Sapphire crystal -- how good is it compared to other brands?

[submariner1983]

Is Rolex sapphire crystal better than Citizen sapphire crystal, omega sapphire crystals and so on?

Also, my 14060 submariner has a scratched sapphire crystal, would you change it or would yo keep it like that? the crystal I have is in fair condition but not in good condition. I figured if I get a new crystal, it would probably get scratched again so why bother making the expense. I figured the little scratches on my crystal add character to my watch.

How fast does the Rolex Sapphire crystal get scratched, meaning how sensitive is it from your experience.

Thanks for all the help everyone

[kilyung]

Not sure but I thought Rolex (as do many brands) outsource sapphire crystals so I'd imagine they're all comparable.

[murph145]

From my experience Rolex isnt as tough as my Omega is.

Scratched my BLNR one day at work on something I would have never worried about when wearing my seamaster. Makes me think twice now about doing anything rough with my Rolex on.

[rfatm3f]

Not sure about rolex, but my skx007 glass is terrible and it drives me crazy.

[Sublover2166]

Rolex sources the crystals from a vendor. Most likely the vendor also supplies crystals to other watch manufacturers. In 25 years of wearing Rolex (5 different watches) I have never scratched or chipped a crystal. Call me lucky, or they are pretty darn resilient!

[SearChart]

Originally Posted by rfatm3f

Not sure about rolex, but my skx007 glass is terrible and it drives me crazy.

That Seiko doesn't have a sapphire, so yes it scratches easily. But you can hardly compare a 200 dollar watch to a 5k+ watch.

[hambone1983]

pretty sure Rolex makes the green crystal in the Milgauss

[Tools]

Originally Posted by submariner1983

Is Rolex sapphire crystal better than Citizen sapphire crystal, omega sapphire crystals and so on?
. . .:

Sapphire crystals are an aluminum oxide mineral that is "grown" in a lab.
Pretty unlikely that one watch manufacturer would be accepting inferior sapphire than another.

[Abdullah71601]

Sapphire is sapphire. The properties are the same from one maker to another. Dimensions will obviously vary, but scratch resistance and clarity will be the same.

[Etschell]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

Sapphire is sapphire. The properties are the same from one maker to another. Dimensions will obviously vary, but scratch resistance and clarity will be the same.

Unless it's an iPhone 7 camera lense

[Constantine]

Originally Posted by Etschell

Unless it's an iPhone 7 camera lense

That's also sapphire. There's a video making the rounds that apparently shows someone scratching the lense but it has been debunked - they actually cracked the lense not scratched it.

[ardvarkshorty]

My skx007 Seiko must be sapphire ,i have had it 10 years and abused it terrible ,the face still looks brand new.

[Iloreyix]

My Rolex is only a month old - I am careful with it.
Now - My POS Invicta chronometer has a sapphire crystal and it has been beat mercilessly over the past 15 years. The bezel, case and bracelet are well bashed. Cyclops and crystal are perfect.
I would expect Rolex crystals to be as good as Invicta??

[Eva123]

I was wearing Tissot chronograph with sapphire crystal for 16 years. Even after so many year watch looks almost like new (it was not babied). Zero scratches on crystal, very few scratches on bracelet. My 6 month old Rolex has more scratches on bracelet (18K gold is less scratch resistant comparing to 316L steel).

I suppose that all sapphire crystals have the same or similar characteristics. There is no difference what is watch brand.