to nitric acid while steel is not (gold being softer of the 2). So if you want to turn your 18k/ss bracelet into just 18k, find some nitric acid. As for the crystal, sorry I can't advise a solution.

[sevykor]

[cbrenthus]

Originally Posted by sevykor

This phenomenon is very evident if you have ever washed your car with non-filtered ground water and just left it to dry. The spots on the windshield are actually a combination of surface precipitate and corrosion damage.

Oh yeah... I had a Sebring from 99-02 and it sat in front of my mom's house alot where the well-water sprinklers did a number on it.

[cbrenthus]

Update: I'm 90% sure it is the "Off" that cause the spots on my watch. I couldn't find any info on what DEET does to sapphire crystals, though. HOWEVER, I got home and started cleaning with a small jewelry brush that I have. I seemed to help but was taking to long, so I grabbed a soft tooth brush and went to town with just a little bit of liquid hand soap. Most of the spotting is gone or at least reduced, so at least it is not the crystal itself that is damaged. I think the rest will come off with repeated cleaning and wearing.

Thank you all for your help!

[sevykor]

I've used cleaner car polish and it helped some on regular glass (never on sapphire crystal however). Flitz polish may work too, but I don't know if it isn't to potent and could cause other damage (like the coloring on the bezel to come off).

[Kris]

You said you bought the watch only two weeks ago new. I'd take it back to the AD and let them deal with it. Speaking from my own experiences with my SD bracelet and my watch was 2 months old to the day I took it in.

I would advise you however not to let on that you know/knew anything about DEET being a factor with the pitting of the crystal. Let them come up with their own conclusions when you tell them about your activities etc etc. If the RSC figures out it's the DEET, then they should have included a "care-label" with the watch when you bought it which they don't. You're not a watch expert so how the heck do they expect you to avoid DEET products.

Maybe if Rolex fixes enough of these crystals they'll get the idea and start to warn customer's on how to care for the watch and what household chemicals it should not be exposed to. Mosquito repellent (like OFF) is a commonly used applicant for skin protection, you'd think Rolex would at least warn it's customer's about the hazards of the stuff to a saphire crystal.

Quit fooling around with the crystal and take it back. You paid enough dough for it!