HauteHippie Posted December 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 FYI - I will be receiving a sample from the lab next week. It won't be a sapphire crystal so therefore it won't look EXACTLY the same as on our watches since the refractive index of the glass he'll be using is different. But, it should be close enough for government work to see how this AR looks. Now, I'm not sure how to take pictures of a piece of AR coated glass so everyone can see how it looks.... but I'm open to suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedy1 Posted December 1, 2006 Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 Did they do this while you waited? Hmmm, this would be a nice option assuming a high quality coating. However, pricing of $70 per is more than 2x what we can get in quantities of 50. No, it took them a week to install, BUT it is a hard and durable coating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotoman Posted December 1, 2006 Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 take a photo of the crystal over a watch and a another non ar watch right nexxt to it - with a light above so you can see the purplish reflection of the actual light - not a whole purple tone to the lense then take it to an AD and hold it up with a watch next to a po you will just know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted December 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 No, it took them a week to install, BUT it is a hard and durable coating! Interesting. The last coating I had on my glasses had scratches in it after the first few cleanings. And i even used the special lint free cloth they gave me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted December 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 Samples: received. I'll try to get some decent pics this weekend. I must say I am impressed. Most of normal ambient glare is eliminated with this coat. Of course, reflections from bright light sources are not. And the coat has that slight hint of a bluish/purplish hue to it. I think this is it folks!!! Pics to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 And the coat has that slight hint of a bluish/purplish hue to it. Was it expensive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted December 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 Was it expensive? Pricing is indicated in the first post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted December 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2006 OK, here is my attempt at photographing the AR coat sample. There are some variables here. First off the round crystal is an uncoated submariner sapphire crystal. The square glass is non-sapphire and coated with the bluish/puplish AR film. So the two substrates have different refraction indicies, but I think it's close enough to see what we're dealing with. Also let me state that the AR coating does not provide a lot of assistance with direct light sources. It does do a good job with ambient reflections. I can't look at the AR coated piece and see the other side of the room in it, like I can in my uncoated watch crystals for example. On to the pics... In this picture you can see the very subtle tint on the AR piece. You can also see that major glare will never be eliminated, but it is subdued somewhat compared to the non-coated crystal: Now, in this picture you can see that regular ambient glare is reflected off the uncoated crystal but not off the coated one: And here is another glare comparison between coated and uncoated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikellem Posted December 10, 2006 Report Share Posted December 10, 2006 Looks pretty good to me! Thanks or sharing this Chief.. -MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slay Posted December 10, 2006 Report Share Posted December 10, 2006 Somehow I cant spot the purpleish tint of the glas?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted December 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2006 Somehow I cant spot the purpleish tint of the glas?!? It's very difficult to notice and even more difficult to photograph. Even in person the blue is very very faint. The only way I really know it's there is that he left about 1mm uncoated on one edge, so I can see a line where the AR film ends. As far as showing the color, the first pic is the best I could do, and on my monitor the square glass has a slightly bluish reflection as compared to the reflection off the round one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archibald Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 I think it will be more visible over a black dial. Nice job. Note: For those going the lenscrafter route, keep in mind that not all stores, even stores w/ in-store labs, will do it and as previously mentioned, the lenscrafters near me only had the option of a greenish tint. I found a local chain that would do the blue, green, or purple but it is a bit more expensive than chieftang's joint w/ per piece, not a per run cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted December 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 I think it will be more visible over a black dial. Nice job. Note: For those going the lenscrafter route, keep in mind that not all stores, even stores w/ in-store labs, will do it and as previously mentioned, the lenscrafters near me only had the option of a greenish tint. I found a local chain that would do the blue, green, or purple but it is a bit more expensive than chieftang's joint w/ per piece, not a per run cost. As an FYI, I have spoken with Mark and the AR coat he has been using on the crystals he has done is the exact same type with the same reflectance specs as what I've sampled and posted pics of here. The Lenscrafter AR should be more expensive than this one because it is a high temperature coating designed to be more durable. Durability is obviously quite subjective because my eyeglass coatings get scratched quite easily. High temp coatings are hard to find in colors other than green, but I have had one lab tell me they could customize the color to my liking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flavor flav Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Concern - i have the new PO coming soon, it has AR, not light AR - guess i will see when it gets here the newest one you have coming has great AR! not as good as the gen but it is real AR coating and very good. i thinks it's just not two sided coat like the gen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted December 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 the newest one you have coming has great AR! not as good as the gen but it is real AR coating and very good. i thinks it's just not two sided coat like the gen. Has it actually been verified that the PO has double sided AR? The double sided AR would be more expensive and more difficult to arrange. Double sided AR would require a heated substrate to provide durability. The coating I've currently sampled was applied to the substrate at room temperature. I have questions about the ultimate durability of this sort of coating, as well. I have my AR guy telling me it would be suitable to being exposed to the elements on the one hand. And I have my AR coated eyeglasses that show significant crazing in the AR film after only several months on the otherhand... And so, based on that, I'd be very concerned about any watch with a coating exposed to the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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