oirish Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 What does it look like when it starts to wear away? Does it chip, get thinner, or flake off? The watches discussed here and those being sold by rwg's recommended dealers probably come from one or two source factories so I'm sure that the applied AR is pretty consistent. Typical noob question I know, but a valid one. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 Maybe not so much help - here's my gen PO. It's just over 2 years old. You can see hairline marks in the top surface AR. This seems from simply being worn under shirts rather than impact scratches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oirish Posted March 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 It dinna luick sooo bid... I was imagining serious flaking. I could live with those marks. And after 2 years, Id be surprised if the Ar was immaculate. I'm assuming daily wear there Scotty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Manny Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 The normal wear is easier to notice on heavy tinted AR like gen Breitling. It still works well after many years but if you look at some angles you can see the wear marks. I suspect that the ultra non-reflective AR CT does would be difficult to see as it wears, since you really can't see much of anything, ESPECIALLY the crystal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oirish Posted March 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 Sorry. I'm confused now. I thought the AR was to simulate the appearance of sapphire crystal common on a lot of gen watches. Now you're telling me AR is present on these gens, albeit heavier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Manny Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 AR is used to reduce glare and reflection on all types of lenses. Many, if not most gens have some type of AR coating although the type can be different. Some like Omega and Breitling have a coating that gives off a deep color at certain angles and is clear at other angles. Sapphire has reflective qualities just like other materials. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wraithride Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 AR is simply a coating on the crystals that causes a blueish hue at certain angles. The anti-reflective coating does just that, it decreases the glare when looking at the watch face. Some pictures on watches with the AR coating, almost make it seem as if the crystal isn't even there. WR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oirish Posted March 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 Ah ha! I see... and so all my pennies drop. There you go. Isn't knowlege sharing great. So gen AR can chip too. I'm assuming rep AR is inferior just as its nature its supposed to be. But my BCE AR looks really good. I'm happy with it and to me thats all thats matters. Thanks for the heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 Well it depends on usage. There are very strict US Mil specs for durability that the coating I use meets. According to the specification it should show zero wear after something like 100 strokes with a pumice eraser. And since we don't rub our AR with a rubber pumice eraser, but only soft cloths, it's safe to say it won't wear. Mine never has. The only thing that happens to mine are small scratches after klutsy maneuvers like accidentally whacking my 3717 into the corner of a metal door frame! And even then the scratch is small and barely noticeable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobbieG Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 But rep AR is inferior usually. In fact, what factories call single AR in many cases like the PAM's for example is nothing more that blue tinted crystal. It doesn't stop reflections at all really. Chiefs is the real deal and colorless. I recommend everyone just plan on having him do it for you and scrap the rep AR. You will be pleased. The fact is his is superior to most gen AR as well in strength and is also colorless. It used to be more rare but now more and more manufactories are using colorless AR on watches less for looks but for the scratch phenom. Still alot to go. In theory if AR has no color you wouldn't really see a scratch, where if it its tinted it shows up real well at angles and looks terrible. Of course one solution is just to sacrifice some strenghth and coat just the underside of the crystal. As I mentioned in Lani's recent thread, the only gen I have that has colorless AR is my Nardin MMD. I am confident that if I scratched it the coating would be pretty tough to spot... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 I have the first generation chief AR on my 007 Omega, been a daily wearer for 2 or so years, no signs of any wear or scratches on the crystal. I think it will last for a long time. RG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceberg1459 Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 about a year old hbb with stock AR, no sign of any stratch, crystal is still invsibile.. maybe it has one sided AR i dont know, but its very very good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 about a year old hbb with stock AR, no sign of any stratch, crystal is still invsibile.. maybe it has one sided AR i dont know, but its very very good Hehe, if you got that from 'Sead' originally, then it might have Chief AR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhitesox Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 Also a note to add that if you are polishing your watches with a cape cod be careful not to get any on the AR crystal. My watch has to go back for another treatment after some cape cod scratched up the double AR really badly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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