Help needed - Scratched Sapphire Crystal

[Subdialler]

I know we all love a mark to remember a special occassion, but this one has left me feeling really quite sad.

My wife and I returned home from celebrating my niece's 21st birthday Friday last, and as I came to take off my watch (Z series SD), I noticed a couple of tiny marks to the face of it.
I ran it under water and pulled out the microfibre cloth, rubbed and rubbed and still they were there.

It dawned on me that my wife must have accidentally brushed her engagement ring across the face of my watch and I am left with 3 very light and very superficial scratches.

I've searched this forum for help/guidance and though replacing the crystal is no problem, am I right in thinking 'diamond paste' may be worth a try?

I gather elsewhere that a guy had success using 2 then 1 micron paste, do you know what I should buy and if so will it make things worse/better?

If anyone has had similar experiences/successes please let me hear from you.

Great stuff folks and thanks.

[Tools]

Sapphire is pretty hard stuff.. I've heard of some success with diamond paste, but I'll bet it is a lot of work.

I might take it to my local watchmaker and ask if he/she has any power tools and could take a whack at it first.. It could be that if the sharp edges of the scratch are just buffed at, it might be practically unnoticeable.

Your Dealer might even do this for free..

Don't be to quick to blame your wife.... (This should be a practiced philosophy)

[Subdialler]

Agreed, it must have been the shoulder of Lamb or the cheesecake!!

[harvey]

if you do need a new crystal... apply for a ernest jones credit card... with which you receive 20% off any repairs...

hope this helps...

[BigHat]

Those diamond rings have scratched more crystals than anything else I've read about.

Of course, it could have been something else I like the way you put it, but just be prepared for her to say YOU rubbed your watch over HER ring.

[chicagowatchman]

Remember anything can be replaced!

Except for your wife! of Course!!!

[Subdialler]

Wonder if the engagement ring should be replaced for an elastoplast? Just think that extra cash...........................J/K!!

[sdwtchlvr]

That's unfortunate but I say, just wear it...character is a good thing. But also know that a replacement crystal will set you back just $150...and will be good as new if you so choose.

[stevemulholland3]

there is really nothing that you as a novice could do to make it any better.
just throw a few hundred into getting a new crystal if it bothers you that much.

[diversified]

When buying my first Rolex I asked the dealer about the differances between sapphire and plastic. He said plastic not as desirable but 50% of the time repairable, sapphire are either you learn to live with a scratch or replace it.

[CKay]

Replace a new crystal if it bothers you. Anyway, it is normal for ladies to hold on to their partners' watch with their ring fingers when they are happy, excited or emotional. I received this treatment very often.

[momac]

I had the crystal replaced on my Black face SS Daytona (Black Dial shows everything). Rolex charged me about $90 to replace it and it took few weeks to complete. Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

[chicagowatchman]

Yea those Diamonds are killers!!!

I know a lot of people who got scratches on there IPHONEs with ladies
wearing diamond earings while on the phone

[ratae1950]

This is why my wife's engagement ring stone is acrylic.
See if you can live with it as it does commemorate a special event. If you can't replace it.

[DSJ]

I would just live with it.

[Subdialler]

Tried to live with and couldn't! First class service from Rolex SC in Bexley, quick turnaround and it's back on the wrist, superb!!

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Subdialler

I know we all love a mark to remember a special occassion, but this one has left me feeling really quite sad.

My wife and I returned home from celebrating my niece's 21st birthday Friday last, and as I came to take off my watch (Z series SD), I noticed a couple of tiny marks to the face of it.
I ran it under water and pulled out the microfibre cloth, rubbed and rubbed and still they were there.

It dawned on me that my wife must have accidentally brushed her engagement ring across the face of my watch and I am left with 3 very light and very superficial scratches.

I've searched this forum for help/guidance and though replacing the crystal is no problem, am I right in thinking 'diamond paste' may be worth a try?

I gather elsewhere that a guy had success using 2 then 1 micron paste, do you know what I should buy and if so will it make things worse/better?

If anyone has had similar experiences/successes please let me hear from you.

Great stuff folks and thanks.

Well truth be told now with modern abrasives yes you can easily remove scratches from sapphire crystals.Yes believe it or not they do scratch as you have found out.You will need some good quality diamond paste, I have used 3 micron to remove quite a long scratch,going across the scratch first.It takes a fair bit of elbow grease,but just a tiny bit on a cloth like a spectacles cloth or similar.Then just a fine polish after with the quarter micron,and scratch will be gone,and good as new. Cost for the two tubes in the UK around £15 it will last you for ages expect its far cheaper out of the UK.And a lot cheaper than a new crystal takes a bit of time but will not harm crystal in any way,if the scratch is very deep then it should replaced.

[GradyPhilpott]

Now that diamonds can be synthesized and are indistiguishable from the natural ones, so much so that DeBeers laser etches theirs, I wonder how long it will be before Rolex starts to use synthetic diamonds for their watch crystals.

[RsqVet]

Grady ---

Nice thought but my understanding is getting synthetic diamond big enough to make a crystal out of is way too costly if not downright impossible at the moment.

[GradyPhilpott]

Yeah. I was being silly, but when I stop and think about all the refinements that Rolex has implemented over the years to separate themselves from the competition, to thwart counterfeiters, and to just generally create more durable watches, it doesn't seem all that far-fetched, even if the technology isn't there.

And, you know, if they could do it, the watches would sell like hotcakes, regardless of the cost.

When I wrote that post, I first suggested that all WISes should have their wives', fiancées' and girlfriends' diamonds secretly switched out for CZs to protect their watch crystals, but I decided to delete that part.

[SS Oyster]

Originally Posted by chicagowatchman

Remember anything can be replaced!

Except for your wife! of Course!!!

Replaced my first wife with a new one and really happy with the results!

[GradyPhilpott]

Originally Posted by RsqVet

Grady ---

Nice thought but my understanding is getting synthetic diamond big enough to make a crystal out of is way too costly if not downright impossible at the moment.

I just ran across this article.

Maybe the first synthetic diamond crystal or perhaps, the first diamond-coated crystal will be a product of a bottle of tequila.

Huh?

Read on.

__________________________________________________ ___________

Scientists Turn Tequila into Diamonds

The key to the surprising discovery is tequila's ratio of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon, which lies within the "diamond growth region." The resulting diamond films could have inexpensive commercial applications as electrical insulators, say researchers Javier Morales, Luis Miguel Apátiga, and Víctor Manuel Castaño from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (Morales is also with Nuevo León´s Autonomous University).

[...]

In their experiments, the scientists grew the diamond films using "pulsed liquid injection chemical vapor deposition techniques." In a specially made device, they heated the liquid tequila to 280 ºC (536 ºF) to transform it into a gas. In a reaction chamber, they heated the gas to 800 ºC (1470 ºF) to break down its molecular structure, resulting in solid diamond crystals of about 100-400 nm. The crystals fell onto silicon or stainless steel trays, accumulating in a thin, uniform film. The high temperatures removed all of the tequila´s carbon impurities to result in pure diamonds.

The final diamond film was hard and heat-resistant - properties that could make the diamond useful as coatings for cutting tools, high-power semiconductors, radiation detectors and optical-electronic devices, the scientists explained. They plan to begin industrial-scale applications around 2011, and hope to interest a tequila producer in widening its market beyond the traditional beverage.

http://www.physorg.com/news145255770.html

"Growth of Diamond Films from Tequila"

[Bisquitlips]

I have to admit that a scratch on my crystal would be maddening!!!!!!

Worth the money just to get it back to 100%.

Now scratches on my bracelet do not bug me that much and I prepared myself for them when I bought it. I bought it to wear and not to put up in a safe, but the crystal is different with me.

[chicagowatchman]

As far as i am concerned........This is
the only place where "scratches" are acceptable!!!....