Anti-reflective coatings

[handsfull]

The Pelagos is a PRIME example of how well AR coatings work....one of the easiest dials to read of just about any watch I've owned.

[TheGanzman]

FWIW, Jack@IWW can apply AR coating to the inside of a sapphire crystal; I'll be sending my 14060 to him as soon as I can BEAR to part w/it for awhile...

[Foxglove]

Rolex doesn't AR coat the underside except for under some newer version cyclopses.

I wish Rolex would put AR on the inside/underside of the crystal on all their watches. It really helps.

[gktii]

Originally Posted by Foxglove

Rolex doesn't AR coat the underside except for under some newer version cyclopses.

I wish Rolex would put AR on the inside/underside of the crystal on all their watches. It really helps.

I wish they would too...Does anyone know if someone's actually sent one in and had it done? where did they send it? and how was the result? (before and after pics would be a real treat)

[eonflux]

Originally Posted by gktii

I have AR on all of my Panerai's, and i notice ZERO scratches or swirls..And the ability to view the dial is 10fold without it. I've got the DSSD D-Blue on order now, and i have a feeling i'm going to be disappointed that it doesn't have the coating...That dial deserves to be seen from all angles...Just my opinion...and i live in VA where the humidity you can cut with a knife. Never any problems with my watches that have it..

I think the Panerai AR is on the inside.
I had a 275 and that's what it looked like to me.

When AR is on the outside, all reflections are a different color than the original object. This can be seen with eyeglasses and watches, with reflections having reddish, purplish, greenish, bluish, etc, hues, but never the original color.

See my previous Omega X-33 below for example. My old IWC 3706 to the right doesn't have any AR. Later versions of the 3706 have AR on the outside and reflections are blue (my friend has one).
On my previous Panerai 275, the reflections from the outside of the crystal are the same color as the original object, hence I don't think AR is on the outside.
Same with my AP, but the website states AR on both sides. But I can readily see reflections on the AP that are unchanged in color so I don't think there's AR on the outside.

On the X-33 as well as a Breitling I used to have, fine scratches and swirls were visible.

[gktii]

Originally Posted by eonflux

I think the Panerai AR is on the inside.
I had a 275 and that's what it looked like to me.

When AR is on the outside, all reflections are a different color than the original object. This can be seen with eyeglasses and watches, with reflections having reddish, purplish, greenish, bluish, etc, hues, but never the original color.

See my previous Omega X-33 below for example. My old IWC 3706 to the right doesn't have any AR. Later versions of the 3706 have AR on the outside and reflections are blue (my friend has one).
On my previous Panerai 275, the reflections from the outside of the crystal are the same color as the original object, hence I don't think AR is on the outside.
Same with my AP, but the website states AR on both sides. But I can readily see reflections on the AP that are unchanged in color so I don't think there's AR on the outside.

On the X-33 as well as a Breitling I used to have, fine scratches and swirls were visible.

Very interesting. Thanks for the clarification and pics to show the differences....I can definitely see the blue in the omega...and maybe it's not ideal for a color change, but i just like seeing the dial from all angles....

What are you thoughts on your DSSD D-Blue without the AR? That's the exact model i'm waiting on for delivery, and i'm concerned i will be disappointed in the inability to see through the glass clearly..

[eonflux]

Originally Posted by gktii

Very interesting. Thanks for the clarification and pics to show the differences....I can definitely see the blue in the omega...and maybe it's not ideal for a color change, but i just like seeing the dial from all angles....

What are you thoughts on your DSSD D-Blue without the AR? That's the exact model i'm waiting on for delivery, and i'm concerned i will be disappointed in the inability to see through the glass clearly..

I hate glare on eyeglasses, so have gotten AR coating for lenses. The AR coatings tend to get scratched over time with simple cleaning of the lenses. But with glasses, you eventually get new ones because styles change, so not a big deal.

With watches, however, you may keep one for a long time, so suffering scratches on an AR coating would be annoying to me. The DSSD has more glare than other Rolexes due to the thickness of the crystal and the curvature. With a domed crystal you always see some glare because some part of the curved crystal will angle a reflection to you. With the flat crystals, like on the Sub, you get a lot of glare at one angle which can be resolved with a slight tilt of the watch.

The DSSD hands/dial can be a bit less legible than on the Sub but that's due more due to distortion by the curvature and thickness rather than glare. If you're OK with the distortion on your Panerai 233, you should be OK with the DSSD.

Of course, it'd be great if the DSSD had no glare, if there a new type of sapphire crystal that inherently wasn't reflective on the surface. But if given the choice between glare and no glare with an AR coating, I'd rather do without AR and deal with glare.

By the way, on the Sub, you can see reflections that are not the original color of the objects. This is from the AR coating between the cyclops and the crystal.

[gktii]

Originally Posted by eonflux

I hate glare on eyeglasses, so have gotten AR coating for lenses. The AR coatings tend to get scratched over time with simple cleaning of the lenses. But with glasses, you eventually get new ones because styles change, so not a big deal.

With watches, however, you may keep one for a long time, so suffering scratches on an AR coating would be annoying to me. The DSSD has more glare than other Rolexes due to the thickness of the crystal and the curvature. With a domed crystal you always see some glare because some part of the curved crystal will angle a reflection to you. With the flat crystals, like on the Sub, you get a lot of glare at one angle which can be resolved with a slight tilt of the watch.

The DSSD hands/dial can be a bit less legible than on the Sub but that's due more due to distortion by the curvature and thickness rather than glare. If you're OK with the distortion on your Panerai 233, you should be OK with the DSSD.

Of course, it'd be great if the DSSD had no glare, if there a new type of sapphire crystal that inherently wasn't reflective on the surface. But if given the choice between glare and no glare with an AR coating, I'd rather do without AR and deal with glare.

By the way, on the Sub, you can see reflections that are not the original color of the objects. This is from the AR coating between the cyclops and the crystal.

I can understand your point with the scratches...But why not just get it undercoated? that would help with glare, and you wouldn't have the issue with scratching or swirling...but my 233, even with the domed glass, looks amazing with the coating...crystal clear from all angles...i absolutely love it...just hope i love the d blue as much...

[eonflux]

Originally Posted by gktii

I can understand your point with the scratches...But why not just get it undercoated? that would help with glare, and you wouldn't have the issue with scratching or swirling...but my 233, even with the domed glass, looks amazing with the coating...crystal clear from all angles...i absolutely love it...just hope i love the d blue as much...

Sorry, I forgot to mention that earlier, that I would love the underside of the DSSD crystal to have AR coating. Wouldn't solve the glare problem completely, but would help. Considering Rolex is already using some AR with the cyclops, why not underneath the main crystal? Complete agreement with you on that!

[eonflux]

Originally Posted by gktii

Here are 2 examples.



The clarity is superb. And no swirls. 😉

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

By the way, on your 233, you can see 2 reflections in the crystal of objects.
One is white which I think is from the outside of the crystal.
The other is a bit reddish which I think is from the AR coating on the inside.
I had noticed the same thing on my previous 275.

[gktii]

wow! never even noticed that...that's very interesting...and i honestly don't notice it in person...and i'm not sure i would care if it had a tint to it...just as long as i could see clearly..maybe i'll reach out to an AD or Rolex service center, and see if it's possible to have it done to the inside without causing any problems...if i do, i'll report back here to let everyone know the outcome.

[J!m]

My old Seamaster gmt great white had a curved sapphire and ar coating on the inside.

The planet ocean has it on both sides and I have picked up some scratches in the coating.

You need to really look for them- it's not like a plexiglass where they are deep and white. You need the light at just the right angle because the coating is microns thick. I found that a good quality carnauba wax once in a while makes them disappear.

Some who have scratched it severely have had it buffed off the outside.

Double ar is crazy good. You can see the dial at all angles. Great fior driving. Downside: brilliant rhodium plated hands are better able to dazzle you in the sun...

[Etschell]

It's obviously only on the underside so it catches the light...

[warrior]

As mentioned in the thread, Jack Alexyon from Industrial Watch Works does it. He did mine. Just google it. Sorry no pics...but it makes a big difference. The face looks much clearer. I had it done awhile back. Costs b/w $100 to $150 as I remember. Takes about a month because he has to ship out the crystal. He does a good job...but make sure to tell him to make sure the etched crown at 6 in the crystal stays that way ( at 6) after he puts the crystal back on the watch... and that the underside of the lugs shouldn't be scratched.

Originally Posted by gktii

I wish they would too...Does anyone know if someone's actually sent one in and had it done? where did they send it? and how was the result? (before and after pics would be a real treat)

[eonflux]

Originally Posted by warrior

As mentioned in the thread, Jack Alexyon from Industrial Watch Works does it. He did mine. Just google it. Sorry no pics...but it makes a big difference. The face looks much clearer. I had it done awhile back. Costs b/w $100 to $150 as I remember. Takes about a month because he has to ship out the crystal. He does a good job...but make sure to tell him to make sure the etched crown at 6 in the crystal stays that way ( at 6) after he puts the crystal back on the watch... and that the underside of the lugs shouldn't be scratched.

Can you post a pic? Would be great to see how that looks.

Edit: nevermind, just saw the "no pics" comment.