HauteHippie

They'll probably be clamped along the flat edges, so that's where your lip mark will be. That'll actually look pretty good I think.

At least 20.

One more thing.... I'd really like everyone participating to upgrade to a VIP membership. The board needs your help: http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?s=&amp...st&p=308213

I haven't counted either, but I think we're there. Next week I'll send shipping info, and generally like to have everything ready to send to the coater within 3-4 weeks from kick off.

Gooooood stuff!

Folks, I'll provide all necessary info via PM early next week. Please, if you're a repeat "customer", don't jump the gun and ship to my old PO Box. New address info will be provided. Thanks!

Please be sure to have read the AR FAQ. As stated in there, crystals must be stripped prior to my receiving them. I've provided stripping services in the past, and won't be doing so in the future. I've also experimented with having the coating company do the stripping. Their results with boric acid washes were poor on some crystals, so we won't be doing that again. Essentially the stripping is up to you or to your watch maker.

Come on peeps... Take a moment and imagine life without RWG. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Folks, I've survived my move and am fairly settled in at a new job, so to finally answer all the PMs, I'd be more than happy to kick off AR run 5. There seems to be other options available, and I'd also be more than happy to defer to those as it's quite a time sink organizing these runs (and they don't pay well ). So let's just see where we currently stand. This would also be the first time I'd not be participating with crystals of my own, so now it's purely a service to the forum. As always the price will be $40 per crystal via cashier's check in the USA. International (outside US) members can pay via paypal for $42.5. USD. A minimum of 20 are needed. Please respond to this thread if and only if you are 100% committed to participating in a double AR run, and clearly indicate how many crystals you've got. Before you respond, make sure you have read and understood my AR FAQ here: http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showto...mp;#entry219528 You can always view previous AR run results on members' watches using the links in my signature. Oh, and by the way, a few spots are already taken as I've been holding a few crystals for people for a while now. Alrighty then, have at it.

Stay away from the eyeglass coatings. They're what's known as a "spin coat" and of inferior quality.

Be sure you know what type of AR coating you are getting. Very important!! There is no solution to the lip with the "right" coating. Gen crystals have a special fixture that completely encircles the crystal that are custom made to specific tolerances for the exact crystal diameter and substrate. The "lip" on these is all the way around the edge of the crystal instead of 180 degrees apart like you have seen on runs #1-4. There is no way any coating company will custom make fixtures for our runs. I don't care what they're telling you. If you send them 20 crystals with 20 different diameters, the cost would be astronomical. The cost for a single custom fixture is over $1000. Further, if you're being told there won't be a lip then you're not getting the "right" coating. The coating needs to be applied at a very high temperature in the chamber which causes expansion and contraction of the crystal. Without a lip to account for this, the crystal would come unfixtured and break. The lips can NOT be minimized unless you know EXACTLY how much each crystal will expand and contract. For our runs the crystal substrates vary from good quality sapphire, to mediocre, to poor, to glass (not sapphire). All of these materials will behave differently under temperature and therefore you must compensate for the worst by using an appropriately large lip. Clearly, this requires the company to be forthright about their coating. What type of coating is it? At what temperature is it applied? How do they account for glass vs. sapphire variances? Etc. There are certainly alternative coatings to the one I've used. None are as durable. Not many are as good at inhibiting reflections. Know what you're getting. Bottom line. If you can live with a coating that is likely to craze in a year or so, then go for it.

Sounds interesting k2222, but please beware. If you're getting the right coating (mil spec durable), there has to be a lip. There is just no way around it. There are two possibilities here: (1) It's a different coating that is less durable, which will allow different fixturing in the chamber; or (2) there will be a lip despite what the company says. Don't mean to rain on the parade. But I just don't think you'll be happy with a coating that looks the part but doesn't hold up over time. PM me if you want to talk more about specifics.

Good luck with this project! The right AR coating makes such a difference. In the end, you'll be very rewarded.

This is not what you want on a watch crystal.... Be careful.

Yea, the PVD coating companies all do some sort of surface prep. Whether it's an etching with acid or not, I don't know. But the company I've been talking with does tooling in quantities of thousands a day. Decorative coating is just a side job for them, so durability is paramount.

The wheel looks great. I can't wait to receive mine. Nice post, too.

I didn't receive a PM from you. In any event, I would say this pricing is somewhat high. IndWatchWorks will do the "satin blast" for $75. They are high recommended on Paneristi and the satin blast is their pre-PVD process. Then I've got a PVD guy who will do the coating for $40ish. I don't know anything about an acid dip, though. What is the purpose of this? Anyhow, I've got it on my projects list to put a watch case through this process myself and report on the results. It's just not at the top of my list right now.

Awesome my box isn't >95% full now!!!!!!! Great upgrade.

They still have prisons in Canada?

This is a job for none other than The Zigmeister.

Yep, the crazy horse is a favorite of mine as well right down to the buckle he uses... Is that the nicest of the aftermarket buckles you've seen or what?! Enjoy.

Good stuff Tribal....... A real treasure for whomever nabs it.

Holy Mary Mother Of God. I can only imagine how many pairs of shoes you have..........

Gorgeous combo!

My white dial VCO with double AR is my favorite watch that I've coated. On my black dial watches, the AR also looks great, but is more of a nuisance. The reason for this is two fold. One, the bluish tint is less apparent over a white dial. Two, smudges on the crystal do not show as easily over white dials. Think of a black car, if you've ever owned one... They're a bear to keep clean and you see every spec of dust. Well, on my black dial watches with double AR, I find that I'm cleaning the crystals far more often for this reason, while on my white dial VCO, I hardly ever notice the smudges.