Scratching Every Watch Crystal To See Which Brands Are Lying!

Scratching Every Watch Crystal To See Which Brands Are Lying! - Ultimate Crystal Scratch Test

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Күн бұрын

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In this watch crystal scratch test video, I work out which watch crystal is best for scratch resistance by using a Mohs hardness rating testing kit. Here I test acrylic vs mineral vs sapphire vs Flame Fusion crystal vs Krysterna vs K1 crystal vs Hardlex vs sapphire-coated mineral crystal, to see if any can supplant sapphire as the king of watch glass.
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🎬 Chapters
0:00 Which Watch Brands Are Lying To You?
0:10 Acrylic vs Mineral vs Sapphire
0:20 'Innovative' Proprietary Crystals
0:37 Mohs Hardness Test Kit
1:26 Methodology
1:46 The Crystals & Scratch-Resistance Claims
2:00 K1 Crystal
2:39 Hardlex
3:07 Sapphire-Coated Mineral Crystal
3:36 Flame Fusion Crystal
4:18 Krysterna
5:11 My Predictions
5:21 WatchShop Black Friday Deals (Sponsor)
6:18 Early Findings - 'Proprietary' Materials Exposed?
7:12 Pick 2 Scratch Tests
7:22 Pick 3 Scratch Tests
7:32 Pick 4 Scratch Tests
7:49 Pick 5 Scratch Tests
8:16 Pick 6 Scratch Tests
9:01 Invicta Fail Fusion?
9:44 Pick 7 Scratch Tests
9:54 Mineral Eliminated
11:19 Pick 8 Scratch Tests
11:42 Hardlex Eliminated
11:58 K1 Eliminated
12:59 Krysterna Eliminated
13:54 Flame Fusion Eliminated?
14:10 Pick 9 Scratch Tests
14:48 Sapphire Coated Crystal Eliminated
15:37 Watch Crystal Tier List
15:47 D Tier Crystals
16:02 C Tier Crystals
16:12 B Tier Crystals
16:44 A Tier Crystals
17:00 S Tier Crystals
17:18 Crystals vs Key Scratch Test
17:29 Crystals vs Knife Scratch Test
17:54 Knife Scratching Krysterna Coating
18:54 Is The Marketing A Lie?
📺 Related Videos
Acrylic vs Mineral vs Sapphire: • Types Of Watch Glass -...
Stuhrling Watch Review (Krysterna): • This Watch Is "Amazon'...
Beginner's Guide To Watches: • Everything You MUST Kn...
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Ben's Watch Club tends to cover affordable watches like Seiko, Timex, Casio, Citizen, MVMT, Vincero, Bulova, Orient, Hamilton, and more. We rarely feature luxury watches like Rolex, Patek Philippe, Breitling, Tag Heuer, Tudor, Grand Seiko, Cartier, Omega, Audemars Piguet, or Hublot due to their price.

Пікірлер: 629

@BensWatchClub Жыл бұрын

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@konspiracy0 Жыл бұрын

I'd really loved if you talked about prices for the material as well. How much is a sapphire watch glass? Is it justified to not have it on a 500usd watch, a 800usd watch etc?

@loveanimeyt9622 Жыл бұрын

Hi Sir Ben. Did you ever tried the brand aries gold g? They claimed their watches have sapphire glass and price under 100USD

@ethanspaziani1070 Жыл бұрын

I really liked the video I am interested however in a video going over the best budget mechanical watches you can get right now most videos I've tried to find on the subject are about a year old now and are pretty much just completely out of date I'd really like a look at the movements if possible

@JayasimhaMangipudi Жыл бұрын

Would you look into Titan (I suggest the EDGE and Xylys collection) watches they have a good collection? even sonata (they have watches with small dial sizes) has a few good watches. they are affordable.

@edwardfletcher7790 4 ай бұрын

This was an excellent comparison, thank you ! It would be complex, but I'd love to see a crystal impact test one day 👍

@marc1979 Жыл бұрын

Scratches at level 6, with deeper grooves at level 7

@brianmsahin Жыл бұрын

Exactly and it doesn't matter what fancy name they give to a mineral glass, it will scratch at a level 6 and sometimes if there are impurities it could be a level 5!👍👍👍

@laplthelullemann Жыл бұрын

I’m not sure if everyone here will get the reference lol.

@welsan2074 Жыл бұрын

@@laplthelullemann the bald hero of durability testing

@shyamkrishnansuresh7283 Жыл бұрын

I wonder how many will get this reference 😄

@brianmsahin Жыл бұрын

@@shyamkrishnansuresh7283 Yes!! 😂😂

@TheElly750 Жыл бұрын

The sapphire coating seems like an interesting option. It nearly matches sapphire's performance but logically should have better impact resistance.

@athmaid Жыл бұрын

Question is, does it delaminate upon impact

@fewik8567 Жыл бұрын

@@athmaid depends on the glue used but considering the surface tension and many glues abilities to create a bond stronger than the material it's unlikely, there's likely a film adding further absorption like a car windscreen where it won't shatter but instead cave in to a concave shape, considering this issue has never occurred before and being a very simple concept I don't think any impact is going to separate the two layers without enough force to seriously damage the body and movement also.

@GunGuy258 23 күн бұрын

@athmaid I use a special 2 part epoxy made for borosilicate glass (pyrex) it dries clear and has same properties as borosilicate, but bonds harder than melting the glass together. They probably use something similar.

@bbwt9991 Жыл бұрын

Excellent test!! Studied materials engineering back in the day and yes this reflects the situation perfectly. You have to be careful to clean the tip before testing each crystal to be sure that you're not depositing small grains from a previous crystal. Looks like you did that. Anyway, a warning to all watch lovers! Remember when going to the beach, the quartz crystals in beach sand is at a level 7 and will scratch your mineral crystal and if you're unlucky and there are microscopic gemstone crystals in the sand it could even scratch your sapphire crystal. Well done Ben, been waiting for someone to do this. KUDOS!!

@vewert.photography Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the advice, mate!

@bbwt9991 Жыл бұрын

@@vewert.photography Very welcome, and I have a scratchy old Seiko dive watch to prove it. 😂

@HW.0029 Жыл бұрын

ok now I’ll never wear anything to the beach

@tarasmathers7423 Жыл бұрын

huh......the sand I had considered before, but not the proposition of microscopic gemstones being present. Good advice, and ty

@bbwt9991 Жыл бұрын

@@HW.0029 I know what you mean! I only wear a watch that already has a scratch!

@BrianHartman Жыл бұрын

I'm actually surprised how well some of these held up. The sapphire-coated vs. sapphire was particularly impressive, given the price difference.

@mrkiky Жыл бұрын

They just have to make the coating thicker. Technically there will be a point where it will perform exactly like sapphire.

@BrianHartman Жыл бұрын

@@mrkiky I'm sure there's a cost/benefit point where they might as well just make the whole crystal sapphire. That's probably why they choose the depth they do. :)

@konspiracy0 Жыл бұрын

How much is the price difference, though?

@BrianHartman Жыл бұрын

@@konspiracy0 Good question. I don't know. :)

@BN99239 Жыл бұрын

Would be interesting to see if sapphire coated will wear off over time and what sort of things will wear it off, such as the normal things people use to clean their watches etc.

@PlugInRides Жыл бұрын

Hardlex has a Mohs of about 7.5. Mohs is a very imprecise scale, since it isn't linear, but comparative. Hardlex is made by treating mineral crystal with a high temperature salts bath, and the various salt ions fill in the voids in the mineral crystal lattice. Seiko also produces a High-End Hardlex, that applies a similar high temp salt bath to borosilicate glass. Kysterna was a version of Dragontail glass, a competitor to 3M's Gorilla Glass. I believe it used a process similar to Hardlex. The older versions of Seiko Sapphlex used a thin laminated sapphire veneer, over a Hardlex crystal. Often the sapphire would begin to delaminate. Flame Fusion seems use a high temperature PVD process to deposit a multi molecule thin layer of sapphire to the top surface of a mineral crystal, fusing it to the substrate. It is hard to know what current process is used to bond the sapphire to the coated cystal, or how thick the sapphire layer is. Too thin, and the sapphire layer will yield to the softer mineral base material with moderate pressure, much like we see with Invicta's Flame Fusion. Sapphire is the penultimate watch crystal material, and can be purchased for a surprisingly small upgrade price compared to a replacement mineral part. I have purchased watches as cheap as $20, that have sapphire crystals, so I wonder how much cheaper these other solutions can be made, and still make any financial sense.

@TerminusVox Жыл бұрын

Penultimate means something like "just short of ultimate" or "the second best" or "one short of the end of your scale". I think you probably meant ultimate. (Sorry, I'm a word nerd! 🤓)

@raidenpz Жыл бұрын

@@TerminusVox A diamond crystal would be the ultimate, though I don't think it exists yet.

@PlugInRides Жыл бұрын

@@TerminusVox And the "ultimate" watch crystal would be a synthetic "diamond glass" material, made from Fullerenes, like AM-III (Mohs 10+), so my word choice was correct. Science over semantics, for the win! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jNhza86HtKuzdYU.html

@alexandrevieira2410 Жыл бұрын

@@TerminusVox lol yeah I was waiting for him to say what is the "ultimate" if sapphire is the penultimate. But he provided us a good in depth of the materials anyway

@sammorrissey9094 Жыл бұрын

@@raidenpz There are materials theorised to have a higher mohs, like wurtzite boron nitride. Whether those can be formed into actual crystals usable for a watch lens I have no idea, and those are theoretical numbers based on chemistry. Also there is lonsdaleite, basically hexagonal carbon rather than cubic carbon (diamond) which is harder than regular diamond, and also pretty much only found in meteor craters...

@JusttheWatch Жыл бұрын

All I can say is, thank you very much Ben! Been looking for some clarity on this subject for quit some time! Personal experience: I've scratched mineral, hardlex, and sapphire coated crystals with normal wear, but I've never had a watch with a sapphire crystal scratch or chip on me. I haven't had enough time wearing a watch with one of those other types long enough to know their performance.

@d3xmeister Жыл бұрын

I have a lot of experience with almost all these materials as a watch collector, amateur watchmaker and intensive watch wearing for over 35 years. Your test conclusions are right in line with my experiences with these.

@chazdean201 Жыл бұрын

What’s your recommendation for a durable & classy sport sub $500 watch? Thanks

@d3xmeister Жыл бұрын

@@chazdean201 Depends on your preferences, for a tough automatic with great value, look at Islander watches. Nothing really beats them, they have dressy and sporty models, all built with great specs, at great prices. For set and forget quartz, that still look and feel high end and super durable, the Oceanus line from Casio is in its own class.

@darthsaren6519 Жыл бұрын

Buna Mihai :) scriu in engleza mai departe / Im curios whats your opinion for Vostok Europe brand ? in terms of watch crystals and sturdiness in general

@d3xmeister Жыл бұрын

@@darthsaren6519 Homestly they are too big and bold for me. They are very well made watches, but never liked their designs. For the glass, there are always trade-offs. The best option is of course sapphire with good anti reflex coating on the inside. I would prefer hardened mineral instead of a non-coated sapphire. Sapphire needs AR coating otherwise is way to reflective. For me that’s a big issue

@peteclegg1578 9 ай бұрын

"Intensive watch wearring" 👀

@richardnedbalek1968 Жыл бұрын

🤓Really appreciate Ben’s scientific methodology here in accurately testing the durability of these various crystal substances. 👍

@Mr_Memer.876 Жыл бұрын

Would have been good if you had used polywatch on the acrylic to show at what point the scratches become too deep to buff out.

@markw.4679 Жыл бұрын

Maybe that can be part 2!? 🤔

@skalarhaubitze Жыл бұрын

That would really be helpful! Acrylic may be the most prone to getting scratched but other than with the harder materials the scratches are still easily reversible which should be considered when comparing crystals. Part of that could be to take polywatch to the test.

@Mr_Memer.876 Жыл бұрын

@@anmalaag1225 wind your neck in, I was just suggesting a way of extending the test for those of us with a few watches with acrylic crystals.

@HudsonGTV Жыл бұрын

@@anmalaag1225 Suggesting future videos is not entitlement. Calm down.

@jjakiefte2165 Жыл бұрын

Why?

@alexabney7913 Жыл бұрын

The peace of mind of sapphire is just nice to have. I like knowing that it wont get scratched by a zipper or if I reach into a small space without thinking and bump it into some rough metal(happens often for me lol)

@hugh_betcha Жыл бұрын

That was one of the (if not the) most useful videos I've seen on KZfaq to educated watch enthusiasts. Nice work Ben, very well done!

@gunjja13 Жыл бұрын

This was so good and well made Ben! I was really surprised about Hardlex actually,

@BrittPearceWatches Жыл бұрын

Yet another reason why you are the best watch channel! Absolutely loved this Ben! 👏🏻💕

@turnbasedtoddy7664 Жыл бұрын

Thanks you!! I think the whole watch community has been waiting for this video and you where the only channel with sense enough to do it. Thanks for this, I was surprised by some of the results.

@MyRetroWatches Жыл бұрын

No watches were harmed in this video! Well done Ben this is the sort of content that I would have eventually covered. You did this very well and its interesting to see the results. Sapphire should really be fitted into most watches now. Its not terribly expensive and as you have proved worth every penny. Really enjoyed this one and will share on my Facebook group.

@moarguitars6322 Жыл бұрын

Really brilliant work here Ben! Thanks so much for putting in the time to do this testing.

@SpaceMonkey13X Жыл бұрын

Quite an enlightening video. Thanks for filming that test. I often wonder about this very topic, and thanks to you I now have a little more knowledge in this hobby. 👍

@Mauricio.Solorzano Жыл бұрын

As always, your videos are very impressive, Ben, very professionally done and excellent research reporting here - great work mate!

@tmsods2874 Жыл бұрын

I was watching this on my watching this on my work computer. Had to pull out my phone to give it a big like. Awesome experiment and really useful for everyone. Thanks Ben!

@ManVsPixels Жыл бұрын

Been watching watch channels for a couple of years and never seen this done - awesome job.

@markiangooley Жыл бұрын

Sapphire or nothing. But I do own one watch with a mineral crystal and managed to scratch it in the first week because I’m a klutz. Sapphire is fairly cheap now and there’s no good excuse for using anything less. Lots of bad reasons including an authentic look for a vintage-style watch. Silica is 7 and there’s a lot of it out there - certainly there are bits of it in concrete and soil - so sapphire gives a comfortable margin of resistance in everyday use.

@Jake-bt3fc 11 ай бұрын

I agree that mineral crystals are pretty much obsolete, but acrylic crystals are a cool vibe and I wish they made more of them. Complaining about scratches on an acrylic crystal is like complaining about oxidization on a bronze watch.

@KillingTimeWithNorman 6 ай бұрын

Brilliant video! It's soo great to see exactly how these crystals perform - side by side.

@_Ker Жыл бұрын

Mineral glass has improved slightly over the years. Not enough to get close to sapphire though.

@Ferien7 Жыл бұрын

It’s much less reflective than sapphire tho. Sapphire is way too reflective for casual watches, even with ar coating. It’s best for dress watches only

@MrMadvillan Жыл бұрын

@@Ferien7 oil slick coating on a dress watch tho? ar never looks good.

@Ferien7 Жыл бұрын

@@MrMadvillan translucent ar coating is much better. The blue kind you can see shouldn’t be used imo

@MrMadvillan Жыл бұрын

but still goes milky at extremes like double domed bc the ior is so high.

@walterhernandez7283 Жыл бұрын

This video is hard to watch, but it's extremely informative. Thanks for doing this, I have always wondered how much of a difference is Hardlex from mineral.

@BarbaraA.MertzRN-CCRN Жыл бұрын

WONDERFULLY done! I don't think I have EVER seen this type of study done prior. Thank You!!

@EmilioBaldi Жыл бұрын

A test of the resilience of these glasses would be as interesting. Great video!

@Seantears Жыл бұрын

Really interesting video Ben and interesting to see these lesser known to me crystals in the mix and to be aware of them more.

@mixedcontent9060 Жыл бұрын

I've been waiting for so long for a vid like this; good job mate!

@phillipwilliams4674 Жыл бұрын

Great video for pointing out the scratch resistance of crystals. Definately interested in impact resistance though, as this would round off the 'real world' testing of different materials, and which one is overall best. My guess is Seiko Hardlex would be up there, as it is a softer material that improves its impact resistance.

@maninthestreet01 Жыл бұрын

I managed to scratch the sapphire coated mineral glass on my Spinnaker Hull chronograph watch when it came into contact with a door handle. Having said that, it is a very light scratch, and you need to look closely with the light in the right direction to see it.

@HRM.H Жыл бұрын

Absolutely great video idea !! I would love to see a similar test done with hardened coatings on watches

@robertpeluse3586 8 ай бұрын

I loved this test. Thank you for showing determination, curiosity and integrity and sharing the results with the community.

@dunderhay9169 Жыл бұрын

Interesting 👍 .Scratches, although annoying, don't destroy the watch in an accident. A crystal shattering with impact will really damage the hands and dial, particularly if wet! A would bet acrylic will survive impacts better than sapphire or mineral. You could set up a rig to drop ball bearings from a controlled height with the crystals supported on a ring so the middle is unsupported as xit would be n a watch.

@wayneholmes637 Жыл бұрын

I dropped my CWC G10 from about 160cm onto a hard tiled floor, landing on its acrylic crystal. It had a couple of scratches and some pits that I removed easily with plastic polish. I highly doubt a sapphire crystal would have survived.

@jc.baptiste 7 ай бұрын

Huge amount if work and well done benchmark. Very instructive. Thanks a lot, I can’t believe you don’t get more likes.

@Theleastofusofficial Жыл бұрын

Just bought a Seiko with Hardlex Crystal in it (SSK001) and was slightly concerned about future wear of the piece. However, thanks to your video, I do feel a LOT better about how Hardlex performs as a crystal! Appreciate the video man!

@TerminusVox Жыл бұрын

Good idea presented well! Thanks! I've unintentionally tested the impact resistance of "Flame Fusion" having started in on the job of changing brake pads and hitting the crystal three times before slowing down to remove my watch. "Flame Fusion" survived unscathed. I've no illusions about its relative merit and would sort it about where your test results place it. Maybe tougher than my Casios and Timex but less so than my Chinese watches.

@3rdstone1 Жыл бұрын

Excellent video, Ben. I've always been curious about how scratch resistant Seiko's hardlex and sapphire coating actually is.

@townazier Жыл бұрын

Very cool video. I was curious about a direct comparison like this for a while, so thanks!

@patricklgreen Жыл бұрын

Well done! This is the study I have been hoping to see from anyone for a long time. Truly appreciate you taking point on this issue as comprehensively as you did. If you would like to retest the flame fusion due to the #6 anomaly I would be happy to send you an invicta collecting dust in my sock drawer! It would be a pleasure if you felt it would be helpful. Surprises? A few. -Did not expect sapphire coated to do as well as it did. As an owner of a Wenger I have a little more security wearing it out and about. -I did not expect K-1/Hardlex/Flame Fusion to be any different than mineral. To be honest, I always assumed Hardlex and Flame Fusion were just rebranded K1. Wishes but not criticism since you are the only one I know of that went this deep down the rabbit hole. -I would have liked to have seen if AR coated sapphire would have performed differently than uncoated sapphire. -I wish there had been multiple samples of the crystals to see if things like the Flame Fusion at 6 was consistent or a faulty crystal.

@mrd64 Жыл бұрын

Would be interesting to see a similar test on case materials, which are also prone to scratches and dents.

@jjakiefte2165 Жыл бұрын

He said he would, didn't he?

@bensieber6960 Жыл бұрын

Excellent test, very relevant to us watch nerds. Now we need an impact comparison test!! As always, great content made with great skill.

@kabdu68 Жыл бұрын

Brilliant work Ben. You’ve settled a thousand online debates. Thank you

@youngmanslipp6660 Жыл бұрын

excellent video Ben, would love if you made a video about third party movements. I’ve recently gotten into microbrands, and have been curious about the various movements they use from seiko, miyota, etc.

@WatchGeek Жыл бұрын

Excellent video and brilliant idea 👍👍

@eu7435 Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for doing these tests for all of us. In my experience, K-1 is troubling murky to look thru compared to other crystals.

@labnine3362 Жыл бұрын

I work in engineering (auto) so this was my favorite Ben's Watch Club video! I would really love to see how a hardness test goes. For that you would use a Rockwell hardness tester, available from most manufacturing shops. Maybe there's one out there that would let you borrow one? The harder a material is, the more brittle it tends to be. So I suspect that even though the acrylic is soft and more prone to scratches, it might be the most durable when it comes to impacts.

@seandownes6968 Жыл бұрын

I’ve often heard that sapphire crystal shatters easier than mineral, so I would also love to see something like that

@labnine3362 Жыл бұрын

@@seandownes6968 Here's an interesting video that shows that while sapphire is more scratch resistant than gorilla glass (context: phones) it is more brittle. I would love to see this test performed on the watch crystals! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/obyBldiQp9m-aaM.html

@nirfz Жыл бұрын

@Lab Nine The problem with comparing phones to watches in my opinion is that the "glass" may be used as structural part of a phone to not have to make it heavier by adding other strengthening/stiffening material. So it is intended to "catch" some of the impact force when a phone is dropped. And phones almost always land on an edge. A watch crystal often times is not rectangular in shape and way thicker in relation to its diameter/length than a phone display. Also, it is structurally supported consistently around it's edge. So when you drop your watch in any normal situation, and it lands on anything but a sharp opject with the glass, i doubt the saphire will shatter. (I dropped a watch with a saphier crystal two weeks ago. If fell down roughtly 1m of height and landed on it's crown on the sheet metal floor of a cabinet. Interestingly the crown was not scratched and the crystal did not show any damage either. (But i am quite surprise about the amount of flexibility the saphier glass in the phone video actually had!)

@peakrider4886 Жыл бұрын

Well done Ben, enjoyed watching this comparison of some of these proprietary glasses. Just goes to show the marketing b.s for what it is. However to make this a truly scientific study, the pressure exerted on each crystal type should be able to be measured precisely as this may separate out the ones in Category C further. But overall, excellent test!

@kobusvanrensburg4092 Жыл бұрын

Ben, note that Mineral glass can be polished. It's not tricky at all. You will need some diamond polish. It's usually sold in a 10ml syringe ($10-15), but a little goes a looooooong way. Apply a dab, and buff with a dremel/rotary tool.

@nintendokings Жыл бұрын

Does it buff out evenly?

@kobusvanrensburg4092 Жыл бұрын

@@nintendokings yes, circular motion across the surface will do the trick.

@oceanzu6585 Жыл бұрын

with $15 you just buy another glass...

@nintendokings Жыл бұрын

@@oceanzu6585 tell me where I can buy old square/rectangular/hexagonal mineral crystals? Many with a specific fit

@AniviaS Жыл бұрын

@@oceanzu6585 not always an option, and you can use the polishing paste lots of times

@JasonTheWatchGuy Жыл бұрын

Really good experiment to show. I wonder how much these hold up due to a outer coating like the sapphire coating and how many are completely different compounds.

@JustWatches1 Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for testing these! Going to reference this video often :) Edit: Yes!! Please test case materials!

@CasualWatchReviews Жыл бұрын

Wow great job on that upload Ben!

@emm_arr Жыл бұрын

Very interesting. I'd wondered for a while whether how hard you press down makes much of a difference. I think Ben's cleared that up.

@EricBishard Жыл бұрын

I was very impressed with the Sapphire coat, typically I wouldn't buy a watch unless it was a Casio throw away with anything but Sapphire. But the Sapphire coated actually seems like something I might consider.

@sopapillas6398 Жыл бұрын

this was an excellent and very educational video Ben! Thank you for spending the time and money and making the necessary (watch) sacrifices to put this together. It looks like flame fusion is probably a lower quality sapphire coating with poor consistency and weak areas as you pointed out. Perhaps the bonding process isn't as good? No clue as to the manufacturing process.

@Zanzibar2Far Жыл бұрын

Good test, interesting results. couple of notes; 1. some of the lighter marks may be the material of the pick being deposited, as the weaker of the two colliding materials will wear. 2. as someone else said, cleaning the picks between tests is important, as you don't want contaminants mucking up the results. I will say, I own a few Wenger watches, so very pleased to see the great performance of the sapphire coated crystal.

@allisonsmith9050 Жыл бұрын

I bought my first watch (Citizen Blue Angel) before I really researched them and was ecstatic to learn my model has a sapphire crystal. I had some unintentional bangs against some sharp objects which I thought for sure would scratch it - but nothing. Will never buy another watch without it.

@thebaldwatchcollector Жыл бұрын

Fantastic video Ben, very informative and fun

@johannguasch754 Жыл бұрын

I love acrylic and sapphire watches. What i appreciate with acrylic is that it that it never has oil smears unlike sapphire that’s a smear magnet!

@ender1077 Жыл бұрын

Great video! Would be interested in an impact resistance test too if you are looking for ideas.

@YOutsider 5 ай бұрын

your tests on cases and crystals is valuable!

@ChristyOFaghan Жыл бұрын

i'm a bit late to the party on this video, but i think it's one of more valuable examples of testing i've seen and very useful for new enthusiasts i wasn't particularly surprised by the results, but curiously it gave me more confidence in seiko's 'hardlex' which _did_ perform much better than i was expecting

@cristophergamil845 9 ай бұрын

Thanks,now i can see which watch has a better materials and thats orient kamasu among budget divers,easy pick after i saw your vedio.salute sir.

@amurtag Жыл бұрын

One of your best videos yet! I've rarely bought into the hype about proprietary anything, and tests such as these just reinforce this... educated guess and principle of mine. Not sure if I'm a sapphire absolutist, the next argument tat can be made for mineral over sapphire is perhaps in optical properties, i.e. mineral being more translucent than sapphire and even though I have watches with all types, still can't make up my mind. They're different shapes, too, and that plays a factor. Anyway, I don't consider sappire premium anymore and AR coated sappire should be in anything costing more than $500, i..e. "entry level luxury".

@Walnut00 9 ай бұрын

Very nicely done!!! I came here to see if I should get a protector for my budget mineral casio watch. It looks like I don't have to worry since lvl 6 n 7 are basically like current phone screens lvl of resistance

@marcinzak1925 Жыл бұрын

Great content as always, I think we all needed video like this. Thank you.

@omurbeknurlan7995 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the review. It's really informative 🔥

@phantomspaceman Жыл бұрын

Thanks for doing this test. I've had several "mineral" crystals scratched by a lot less than a metal pick. Bricks and rough aluminum have damaged those. Hardlex field watches will get really banged up on granite. I also found a watch I really wanted on the watchshop sale and got the immediate nut punch of it being UK/EU only.

@willburn1741 Жыл бұрын

Thanks Ben! I went over to WatchShop and used your BF30 code on a nice Accurist watch. Cheers! Happy belated Thanksgiving.

@ashoktomar1 Жыл бұрын

i have been following you recently and i love your video👍. I just wanted to request that can you please make a video on the best casio watch for everyday and which is also cheap. I would really appreciate it

@-Dash- Жыл бұрын

Good video... I am very easy going on my watches (>100 from ALL brands and price ranges) and have only ever scratched acrylic, so sapphire is nice but I am not put off by Seiko Hardlex at all.

@holgermuller3597 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for this informative video, Ben! You made very complex tests and giving answers the watchindustrie does not deliver . So, I own some Jacques Lemans watches; they call their glasses "Crystex". Ithink it´s comparable to your tested "Krysterna". I wear all my watches and from practical experience of daily use I can say that none of my watches have visible scratches. So, thank you and go on 👍

@ferdianpermana 11 ай бұрын

like this ben! definitely informative!

@ca8064 Жыл бұрын

Very interesting video. A case material test would be neat :)

@austinsc2 Жыл бұрын

Yessir! Been waiting for this one

@bravejulius Жыл бұрын

Amazing content, it's highly appreciated. Keep it up!

@jpgr8937 Жыл бұрын

As I evolved from a one-watch user to an enthusiast, I have come to greater appreciate acrylic over the rest since it really won't shatter.

@GerardoVillarreal1101 Жыл бұрын

Once I read somewhere that sapphire was more likely to crack all over from a har hit than mineral, saying mineral was maybe getting some deep chip (from a pointy surface hit maybe) so I was a little reluctant getting a sapphire watch since sometimes I bump pretty hardly against things at work. Got a Pro Trek with sapphire and I always take it off, have no scratches after some years but still wouldn't risk getting it slammed against a hard surface.

@JULEIBS Жыл бұрын

Outstanding video, I'm very clumnsy, so am aways hitting things with my watches, and have aways find difficult to categorize this "branded" glass types, for sure will use this video in future purchases.

@twraia 6 ай бұрын

Interesting video thanks! One thing to test out if you do ever get to do this again is a test that simulates impact with sharp objects, since I am assuming we tend to damage watch crystal through bumping them into things instead of gently scratching them. Would the result be different if you "stab" the crystals with the picks?

@chief2036 Жыл бұрын

Great video. I've always wondered about all their claims. Very nice to see that there is some truth to their marketing. Thank you.

@vicg5323 Жыл бұрын

Very informative test. Thank you.

@rajdeepchakraborty1397 Жыл бұрын

Yesss my new watch is sapphire screened, this video made me happy. As a request: please test DLC (diamond-like-carbon) coated titanium watch case vs. other case materials.

@csachevauxsansabri2612 Жыл бұрын

Interesting test. Realy enjoyed the video thank you. Yes please test case and wristband, clasps ect

@kenlivingston3111 Жыл бұрын

Thanks I really enjoyed this video,very interesting. What about one on SS bracelet locks of different types to see which are more secure, Thanks

@pinkbono Жыл бұрын

Great work, thx Ben!

@KlutchDecals Жыл бұрын

Dope video, thank you!

@SianaGearz Жыл бұрын

Green tint is a sign of cheap glass, which contains iron impurities. Optical glass formulations range from Crown to Flint which at high purity, do not have any colour tint whatsoever. These also have different hardness depending on composition, reaching close to 7. I think Crown being more soda lime heavy compositions would be softer, but i'm not certain!

@lloydh65 Жыл бұрын

Your test is well done, good methodology and presentation of results.

@w3therby Жыл бұрын

Given that you can buy a sapphire crystal from AliExpress for about $12, I don't see how brands can get away with putting anything less on a watch costing more than $60-$80. Makes you realize how much of the cost of a watch goes towards marketing and margin

@quintoblanco8746 Жыл бұрын

It's not that simple. Manufacturers have existing production lines. Changing a production line or changing to a different supplier can be expensive. One problem that I encountered is that many inexpensive suppliers cannot guarantee delivery in large quantities. I agree with you that sapphire should be the norm and that the cost should not be an obstacle, but I also understand that people who work for watch manufactures are reluctant to invest in cheap watches.

@viktorg8346 Жыл бұрын

Shape is the answer. Flat sapphire is easy and cheap to produce but double domed or box shaped gets pretty expensive.

@maxswatchbuilds8129 Жыл бұрын

To add to what the others have said, the cheap AliExpress sapphire crystals don't have ar coating which is a must for sapphire as it is so reflective. If it doesn't have this it might not scratch but it'll look crap

@MrMadvillan Жыл бұрын

a high quality german mineral crystal is 4$ and you don’t need to coat it with ugly anti reflective coating in order to see the dial. A basic fab can also cut a bevel, dome and polish easily. If you look at a sapphire catalogue there are like 5 profiles and they are all thicc. Mineral, hundreds of all shapes . 12$ might seem cheap until you realize that a nike trainer contains 12$ of material total but the shoe sells 180$

@MrBruno7447 Жыл бұрын

Doing my part dropping a comment to increase engagment in this video, to have it recommended to more people. This is some important stuff!

@Engineersoldinterstingstuff 2 ай бұрын

Think of a surface coating as aluminium foil on a chocolate. If you press crusch the coating you measure the hardness if the chocolate if not you measure the hardness of aluminium. If the coating is thick and adheres prooerly to the substrate it works like sapphire - if its to thin or not adhering it peels off.

@EEE_MMM Жыл бұрын

Now there's some solid, scratch proof consumer advice 👍🏻

@denisdaly1708 Жыл бұрын

Great, useful video Ben..

@catalinsoare1261 Жыл бұрын

Very informative video. Thanks, but my problem is that some manufacturers say it's saffire crystal, but I doubt that. Is there any device to know this for sure?

@magnanova Жыл бұрын

Amazing work - thanks!

@nathan.bball08 2 ай бұрын

prayers for ben's back during these tests

@BensWatchClub 2 ай бұрын

I no longer have one!

@adrianyong3805 Жыл бұрын

Could you follow up with a video on how to fix/buff out scratches on different glasses? I've recently gotten a minor scratch on my own Iron Annie

@SuperBG78 Жыл бұрын

great video,thanks! for which materials for hardness 8? knife? or harder? Sorry I don't know for these kits. Also on the web,sapphire watchs are for nohs 9. which material for nohs 9? Thank you