How I Came to Love Ceramic or my first scratch....

[DaveN]

I've read multiple threads recently about scratches, especially first scratches occurring to newly acquired Rollies with trepidation. My new GMT II TT would eventually suffer the same fate although I dreaded the day.

Yesterday I was walking on the beach with friends who are spending the weekend with us. The tide was coming in and we had to be careful as we threaded a narrow path along the water's edge. Suddenly, a larger than usual wave arrived and we jumped away to keep ourselves dry. I felt Lisa colliding with my left arm and my Rolex taking a hit. Unfortunately she was wearing several diamonds on her hand and I realized that my poor GMT was doomed. The dreaded moment had arrived.

Lisa felt bad and asked me if she had scratched my watch. I looked down and quickly surveyed for damage. I didn't see any scratches or gouges and re-assured her that all was fine. I was surprised but I didn't want to make her feel bad by making an issue of the collision so I decided to wait until the walk was finished to truly assess the damage.

I suffered through the miles left wondering where the scratch was and how bad it would look. When we finished I privately examined my Rollie and found no scratch! Unbelieving I looked in better light and convinced myself that there may be a slight defect on the outer bezel edge around the 0100 mark at the black/gold interface. Where's JJ and his loupe when you need him?

Needless to say, I was amazed at the ceramic's resilience. I can consider this my first scratch and be done with it. If I have to look this hard to see something I'm quite lucky. I would post a photo but I don't think that my lens will magnify enough to demonstrate what I'm writing about.

Love my Rolex, love the ceramic bezel. The old GMT would be toast after such an encounter. Beware the dangers of diamonds lurking out there.