Double Coat AR, then have it Double coated again

[billywhiz]

Few watches I've seen are advertised by Dealers. specific as having Double Coated AR, now looking through the boards here I see a lot of people, sending away to have them double coated albeit properly over a general chinese production.

Primarily, I'm talking about the IWC BP's.

Presuming that AR coating is like choosing a car, i.e between a KIA and a Porsche in terms of different quality

Is it bottom line as basic as that ? The quality of double coat AR from standard rep is the Kia and sending off and paying the dollar you get the Porsche ?

Finally for those with these watches, how does the standard double coat AR hold up.

TIA

[scoobs1971]

The quality of rep AR differs from no quality (the AR is not real AR, but just a small colored film layer to make it look like AR) to average quality.

However, after market AR from Chief is comparable to AR on gens.

I don't know the BP from my own experience, but the 'AR' on the 3717 is very average and I wouldn't be suprised the same goes for the BP.

[pollux1]

I have a Hublot Big Bang bought from a member that has Chieftang's A/R and I'm simply blown away by it.

[Fidestro]

There is also a coloring issue to keep in mind. Most of the heavy AR on the reps has a strong blue tint to it. This tint is more accurate to the gen on some brands and less so on others. For example, a gen Breitling will have a heavy blue tint so the rep is close to the gen in that regard, but an IWC will not have the bluish tint to in in the gen but the rep does.

[Fidestro]

Also just wanted to clarify, you are not really having it coated again. They strip off the chinese AR before they do an aftermarket AR job, so stating that it is coated "over" the rep AR is incorrect. Several people offer AR removal as a service but I have had good luck taking some really fine graded steel wool to the crystal to strip the rep ar.

[Toadtorrent]

Some of the AR on the reps like the IWC Cousteau CD (2006) or the Breitling Skyland are IMHO pretty close to the gen. The gens are a little easier to mark with finger prints and little better...but not by much.

Chief's offerings for the most part seem better than the gens. He had offered a couple flavour of AR. One was really low reflectivity with less tint...and the other with not as low reflectivity but with the blue reflective tint. From what I was reading here, the blue tint version was closer to some gen specs...while the newer, less reflective coating while not quite to gen specs...BLEW THEM AWAY!!!

Chief's AR FAQ

The Zigmeister's Review of the New Chief AR

You might want to read this regarding the next AR run though:

Chief's Latest Hobby

[smc]

Double coated means single coats on both sides of the crystal, not coated twice on one side. Single coat is usually the inside only.