AP FC 44mm carbon wear and tear

[Garby81]

Originally Posted by Garby81

Trust me guy, I'm very happy to see some FC case without any issues, but I think it's only a matter of time, I mean that when last december I received back my bee it was apparently perfect, and I never tried to scratch it with my nail before I've seen the edge became moldy by itself. Two different cases ruined by themselves aren't a case, but a native structural defect, because forged carbon has not to be used for watch cases.
I use to look at my watch, every watch, about 50 days a day, I love my watch and especially my bee. Unfortunately for my second consecutive vacation I've realized that something was going wrong about the case, I just haven't tried to ruin the case with a small nail pressure but it was just a test after I've seen one of its 90° edges was already flacked off by itself just wearing day by day my watch.
A case of a 35.000 $ watch would never be compared to leather or to any soft material, it has to be resistant and cannot be forgiven these kind of mistakes by AP, neither a 10 $ plastic watch.

That's all

[bondtoys]

"FC is an inadequate material for a watch case. It's soft, wears- off easily and is known not to last"

While I doubt the long- lasting part - everything else could also be said about gold alloys.
And how about that white RM layered quartz case?

Each to his own, I for my part am happy that FC watches exist - even if everyone of them would have the issues drawn out in the initial post.

[masterserg]

Originally Posted by PJ S

Yes, but did you bother to read mine in its entirety?
Here's the salient point you seem to've missed.

I am not interested in picking up an Internet fight so this all for the sake of a good discussion. I owned the 44 FC twice and it seemed solid if unevenly finished. I did not own either long enough to have a factual opinion.

I am the first one to tell you that AP's QC is terribly inconsistent (I just had my dial replaced on a brand new SS 26400). Thankfully, their service is above average so they will take care of any issues. It is very likely that with such tight tolerances in the manufacturing process some lemons will make it all the way to the finished product, especially considering that their QC is not that great even for less challenging items.

As stated by owners (Mike, Jim and a couple others here) I would not say the material is unsuitable. What happened to Garby is terrible (I am sure AP will fix as many times as needed) but it does not seem to be the case with the majority. After all, you definitely do not see many for sale from disgruntled owners.

I don't have a pony in this race as I do not own any FC anymore. I just think they are very special and different pieces, though maybe not for everybody.

[beer]

another point worth mentioning is that people say if you feel uncomfortable wearing a gold sports watch due to possible damage then you cannot afford to own it so maybe the same applies to forged carbon i.e. yes it does chip away when bashed but it is aimed at an even richer clientele who could not care less if their watch starts to disintegrate

[sturgeon123456]

Originally Posted by masterserg

I am not interested in picking up an Internet fight so this all for the sake of a good discussion. I owned the 44 FC twice and it seemed solid if unevenly finished. I did not own either long enough to have a factual opinion.

I am the first one to tell you that AP's QC is terribly inconsistent (I just had my dial replaced on a brand new SS 26400). Thankfully, their service is above average so they will take care of any issues. It is very likely that with such tight tolerances in the manufacturing process some lemons will make it all the way to the finished product, especially considering that their QC is not that great even for less challenging items.

As stated by owners (Mike, Jim and a couple others here) I would not say the material is unsuitable. What happened to Garby is terrible (I am sure AP will fix as many times as needed) but it does not seem to be the case with the majority. After all, you definitely do not see many for sale from disgruntled owners.

I don't have a pony in this race as I do not own any FC anymore. I just think they are very special and different pieces, though maybe not for everybody.

Extremely well said!

On another note I personally don't own any forged carbon AP watches but man is it ever a beautiful looking material

[lapince]

I love this thread because on another one which was about the FC diver I said the watch looked really cool but I ruled it out because the car was FC and was known to not be resistant, 2 members said that I shouldn't talk about what I didn't know and things like this, basically calling me an idiot, yeah right, FC never has any worries, unfortunately it does and to often it seems, too bad as the idea of a super lightweight material is kinda cool, don't know about RM FC but I would tend to think that at those prices they found a way to make it tear and wear resistant, but not sure, of course when you see how they make it it's not a huge surprise if it's not as resistant as should be, and for those who say gold is also soft and all, well maybe but with gold you can bring it back to the original shape, even add some gold if needed, with FC no way you can fix any problem, need to change the part, not cool….
It's not the first time that a watch process goes wrong, when Panerai started the PVD cases they were very prone to scratches and looked terrible, they even proposed clients their money back or the same watch in SS, PVD is crap, DLC is much better, and there are other examples...

[masterserg]

Originally Posted by sturgeon123456

Extremely well said!

On another note I personally don't own any forged carbon AP watches but man is it ever a beautiful looking material

In my humble opinion ... Nothing beats it when you are out there in the sunshine. It is simply amazing.

[sturgeon123456]

Originally Posted by masterserg

In my humble opinion ... Nothing beats it when you are out there in the sunshine. It is simply amazing.

Yes I had the opportunity to handle one in person recently, prior to that I formed my opinions on photos only....big mistake.

LOVE how it looks and it has so much character!

[SMD]

Originally Posted by beer

another point worth mentioning is that people say if you feel uncomfortable wearing a gold sports watch due to possible damage then you cannot afford to own it so maybe the same applies to forged carbon i.e. yes it does chip away when bashed but it is aimed at an even richer clientele who could not care less if their watch starts to disintegrate

This is nonsense. No matter how much money I have I don't want to spend 30,000+ on a watch and have the case fall apart (not saying that is what is happening with FC, I love FC, just addressing the point in this post)

[sturgeon123456]

Originally Posted by SMD

This is nonsense. No matter how much money I have I don't want to spend 30,000+ on a watch and have the case fall apart (not saying that is what is happening with FC, I love FC, just addressing the point in this post)

I agree, I believe the quality should be apparent and not suffer from defect that you may see from an inexpensive department store watch. I am not saying anything particular to Forged Carbon, however just commenting on the generic statement made.

[Joe.King]

SS you whack it it dents. Ceramic you drop it probably will break. Lets just say FC is a unique type of material and call it a day.

[Ilianto Wirawan]

I have Ap fc diver and wear it for more than 1 year now almost daily, so far so good. Yes it could scratch and no, I never use my finger to scratch it. Over all I am really happy with this material.
I suspect that the bee's replacement case was still from the same batch with the old know how of forging, since then, AP improve the way cf forged and I believe the next batch of casings is where the improvement are.
My 2 cents

[lapince]

Originally Posted by Joe.King

SS you whack it it dents. Ceramic you drop it probably will break. Lets just say FC is a unique type of material and call it a day.

well ceramic is resistant, don't think AP ceramic will break just by dropping it, but won't test that statement

[abnerc15]

I have owned a FC ROO 44mm and whilst I loved the look and feel of the watch I had to let it go at a significantly reduced price cause I suffered the same issues posted by others on the forum... Maybe, as some have tried to justify, I was one of the unlucky few who got a bad piece that slipped through QC.
I have since owned the SS44 and the Ceramic diver and no issues with these whatsoever... Right now on the hunt for another AP to add.... I really love the brand but no more FC watches for me though...

[Joe.King]

I had the Omega DSOTM. Awesome watch. I love ceramic.

[mickyd329]

I've owned mine for 3 months now. So far no issues. I hope I don't run into the same problems.

[Hound]

Interesting to note that 2 AP royal oak offshore watches are in contention in their categories at the Grand Prix d'horlogerie. Surprise surprise. Both watches are Carbon fibre. I guess AP don't think they've got a problem with carbon fibre per se.

[PJ S]

GDdH don't worry about or test long term durability, so AP recognising they've a problem or not is completely irrelevant.

[Manofsteelpt]

Originally Posted by PJ S

GDdH don't worry about or test long term durability, so AP recognising they've a problem or not is completely irrelevant.

PJ, which FC piece/pieces do you own (or have owned), and what exactly were the problems you have/had with Them?
Thanks.

[Koi6715]

3 yrs the case and the bevel edges perfect not a scratch or dent my watch is like the day it left the boutique

[lapince]

Originally Posted by Koi6715

3 yrs the case and the bevel edges perfect not a scratch or dent my watch is like the day it left the boutique

Well as far as I understand some stay perfect and some start to fall apart in 8 months, even with a replacement case often it's the same problem, I don't know what % of FC watches hold and which doesn't but the fact that some don't shouldn't be IMO...

[Manofsteelpt]

Originally Posted by lapince

Well as far as I understand some stay perfect and some start to fall apart in 8 months, even with a replacement case often it's the same problem, I don't know what % of FC watches hold and which doesn't but the fact that some don't shouldn't be IMO...

Some or ONE?

[masterserg]

Originally Posted by Manofsteelpt

Some or ONE?

Why do you even bother?

[Manofsteelpt]

Originally Posted by masterserg

Why do you even bother?

Idk, Serg... I guess I don't like them getting a bad rap because of 1 bad apple and ppl JUST reading and not actually owning. I've bit my tongue for a few days, figured I'd dip back in, lol.

Hope all is well my man

[masterserg]

Originally Posted by Manofsteelpt

Idk, Serg... I guess I don't like them getting a bad rap because of 1 bad apple and ppl JUST reading and not actually owning. I've bit my tongue for a few days, figured I'd dip back in, lol.

Hope all is well my man

Ha! I know exactly how you feel!

All is peachy brother.

[sturgeon123456]

Originally Posted by Manofsteelpt

Idk, Serg... I guess I don't like them getting a bad rap because of 1 bad apple and ppl JUST reading and not actually owning. I've bit my tongue for a few days, figured I'd dip back in, lol.

Hope all is well my man

Originally Posted by masterserg

Ha! I know exactly how you feel!

All is peachy brother.

Sucks when people pile on in a forum when a simple google search would reveal hundreds of examples on various forums.

Love how the stuff looks, great material however there is zero reason to give a guy a hard time for stating fact.

You guys own them, great, you haven't had problems....even better.

But others have...just like we all have the same movement and some have had issues others not.

All I'm saying is that there is a higher occurance of case issues with forged carbon reported on the Internet than any other materials out there and the OP is far from the only "one"

[masterserg]

Nobody is piling up on anybody. I just don't get it though ... there are issues ... sure, probably ... and AP will fix every time.

It is odd that people value anonymous internet factoids over facts stated by known forum members as it can be seen in this very thread (and I am not talking about myself but other actual owners that posted above). All of a sudden ... FC's shelf life is 8 months ... hilarious. Maybe AP should update the specs on the site.

In any case, I am done. People can buy it or not ... I couldn't care less.

[Manofsteelpt]

Originally Posted by masterserg

Nobody is piling up on anybody. I just don't get it though ... there are issues ... sure, probably ... and AP will fix every time.

It is odd that people value anonymous internet factoids over facts stated by known forum members as it can be seen in this very thread (and I am not talking about myself but other actual owners that posted above). All of a sudden ... FC's shelf life is 8 months ... hilarious. Maybe AP should update the specs on the site.

In any case, I am done. People can buy it or not ... I couldn't care less.

My man!

Oh and Sturgeon... Please give me the key words you used to google and come up with "hundreds" of these so called examples. Thanks!