Deepsea Ti Caseback... coated with what?

[MarJnK]

I'm considering purchasing a second ti caseback for my Deepsea and having it laser etched with an image of my baby daughter and her birth info. It is amazing the detail and photo quality that laser etching can achieve.

I've seen it done on coated aluminum, and think that the coated Ti caseback might be perfect for this, except I have no idea what the "scratch sensative" coating is that Rolex applied to the Ti Caseback.

Any ideas? I'm guessing it is a ceramic coating, but who knows.

Mark

[RJC]

Originally Posted by MarJnK

I'm considering purchasing a second ti caseback for my Deepsea and having it laser etched with an image of my baby daughter and her birth info. It is amazing the detail and photo quality that laser etching can achieve.

I've seen it done on coated aluminum, and think that the coated Ti caseback might be perfect for this, except I have no idea what the "scratch sensative" coating is that Rolex applied to the Ti Caseback.

Any ideas? I'm guessing it is a ceramic coating, but who knows.

Mark

Mark, I could be wrong, but I was under the impression the case back centre was simply titanium and not necessarily coated with anything!

I'd be interested to know if there is a coating though.

Rob

[SDDS]

its made from titantium

[MASSIMO OSTI]

leave well alone

[MarJnK]

Guys, I know its titanium as I mentioned in my post... but if you look here... and scroll down, http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=37035 there is a section on finishes, and there is a warning that the caseback has a scratch sensative coating and should not be refinished. This leads me to my question, what is the coating?

I've owned may Ti watches and other Ti bike parts, and none have had this dull dark grey finish, so its obviously not naked Ti, it has a coating of some kind.

p.s. I'm not looking for opinions on whether I should have a caseback etched or not, this is a personal choice to commemorate my daughters birth, and no risk if I buy a second back as I can always switch it back to OEM if I don't like it. :)

[WatchSnob]

I think you are going to have a hard time finding a new caseback but either way the color of the caseback is the exact same as every Ti watch I had. Yes it is coated but that does not have anything to do with the color.

As for what is the coating, I do not think anyone here really knows. Perhaps try contacting Rik the Watchmaker here?

Hmmm try calling Rolex USA but I doubt they will be much help

[vjb.knife]

I think that the fact that is coated is a good reason to not do what you are proposing. Etching it will cut through the coating and quite likely make a mess. But if you were going to do it why would you buy a second back rather than just doing it to the case back that is on the watch?

Also realize that if you do etch the back, you might compromise the depth capability of the watch. It might only be good to something like 3,000 meters, so you would barely be able to take it in the pool.

As a side note I had my name etched into the back of my first Seadweller 4000 back in about 1984 or so. The AD told me it might not be rated to 4000 feet after that and I told him I was a little worried that it could implode on me one day, but that I lived for danger. LOL I think he thought I was serious.

[MarJnK]

Originally Posted by vjb.knife

I think that the fact that is coated is a good reason to not do what you are proposing. Etching it will cut through the coating and quite likely make a mess. But if you were going to do it why would you buy a second back rather than just doing it to the case back that is on the watch?

I think you answered your own question here.
Something to consider is that etching is usually done on coated aluminum, so that the etched area has a different shade or colour than the top surface, so the coating might also help.

Originally Posted by vjb.knife

Also realize that if you do etch the back, you might compromise the depth capability of the watch. It might only be good to something like 3,000 meters, so you would barely be able to take it in the pool.

I'm pretty sure 3000m would suffice unless I change professions.

Originally Posted by vjb.knife

As a side note I had my name etched into the back of my first Seadweller 4000 back in about 1984 or so. The AD told me it might not be rated to 4000 feet after that and I told him I was a little worried that it could implode on me one day, but that I lived for danger. LOL I think he thought I was serious.

[Tools]

Titanium is usually coated to help prevent galvanic corrosion when mated with dissimilar metals, although not a big issue with SS. It also helps with any galling when friction is applied, such as it might get when the case-back is screwed down...

Titanium is also vulnerable to chlorides and the coating helps inhibit this....

If you etch the back, it will likely look good, expose it slightly to the affects of chlorides, but in the end, it will likely oxidize and darken up so the etching will dull and be hard to see,,,


Maybe not...........

Go for it....... the worst that could happen is that you would have to buy a new one.........

[MarJnK]

Originally Posted by WatchSnob

I think you are going to have a hard time finding a new caseback but either way the color of the caseback is the exact same as every Ti watch I had. Yes it is coated but that does not have anything to do with the color.

As for what is the coating, I do not think anyone here really knows. Perhaps try contacting Rik the Watchmaker here?

Hmmm try calling Rolex USA but I doubt they will be much help

I agree that finding a caseback will be hard. The caseback on my Deepsea is dark, dull, matte, and has very little in common with the dozen or so Ti watches I've owned, which all appeared like a darker shade of SS.

[MarJnK]

Originally Posted by Tools

Titanium is usually coated to help prevent galvanic corrosion when mated with dissimilar metals, although not a big issue with SS. It also helps with any galling when friction is applied, such as it might get when the case-back is screwed down...

Titanium is also vulnerable to chlorides and the coating helps inhibit this....

If you etch the back, it will likely look good, expose it slightly to the affects of chlorides, but in the end, it will likely oxidize and darken up so the etching will dull and be hard to see,,,


Maybe not...........

Go for it....... the worst that could happen is that you would have to buy a new one.........

This is great info and I didn't think about the ti oxidizing and darkening. Excellent point.

I would never undertake this project without having a second caseback in hand. I wouldn't dare risk messing up the caseback on my Deepsea. I would do it on the spare caseback and ONLY if I was happy with it, would I have it installed.

[Tools]

Ooops..

Forgot to say that the coating is probably a PVD applied titanium nitride film.... sort of a ceramic type deposition........

[MarJnK]

In a perfect world, this would be the end result (mock-up)

[MarJnK]

You know what... the more i look at this mock-up, the more cheesy it looks. I thought it would look great and be a nice tribute to my girl, but I don't think I can do it to my Deepsea.

This is why I do mock-ups, you just never know till you see it.

Scratch the whole idea.

Thanks for the input anyways!
Mark