JC DSSD Sapphire Scratch & Dial Lint

[golfski]

Would love some advice from the knowledgeable people here on TRF. I took my two week old DSSD JC on vacation with me and couldn’t wait to put it to the test and take it to the bottom of the 6ft pool at the resort we are staying at. While getting out of the pool, I lightly bumped my watch against the underwater wall of the pool and came to notice a pretty noticeable scratch on the crystal. I was pretty surprised at this, I’ve had a Tag Heuer for 9 years and put it through the ringer and the crystal looks brand new!

Looking at the damage under light, I also noticed there is a piece of ‘lint’ or something on the dial. I had never noticed this before, and its very hard to see to the naked eye, but while inspecting my scratch damage, I spotted it pretty easily.

I know I messed up the crystal, but curious if that could have caused this lint to be on the dial? I am very OCD with my nice things (cars, watches, etc.) and generally like to keep my stuff in like new condition. I have already looked into ordering some Cape Cod for some minor scratches on the polished sides of the lugs ;) but have read all the comments here about just enjoying the watch and wearing it. However, this crystal scratch I don’t think I can ignore. The SS scratches I can’t see unless I am looking for them but these two imperfections I now see every time i check the time.

Curious to know how much a new crystal on a DSSD will cost if anyone has had this done recently. I saw a post in 2015 it was $700 for the DSSD, while seeing other references costing only $150-300 in more recent posts. Second question, is what to do about the dial lint. I want to take it to the AD and show it to them but worried they will blow me off because of the physical damage I have caused to the crystal. Any thoughts on how I should approach the AD? Lastly, am I being too OCD about these imperfections? I get the thought of the SS scratches and the character they bring - but I don’t think I can live with the crystal scratch and this peice of something on the dial.

Any advice and thoughts are much appreciated. I am now second guessing taking my Explorer II on a 100+ mile bicycle ride I am doing tomorrow, considering I can’t take a dip in a pool without torturing my beautiful JC

Edit: Adding pics. The scratch is right at the word ‘Date’ in the pic and the ‘lint’ is next to the shadow of the second hand round end.