Pros and cons of Steel vs Ceramic bezels

[Burlington]

It occurred to me earlier today at work after whacking my watch on a metal frame that actually steel does indeed carry one major benefit over ceramic.

Resistance to damage.

I’m not talking scratching here, but real damage - the kind which can’t be buffed out.





Obviously it’s impossible to know for sure but having read some of the other threads on here about chipped CE bezels - i think there is at least a reasonable chance this could have resulted in a good size chip or crack.

I would be far less inclined to leave a CE bezel with such damage in case the chip turned into a crack, but no such worries with stainless.

That said, this type of damage is infrequent and ceramic would be immune to this type of thing below, so it’s swings and roundabouts



So despite how incredible the brushed ceramic bezels look and I’ve often admired the CE diver - I don’t think a switch would be sensible for me given the wear my watch is getting.

This does also lead me to another point which is perhaps a separate post, but whilst not being reckless with my watch, i have absolutely relaxed whilst wearing it as I’ve come to appreciate just how robust it is which leads to even greater enjoyment now the proverbial cotton wool has come off.



And despite all the little dings it still looks absolutely fantastic, brings great pleasure to wear every day and almost two years on I would be hard pushed to dream up a daily wear alternative i would rather have.

[masterserg]

I love it! It can always be brought back to new at service. Even replacing that steel bezel is a reasonable cost.

[Burlington]

Originally Posted by masterserg

I love it! It can always be brought back to new at service. Even replacing that steel bezel is a reasonable cost.

Absolutely ! Even if now I think I would keep it unpolished and unchanged, I will see how it looks in another 3 years as it may well be in desperate need of a refresh

[DasKptl]

And the SS bezel looks better to me than the black ceramic one, from the purely aesthetic viewpoint. Because the shiny SS bezel retains the original porthole/diver helmet look better.

[rodo]

So how much does a new steel bezel run for a roo 42/diver?

[brandrea]

[KBM]

Originally Posted by Burlington

This does also lead me to another point which is perhaps a separate post, but whilst not being reckless with my watch, i have absolutely relaxed whilst wearing it as I’ve come to appreciate just how robust it is which leads to even greater enjoyment now the proverbial cotton wool has come off.

[Burlington]

Originally Posted by rodo

So how much does a new steel bezel run for a roo 42/diver?

I believe it’s in the region of 6-800€ which isn’t too bad considering what it is and how much hand finishing is involved to get it just perfect.

[Rachdanon]

Thank you for that very psychologically healthy anti-OCD post :-)

[subtona]

Ceramic requires less tissues to wipe away the tears

[Uros]

After elephant and still having jumbo must say I enjoy my ceramic to the extent that probably wouldnt buy anything above 40mm from AP without at least ceramic bezel (maybe rose gold 15500 or open worked but thats another story:))

Its not the big hits, they can be equally ugly on both (scratch vs shatter), but the moment you dont need to worry if you pressed your watch against table, small hits, seat belt etc. 44mm ceramic which is relatively huge, after 6 months look as new...



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[AshAP]

I’m already on my 2nd ceramic bezel and my wife chipped the new one by knocking my wrist with her ceramic Daytona, obviously her Rolex is bulletproof and bore no scars but my AP suffered a very slightly chipped bezel.


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[Burlington]

Originally Posted by Rachdanon

Thank you for that very psychologically healthy anti-OCD post :-)

I think it’s human nature (for the most part) to want to keep pristine things that way.

But once through daily wear and tear it began showing some signs of use, they’ve been coming thick and fast. Not an intentional decision as such on my part, just less pro-active wrist awareness more than anything.

When viewed as a whole it’s still in superb condition!

[AshAP]

A new ss bezel is around £700 whereas a new ceramic one is 2K. A replacement bezel also necessitates a service at extra cost.


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[Burlington]

Originally Posted by AshAP

I’m already on my 2nd ceramic bezel and my wife chipped the new one by knocking my wrist with her ceramic Daytona, obviously her Rolex is bulletproof and bore no scars but my AP suffered a very slightly chipped bezel.


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Ouch - yes, that’s exactly it. The hard vs. brittle trade off.

Originally Posted by Uros

After elephant and still having jumbo must say I enjoy my ceramic to the extent that probably wouldnt buy anything above 40mm from AP without at least ceramic bezel (maybe rose gold 15500 or open worked but thats another story:))

Its not the big hits, they can be equally ugly on both (scratch vs shatter), but the moment you dont need to worry if you pressed your watch against table, small hits, seat belt etc. 44mm ceramic which is relatively huge, after 6 months look as new...

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Visually the ceramic bezels do look incredible & better (in my view) than the steel.

Originally Posted by subtona

Ceramic requires less tissues to wipe away the tears

But overall, despite scratch resistance, the overall watch becomes less rugged and resilient to the big impacts.

[AshAP]

I’d love an AP 44mm Diver with ceramic bezel, that would be an awesome watch imo.


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[P2725TMB]

Whilst I agree there's perhaps more financial risk with a ceramic bezel, to me there's simply no choice to be made, ceramic is fantastic, both because of its amazing surface and scratch resistance. It really makes my RG44, particularly highlighted by the hexagonal white gold screws. I wish all my APs had ceramic bezels!