I have come across a watch dealer who test the "sapphire" with some kind of electronic tester. The light goes Green for "sapphire" and Red for glass. It is VERY expensive to produce dome shape sapphire crystal, most likely your pam217 are using "synthetic sapphire".
BTW: Does it ready matter whether it is sapphire?
Watches fit with leather strap that are send to Canada will either be return to sender or held at the custom. Canada are very strict on leather product due to Mad Cow Disease. These info are given by the Canadian custom when my friend have all his Seiko watches returned.