904L: softer than plastic!

[Kawirider]

Originally Posted by HiBoost

Well said. I've often thought the part of my brain which can't get past a scratch on a watch or a car wheel is the same part that pushes me to try to make furniture I'm building "perfect" even though my friends and family see an obvious (to me) flaw and say "nobody will ever notice". "Good enough" is a rephrasing of "who cares" in my book, and I'm just not wired like that.

But the true joy of the internet is having a bunch of strangers try to convince you that your personality traits aren't as valid as theirs. It would be totally different if I posted a thread titled "do you think I should care about a scratch?". This is not the question I'm asking, because I already know that answer haha.

Man, you sound like me. I am the same way. A rock chip on my truck, or a scratch on my watch and it drives me insane! To the point where I get angry and want to sell it all. Lol.

But like you said in other aspects, I strive for perfection. I do all sorts of home improvements, and anything I work on I try to make absolutely perfect. Like you said, stuff I let bother me would not even be noticed by 99% of the world. But if something isn’t right it eats at me constantly.

I always strive for perfection in everything, but like my fiancé tells me, nothing is perfect. Nobody ever understands me, but it’s how my brain works I can’t help myself. I’ve been trying to teach myself to let certain stuff go.

Anyway, back to the title, that’s very unfortunate plastic would scratch the watch. You’re much braver than I, as I would never let anything but my hands or the soft bristle brush when I clean it to touch my Rolex. B


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Justinmg]

WeAr the watch for 5 min and it will get scratched, the sooner you except them the sooner you can enjoy your watch.

[gr33n]

Wear it diving, wear it sleeping, showering, scratch it on the bottom of the pool... You will enjoy it for decades.
Soon (starting 40yo - 50yo) your vision will not be as effective and you will not see the scratches anymore !

[Cwillis0001]

Originally Posted by Kawirider

Man, you sound like me. I am the same way. A rock chip on my truck, or a scratch on my watch and it drives me insane! To the point where I get angry and want to sell it all. Lol.

But like you said in other aspects, I strive for perfection. I do all sorts of home improvements, and anything I work on I try to make absolutely perfect. Like you said, stuff I let bother me would not even be noticed by 99% of the world. But if something isn’t right it eats at me constantly.

I always strive for perfection in everything, but like my fiancé tells me, nothing is perfect. Nobody ever understands me, but it’s how my brain works I can’t help myself. I’ve been trying to teach myself to let certain stuff go.

Anyway, back to the title, that’s very unfortunate plastic would scratch the watch. You’re much braver than I, as I would never let anything but my hands or the soft bristle brush when I clean it to touch my Rolex. B


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A saying I've always liked is "Strive for perfection, settle for excellence."

[gr33n]

Or "strive for perfection, stand for more psychological problems in the future"

[donq]

Material durability can be very counterintuitive.

For example, I’ve seen rubber drive belts wear away aluminum engine castings due to rubbing, with the belt seeing little visible damage.

Hardness of the materials is not the only consideration. Movement speed and pressure also have their own effects.

[Fenix84]

Yes, wearing a watch will cause scratches but my DJ shows a lot more wear while being worn a lot less than my 316L watches. Of course I'm comparing polished surfaces.

[HiBoost]

Originally Posted by Cwillis0001

A saying I've always liked is "Strive for perfection, settle for excellence."

I like that, hadn't heard that before

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

[Ganymede]

A few thoughts:

1. Plastic parts are often composites, some of which can contain silica-based fillers for hardness and sturdiness. As a result, they can scratch the hell out of your watch very easily.

2. You need to know the difference between scratching and denting. There are different types of hardness. A less hard material may not scratch a harder one, but if may be able to cause an indentation.

3. Any kind of hard contaminant between your watch and the caliper can act like sandpaper and scratch your watch.

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by Ganymede

A few thoughts:

1. Plastic parts are often composites, some of which can contain silica-based fillers for hardness and sturdiness. As a result, they can scratch the hell out of your watch very easily.

2. You need to know the difference between scratching and denting. There are different types of hardness. A less hard material may not scratch a harder one, but if may be able to cause an indentation.

3. Any kind of hard contaminant between your watch and the caliper can act like sandpaper and scratch your watch.

Well put
Besides, all scratches or micro marring is caused by abrasion.

[garyk]

Originally Posted by HiBoost

Being a nerd I wanted to measure various case dimensions to see how they compared to the published specs. Though I have many precision measuring instruments I don't dare bring their sharp metal surfaces near my watches. So I ordered up a plastic jawed set of digital calipers just for this purpose. I take out my new Bluesy, carefully place the jaws at 2 o'clock and 8 o'clock and close them gently... 41.0mm... right on the money. Open the jaws, remove the calipers. No perceptible dragging along the surface. Glance at the side of the case... WTF is this?? Yep, scratched. Unreal. I knew these things were delicate, but this is really something. It's nice that we have a bracelet option on more models these days, but can I get a 316L case option please??

In my previous town, our jewelry store had a watchmaker who had moved to the US from Switzerland. He was head of Rolex US service for 10 years, and head of AP service for 5 years. I felt extremely lucky to have access to someone like this and I figured it was surely safe to let him regulate my 16710. He gave it back to me and I immediately saw vertical scratches on the side of the case. I was speechless. He had even made the comment to me that he could tell my watch had never been opened before because most watchmakers were "butchers" and would leave traces behind. For the last 10 years I have wondered how this guy could have scratched up the case like that. I had assumed he used a metal case holder or had metal jaws in the timegrapher or something "obvious". But now that I have experienced the damage that plastic can cause, I guess he may have not been that careless.

Anyway, had to vent to somebody. Nobody I know in real life wants to hear it... :)

Attachment 1245780

Woah, that's crazy!