I thought ceramic watches were scratch proof.....

[ragsk]

Had a dinner party at home that went on till the early hours. I was wearing my watch (26405CE) all night and woke up to find three small scratches on the bezel.

I honestly have no idea how I have done it. I was churning away in my bar making cocktails etc but I cant recall banging or scraping the watch into anything at all. And this was all at home.......

The scratches are minor and you really have to catch then in the right sunlight angle to see them but still really annoying. I thought these things were tough as coffin nails but clearly not.

Can the scratches be polished out or is it a case of a full bezel replacement?

Thank you

[PJ S]

Photos?
As I’ve stated in previous threads like this, ceramic is scratch resistant, and requires something harder than itself to cause an effect.
The chances of you having such materials lying around in the above scenario are practically nil, and therefore all you’re seeing is material transfer from something softer, which will come off with a bit of Brasso and a cotton cloth/rag.

[Rogdogg]

Could they have come from someone's diamond ring or other jewellery?
As has been said they are scratch resistant but not scratch proof. There is not much would scratch them and definitely not without you noticing but I believe a diamond would.

[SC11]

As above highly unlikly to be scratches so most likely part of whatever you caught the watch against!

Have you tried cleaning it off?

I have seen a ceramic diver recently with a few marks caused by a diamond bracelet worn next to it, but that makes sense.

Impact damage is a concern with ceramic but there’s not many daily items it should come in contact which are likely to scratch it.

On a side note as I’m not aware of all materials hardness but are there any worksurfaces like granite etc which might be able to scratch ceramic?!

I just remember being told to avoid diamonds and other ceramic items

[Pavlos]

Pictures please. Pop to RSC if you have one near you, ask them.

[The GMT Master]

With ceramic, as it is so hard, it can sometimes be a residue of whatever has brushed against it rather than the ceramic itself marking. I've seen this on a few ceramic watches, and can be removed with (for want of a better description) a ceramic eraser. I should add it only works on brushed sections and not high polished.

Chris

[ragsk]

That is the only thing I can think of. There were a few wives wearing diamond bangles/bracelets/rings and they must have brushed my watch.

Also still hoping that it is a simple material transfer!

[PJ S]

Originally Posted by Pavlos

Pictures please. Pop to RSC if you have one near you, ask them.

RSC? With an AP?
That’d be a somewhat odd, if not interesting, conversation!

Originally Posted by ragsk

That is the only thing I can think of. There were a few wives wearing diamond bangles/bracelets/rings and they must have brushed my watch.

Also still hoping that it is a simple material transfer!

I’d be 99.9% certain that that’s transfer and not a permanent scratch caused by diamond jewellery.

[tyler1980]

looks like material transfer to me

[SC11]

No expert but as above IMO!

From what I’ve seen scratches on ceramic look similar to scratches on glass and the above pics don’t look like that, to me you can almost see the material transfer on your pics.

[Trailboss516]

Beautiful watch BTW :-)

[Tomas Eriksson]

Try brushing the scratch with a q-tip/cotton swab with some nail polish remover.

[AK797]

Now we all gots to be on the lookout for the flailing arms of diamonded ladies...

[joshua182]

meh, can hardly see it.. call it patina and move on and enjoy good sir!

[ragsk]

Second that on staying away from diamonded ladies. They were a number of them - maybe I’ll specify no diamond dress code at the next one !

[ragsk]

Thank you all for the replies. So assuming it is material transfer - how do you recommend I get them out or should I just go to AP?

Brasso, nail polish etc sound a bit extreme but if they work without harming the watch I’ll give it a go.

[ragsk]

Originally Posted by joshua182

meh, can hardly see it.. call it patina and move on and enjoy good sir!

Agree but I was angry with myself as it happened so quickly. I however won’t lose a minutes sleep over it though even if they are permanent. Crap happens.

[V25V]

Originally Posted by ragsk

Thank you all for the replies. So assuming it is material transfer - how do you recommend I get them out or should I just go to AP?

Brasso, nail polish etc sound a bit extreme but if they work without harming the watch I’ll give it a go.

Brasso seems to be what everyone says to use but I dunno.... I would just leave it alone. Can barely see it.

[Chary]

Originally Posted by ragsk

Thank you all for the replies. So assuming it is material transfer - how do you recommend I get them out or should I just go to AP?

Brasso, nail polish etc sound a bit extreme but if they work without harming the watch I’ll give it a go.

I honestly thing the bezel is ruined, the watch is ruined, you would have to send to AP and wait 2-3 months for bezel replacement, plus who knows how much will that cost, not worth the hassle, and if I was you I would hate to wear it like that... for the sake of helping a forum member I'll buy it of you for $25K and save you the headache... let me know where to send the funds..

lol.... I wouldnt' sweat it.. it's most likely I a brush-off you should be able to clean that off, from the pics it doesn't look like a scratch

[V25V]

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthre...ghlight=brasso

[RolexZen]

Originally Posted by V25V

Brasso seems to be what everyone says to use but I dunno.... I would just leave it alone. Can barely see it.

I don’t know about brasso, but I certainly wouldn’t start with brasso. Maybe first try a regular pencil eraser?

[ragsk]

Originally Posted by Trailboss516

Beautiful watch BTW :-)

Thank you. I think its totally fantastic. In your face but yet understated

[ragsk]

Thank you all. Will try a pencil eraser and if that fails will give brasso a go.

Im going back into AP sometime this summer so failing the above will show them.

Worst case, if they are scratches, I wont change the bezel for now. You can hardly see them (really have to gawp and in the right light) and im sure there are more to come :-) Im going to wear this one a lot -my favourite watch by far.

[ragsk]

Originally Posted by Chary

I honestly thing the bezel is ruined, the watch is ruined, you would have to send to AP and wait 2-3 months for bezel replacement, plus who knows how much will that cost, not worth the hassle, and if I was you I would hate to wear it like that... for the sake of helping a forum member I'll buy it of you for $25K and save you the headache... let me know where to send the funds..

lol.... I wouldnt' sweat it.. it's most likely I a brush-off you should be able to clean that off, from the pics it doesn't look like a scratch

Lol - Straight swap with your Rose ?

[KBM]

Originally Posted by AK797

Now we all gots to be on the lookout for the flailing arms of diamonded ladies...

It's tough being a WIS, isn't it?

[Burlington]

Originally Posted by SC11

are there any worksurfaces like granite etc which might be able to scratch ceramic?!

Unlikely, but there could be mineral impurities within the work surface that are hard enough to cause scratches.

There are different grades of ceramic hardness...I'm not sure what AP uses for theirs, its probably a well guarded trade secret. But there are a handful of materials which may cause scratches - sapphire crystals are more impervious to scratches than ceramic, where diamond is the only common material which is hard enough.

[SC11]

Originally Posted by Burlington

Unlikely, but there could be mineral impurities within the work surface that are hard enough to cause scratches.

There are different grades of ceramic hardness...I'm not sure what AP uses for theirs, its probably a well guarded trade secret. But there are a handful of materials which may cause scratches - sapphire crystals are more impervious to scratches than ceramic, where diamond is the only common material which is hard enough.

Every days a learning day, thanks for the info

[PJ S]

AP uses the same Zirconium Dioxide as everyone else does – nothing special nor secretive, all well understood by those specialising in it.
RADO have advanced things on a stage now, with silicon-based ceramic, and Hublot have patented a new process in creating the first vibrant red ceramic, which they’ll be offering other industries.

Process is simple enough, powdered ZrO2 in a mould, fired at high temperature under pressure – job done.
Not much to do afterwards since it already turns out glossy, so just a bit of scratching with diamond grit paper to produce the recognisable “brushed” finish.

[Burlington]

Originally Posted by SC11

Every days a learning day, thanks for the info

For me too ! Thanks for the info - I'm surprised they don't use something a bit more proprietary given the choice of ceramic materials available.

Originally Posted by PJ S

AP uses the same Zirconium Dioxide as everyone else does – nothing special nor secretive, all well understood by those specialising in it.
RADO have advanced things on a stage now, with silicon-based ceramic, and Hublot have patented a new process in creating the first vibrant red ceramic, which they’ll be offering other industries.

Process is simple enough, powdered ZrO2 in a mould, fired at high temperature under pressure – job done.
Not much to do afterwards since it already turns out glossy, so just a bit of scratching with diamond grit paper to produce the recognisable “brushed” finish.

[PJ S]

Originally Posted by RolexZen

I don’t know about brasso, but I certainly wouldn’t start with brasso. Maybe first try a regular pencil eraser?

The pink eraser won’t do a thing, you’d need the more abrasive blue-grey type, designed for biro pen ink removal.
Concerns about Brasso are unfounded since the principle abrasive is Kaolin, which is 2-2.5 on the MOHs scale, compared to ZrO2’s 8 – and the scale isn’t linear!