A quick note about what this thread is not:
- I am not saying you should want AR coating on your crystals.
- I'm not asking for the pros and cons of AR coating on crystals
- I'm not taking a poll on who would or would not prefer AR coating on their crystals.
- I'm not saying I refuse to buy Rolex because they don't put AR coating on their crystals.
- I'm not asking whether you think I should get, or want, AR coating on a crystal.
I have a fondness for Rolex sport models, having owned 3 now in my life, with a 4th (Polar Explorer) likely on the way. I like them very much. I, however, very much prefer inner AR coating on my watches. I understand the argument against outer AR coating, and that's a tradeoff with both pros and cons. For me, and what I want, there's no downside to inner AR coating. I don't like the haze of a crystal with no AR, I don't like the across-the-room flashlight, and the underside won't get scratched if it is coated. To me, this seems like an inexpensive, low-risk, easily reversible way to improve (for my own use case) upon a watch I already love.
So I've been looking into options, either in the form of aftermarket crystals with inner AR applied, or someone who will coat the underside of the existing crystal. Something like International Watch Works does with Seiko watches. I haven't had much luck in finding a solution, though. Has anybody looked into this and, better yet, has anybody had any experience actually going through with it?
Can't say it bothers me, that much. Saying that though, now you've mentioned it, I'm a little intrigued as to why Rolex don't add an inner AR coating too? :think:
I'm sure plenty here will offer an opinion as to why.
It would reduce the Rolex shine - that world famous glint that tells you, even from all the way across the room, that a Rolex is in the house. And if you're not wearing one yourself, you better get in line . But if you insist there are aftermarket coatings you can apply. Also recommend to try International Watch Works?
It would reduce the Rolex shine - that world famous glint that tells you, even from all the way across the room, that a Rolex is in the house. And if you're not wearing one yourself, you better get in line . But if you insist there are aftermarket coatings you can apply. Try International Watch Works?
Ahh, of course! How else would those beautiful women know you are wearing a Rolex. This is the invitation for them to throw themselves at the feet of the Rolex wearer!
A 'standard' watch glass with an AR coating wouldn't reflect anywhere near enough light into the room of potential admirers. It's all suddenly become clear! :-d
You can get the Rolex crystal double or triple AR coated on the inside, or an aftermarket crystal with AR coating.
The downsides of the latter is the crystal would not have the etched crown, and you may have some colour tint, usually a blue, to the cyclops or the whole crystal. Aftermarket crystals with a cyclops also look nothing like the original in my opinion. No one does them as well as Rolex.
I have had the crystal of my 16600 triple coated on the inside, and have no regrets. It’s my beach watch and a shiny crystal is not as practical. If I ever came to sell it (doubtful) the coating can be removed with a cape cod cloth. I don’t want all of my Rolex’s to be blingy and shiny, but appreciate that this is important to some others.
You can get the Rolex crystal double or triple AR coated on the inside, or an aftermarket crystal with AR coating.
The downsides of the latter is the crystal would not have the etched crown, and you may have some colour tint, usually a blue, to the cyclops or the whole crystal.
Tudor puts it on the inside of the Pelagos. Big improvement in legibility compared to Rolex if you ask me. The dial seems much sharper at a glance. I find myself often tipping my Rolex watches back-and-forth due to glair, especially when outside.
Hm. Looks interesting, but the page says sold out. I'm going to contact those guys and International Watch Works and see if there's any traction with either.
There are professional guys that do single crystal AR ... contact Stephen at usilg@comcast.net ... does great quality AR work. He also has stock of AR'd crystals for certain watch models, in case you want to keep you stock crystal. The AR coating he does makes the dial disappear!
quoted from him ....
"The only thing we do basically is the manufacture and double anti-reflective coating of sapphire crystals. We don't deal with mineral crystals and we only offer the best double AR coating available. The sapphire crystals are processed using a proprietary mix of materials using a physical vapour deposition process with multiple layers to create maximum optical interference, creating a crystal with reflectivity properties in the visible range of less than .4%. The coating process is done in a laboratory in the United States that primarily performs optical coating for scientific lasers. We have a variety of Audemars, Omega, Breitling and Hublot double AR crystals in stock. We also provide a service to have your crystals coated with the same coating materials and process, but we can only provide that service when we are sending a large batch for coating, and that is about once every 2 months or so. We can also provide genuine Swiss or German sapphire crystals in certain limited sizes on that same bi-monthly schedule."
Correct ... on Rolex, the underside of the cyclops is AR'd .. so you get that "black hole" effect
A professional AR coating would have to first remove all traces of AR coating ... then apply to the entire back side, there may be some visual changes to how the laser etched crown looks under loupe ... the cyclops should not change ... the crystal will definitely have a dramatic change to it ... more noted transparency
No scratching issues with the AR when it's applied on the backside of the crystal ... although there are some brands that double AR their crystals
Great. Thank Bluco and JD305, and everybody else who chimed in as well. Appreciate you all.
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