fredrussell
Well-known member
The Speedmasters have a sapphire crystal dome, at least these days they do. Would that not have saved the day?
Expensive watches on boats.
- Thread starter fredrussell
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Obi
Active member
When I had the Speedmaster it was about 2005 and it was the Moonwatch version of the Speedmaster. They make more than one type of Speedmaster, but the Moonwatch did not have sapphire at that time, they may have changed it to sapphire glass since, I do not know. However, back then that particular Moonwatch was made much the same as the original spec Moonwatch, the original did not have sapphire glass either.
OMEGA Speedmaster Moonwatch – The All-Important Question: Hesalite Or Sapphire Crystal?
@Daydream believer. This sounds to me like a time before sapphire glass was used on Rolex, or perhaps a model without sapphire glass? My watch did take a hard knock on the glass against one of the primary winches on board, it didn't break. I am sure they do break, but perhaps I was lucky.
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lustyd
Well-known member
Sapphire only helps with scratching, and only on the glass. The rest of the watch may suffer depending what it's made of - my titanium Fenix is extremely hard to damage, whereas a gold watch would scratch exceptionally easily and possibly be ground away in a scenario like above. Impacts are different, and Sapphire will crack or shatter more easily than other kinds of glass or crystal. Same for diamonds, they're very hard but if you hit one with a hammer you get diamond dust.
penberth3
Well-known member
More marketing bullshit. "Sapphire crystal" - AKA glass!
Praxinoscope
Well-known member
I think my Submariner is now on about glass number 6 which averages out at about 1 new glass every 10 years, when the watch goes back to Rolex they automatically replace the glass and polish the case, when it comes back it looks as new, and ready for me to scratch the glass and case again over the next 10 years.
Daydream believer
Well-known member
But that is better than pigeon droppings on your sun dial. AKA bit of stick on a your bird table IF the sun shines
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Praxinoscope
Well-known member
It may be a marketing exercise, but ‘Sapphire Glass’ is not glass but a ceramic made from aluminium oxide and is far more resistent to scratching than normal glass which is basically sand and limestone.
langstonelayabout
Well-known member
Posh watches on a boat? Just don’t.
I’ve mashed a number of cheap watches whilst sailing and fixing my boats so I’d be mortified if I’d broken my Rolex, Omega or Ulysse Nardin. Just get a really cheap waterproof watch and leave your posh watch at home.
I had my posh watches on my home contents insurance where they doubled the premium, also the insurance co wanted them valued every 5 years or so for which Rolex charged me £100 for a piece of paper that valued it at current market value. Omega will only consider issuing a valuation if your watch is correctly serviced with them (a service on my Railmaster Is about £800).
I’ve mashed a number of cheap watches whilst sailing and fixing my boats so I’d be mortified if I’d broken my Rolex, Omega or Ulysse Nardin. Just get a really cheap waterproof watch and leave your posh watch at home.
I had my posh watches on my home contents insurance where they doubled the premium, also the insurance co wanted them valued every 5 years or so for which Rolex charged me £100 for a piece of paper that valued it at current market value. Omega will only consider issuing a valuation if your watch is correctly serviced with them (a service on my Railmaster Is about £800).
Juan Twothree
Well-known member
I've got an analogue Casio G-Shock. Charges by solar, and receives a radio signal every day to keep the right time.
And despite having suffered a fair amount of abuse, so far it's been absolutely bullet-proof.
And despite having suffered a fair amount of abuse, so far it's been absolutely bullet-proof.
penberth3
Well-known member
That does fit the definition of a glass, so it's still marketing nonsense.
lustyd
Well-known member
It also fits the definition of Sapphire so I wouldn't call it nonsense
laika
Well-known member
What’s the case made from?
Praxinoscope
Well-known member
Penberth3, #110 according to various dictionary sources :
GLASS: an amorphous material formed for a melt by cooling to rigidity without crystalisation.
SAPHIRE GLASS : is not a glass at all, but a transparent crystaline technical ceramic made of pure aluminium oxide.
‘Saphire Glass’ may look like glass and be used in place of glass, but technically it is not glass as it has a crystaline structure which glass does not, of course there is a marketing influence to promote it, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is not actually classified as glass but does have the advantage of being more scratch resistant.
GLASS: an amorphous material formed for a melt by cooling to rigidity without crystalisation.
SAPHIRE GLASS : is not a glass at all, but a transparent crystaline technical ceramic made of pure aluminium oxide.
‘Saphire Glass’ may look like glass and be used in place of glass, but technically it is not glass as it has a crystaline structure which glass does not, of course there is a marketing influence to promote it, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is not actually classified as glass but does have the advantage of being more scratch resistant.
obmij
Active member
Mechanical watches are a great match with sailing yachts. Expensive, outdated and inefficient compared with the modern equivalent..but like yachts, if you like them you like them and every other consideration is secondary.
I wear an Explorer 2 as a daily. It's not a typical rolex and most people wouldn't recognise it a such, but that's not the point. I get a great deal of satisfaction from wearing it for any number of reasons but basically it is just a really nice thing to have and gives pleasure which otherwise wouldn't be there from a mundane activity (telling the time)
If I think it's going to be knocked about I wear it on the inside of my wrist, but don't really baby it. It's a tool, and I treat it a such.
Practically, it is great. Never runs out of batteries or needs winding, two timezones (great for marine work) and accuracy is spot on. It runs around a second a day slow but makes that up during the 6 hours a day I take it off. 10 days into March and it's dead on.
But, all that is unimportant. Its functions could be surpassed for far less money.
Having said that you could drive to that pub for lunch for several hundred orders of magnitude less than it costs to sail there, all things considered, but here we are on a sailing forum!
So OP, buy the mechanical watch of your choice. It will go well with your anachronistic, beautiful, obsolete, wind powered chariot of joy.
: - )
I wear an Explorer 2 as a daily. It's not a typical rolex and most people wouldn't recognise it a such, but that's not the point. I get a great deal of satisfaction from wearing it for any number of reasons but basically it is just a really nice thing to have and gives pleasure which otherwise wouldn't be there from a mundane activity (telling the time)
If I think it's going to be knocked about I wear it on the inside of my wrist, but don't really baby it. It's a tool, and I treat it a such.
Practically, it is great. Never runs out of batteries or needs winding, two timezones (great for marine work) and accuracy is spot on. It runs around a second a day slow but makes that up during the 6 hours a day I take it off. 10 days into March and it's dead on.
But, all that is unimportant. Its functions could be surpassed for far less money.
Having said that you could drive to that pub for lunch for several hundred orders of magnitude less than it costs to sail there, all things considered, but here we are on a sailing forum!
So OP, buy the mechanical watch of your choice. It will go well with your anachronistic, beautiful, obsolete, wind powered chariot of joy.
: - )
fredrussell
Well-known member
Ha ha, yes it was cunning of me to ask about buying a frivolous thing such as an expensive watch on a forum full of frivolous thing owners. I mean, if you live or work on your boat you’re obviously exempt from that description, but the rest of us…
SC35
Well-known member
I really don't care about what others think about expensive/cheap watches, but it gives me a buzz to wear a miniature mechanical thing that also tells the time.
I have an IWC MkXV pilots watch from 2001 that got worn for all sorts of inappropriate activities including boating.
I've had it sent off to be serviced / case polished and might try and take a bit more care of it next time around.
I have another IWC that I'm too scared to wear apart from sitting on the sofa.
Both these are listed individually on the house insurance policy.
And a Seiko Solar watch that I won't mind getting knocked about or splashed, which might become my default boating watch:
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Northern Star
Active member
Had a Rolex for many years but the insurance and valuation made it silly so I sold it and now have a Rado Captain Cook limited edition. It is valued at under £3k so it covered all risks via my home insurance.
Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
Watches are at that point where art, science and engineering coincide. What’s not to love?
StUrrock
Member
I remember once asking a Bang & Olufsen senior manager as to how they managed to sell their exorbitantly expensive TVs (at the time their 100” TV retailed at £100k!).
The reply was;
“No one ever bought a Rolex, just to tell the time.”
Back on topic, I have a Citizen Eco-Drive, and love it, but at £500 still a bit pricey.
The reply was;
“No one ever bought a Rolex, just to tell the time.”
Back on topic, I have a Citizen Eco-Drive, and love it, but at £500 still a bit pricey.
