Next big Rolex innovation??

[entropydave]

How about diamond instead of sapphire crystals? Disks can be made up to 6" across and a couple off mm thick (love the mix of imperial and metric units there!) by a process called Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD)

Cheap to make, unbelievebaly hard - 90 times harder than the next hardest (sapphire) - gotta happen withiun the next few years...

[mfer]

Maybe. I don't know all the properties of the diamonds CVD but harder may mean easier to break however. That is a property of materials.

I did chemical engineering in school and as you increase the hardness of a material, is generally becomes more brittle and easier to break. Ceramic is SUPER hard, but can break if struck hard.

Like I said, it would be very cool to find out the other properties. I think it would also be super sweet to look at my "diamond" crystal.

[warrenmich]

Let's not give them a reason for ANOTHER price increase of 15%!

[mldaytona]

Originally Posted by warrenmich

Let's not give them a reason for ANOTHER price increase of 15%!

[DSJ]

Originally Posted by mfer

Maybe. I don't know all the properties of the diamonds CVD but harder may mean easier to break however. That is a property of materials.

I did chemical engineering in school and as you increase the hardness of a material, is generally becomes more brittle and easier to break. Ceramic is SUPER hard, but can break if struck hard.

Like I said, it would be very cool to find out the other properties. I think it would also be super sweet to look at my "diamond" crystal.

That's what I was thinking. We don't hear many stories of crystals scratching, but chipping instead. The diamond would chip even more easily.

[Dan Pierce]

How about a price decrease?
dP

[miner]

Originally Posted by Dan Pierce

How about a price decrease?
dP

You'll have to invent a time machine for that Dan

[Mandrake]

Just lately I have been thinking about Rolex.....and Ceramic cases. Other brands, like IWC, are already there, will we see anything like that with Rolex? Can you imagine it, a ceramic case DSSD??

Just wondering....

Regards
Carlos

[SPACE-DWELLER]

I wonder whether a diamond crystal (being 90 times harder than a sapphire one) would be able to get the LEC? Not that the LEC is mandatory, imho (the Milgauss GV has no LEC), but just wondering.

[entropydave]

Originally Posted by SPACE-DWELLER

I wonder whether a diamond crystal (being 90 times harder than a sapphire one) would be able to get the LEC? Not that the LEC is mandatory, imho (the Milgauss GV has no LEC), but just wondering.

LEC would be no problems at all! You are looking at temps in excess of 20,000 degrees K from a laser.

As for the brittleness - I thought about that too but I have no info on that other than they they do use CVD diamond for certain highly unpleasant environments and indeed the first craft to Venus had natural diamond windows for the camera.

Nope, dunno, don't know whether it may be less prone to scratching but more prone to cracking. Good questions.

[mfer]

They do Laser Etching on diamonds (real ones) currently. So I doubt that is a problem.

You can get your name etched into the diamond.