How to distinguish a sapphire crystal mirror watch

Friends who are new to watches feel very "tall" when they hear that there is a sapphire crystal glass on the watch! If such a beautiful sapphire is made into a watch mirror, the price must be old and expensive. Is it true that many people’s minds are all kinds of "Heart of the Sea" and other jewelry? But the facts have to disappoint everyone, because the sapphire crystal glass mirror is not made of real sapphire, but artificial Synthetic sapphire crystal.

Sapphire crystal has become a favorite material for high-end watch mirrors because of its hardness, wear resistance, and high light transmittance. The English name Sapphire crystal glass, literally translated as sapphire crystal glass. It is not natural gemstones or crystals or glass, but artificially synthesized in the laboratory. It was originally developed for military graphics, and then gradually applied to optics, precision industries, etc., designed and manufactured for harsh and extreme environments. Things. The main ingredient is alumina, and a small amount of titanium and iron. Impurities are removed during the manufacturing process, so it is not blue, but is actually colorless and transparent. The Mohs hardness level is as high as 9, second only to diamonds and diamonds, which is better than natural. Crystal and glass.

At the same time, sapphire crystal still has "natural enemies". Although sapphire is resistant to wear and scratches, it must be used to avoid strong collisions, heavy pressures, and heavy falls. The characteristic of high hardness makes its toughness lower and the possibility of chipping is higher. Because sand or granite may contain higher hardness diamond impurities, it is still necessary to avoid rubbing diamonds, grindstones, sandpaper, nail files, and granite Surfaces, concrete walls, etc., to avoid scratches.

So, we know what sapphire crystal is, how do we distinguish it, and avoid buying a watch that uses ordinary glass to recharge the number? Here are a few ways to distinguish it:

1. Watch logo

Whether there is an English SAPPHIRE or Sapphire Crystal logo on the face plate or back cover of the watch.

2. Breathing method

Take a breath on the surface, and the mist quickly dissipates into sapphire crystal glass. Usually, when the breath is finished, the mouth disappears as soon as the mouth is removed from the top of the crystal. When you look at the surface, you can no longer see the mist.

3. Light tap method

Tap the surface with your fingernail lightly, the sound is heavier and dull, the sapphire crystal watch mirror, ordinary crystal or glass, the sound will be clearer.

4. Light strokes

Scratch lightly on the watch glass with your fingernail, the sapphire crystal will feel smoother and without resistance, and if there is a sense of blocking, it means it is ordinary crystal or glass.

5. Dripping water method

Drop a drop of water on the surface, and then make the surface upright. The water droplets will not spread, but will slowly slide down, which is the sapphire crystal, and other materials will spread into one piece.

Through the above methods, I believe everyone can easily distinguish the real sapphire crystal. We can use this little trick to verify the effectiveness of this method when we next purchase the watch.

Mineral glass is similar to the common glass in our lives, but the hardness of mineral glass as the material of the watch mirror is higher than them. Compared to acrylic, its price is slightly higher. The advantage is relatively scratch-resistant, but fragile.

But as long as it is more than two to thirty thousand watches, almost 99.9% will use this material to be mentioned next: sapphire crystal glass material.

Material characteristics

The sapphire crystal glass material has two main characteristics, one is hard and the other is expensive.

hard

The sapphire crystals in most watches are artificially synthesized, but chemically speaking, there is no difference between this synthetic sapphire and natural sapphire. But their hardness can reach Mohs level 9! In nature, only the hardness of diamond exceeds that of sapphire crystal.

Due to the extremely high hardness, watches made of sapphire have higher shock resistance, sealing and strength than other materials, and are especially suitable for diving watches.

expensive

Another characteristic of sapphire crystal mirror is expensive!

Since the 1980s, with a sapphire crystal mirror, I dare to call myself a mid-to-high-end watch. Due to the high production cost, watches of low-end brands have no relationship with sapphire mirrors.

When making this kind of mirror surface, it can't be like acrylic glass, just simply use a mold to make it. Instead, it is necessary to use a mirror material that is 4-5 times thicker than the mirror surface, and then grind out more than 70% to 80% of the raw material to get a perfect arc-shaped mirror surface.

In this process, it is necessary to go through a preliminary size cutting, and after the surface is polished, the mirror surface can stand out. However, the hardness of the sapphire crystal is too high, do not use abrasive tools with diamond particles to polish the surface. And this kind of abrasive tool is not only expensive, but also has a long lifespan, which makes the sapphire crystal surface expensive.

After such a complicated production technique, it makes sense that the sapphire crystal is expensive.

Another point is not to be confused by the name of the sapphire crystal, the sapphire mirror is colorless. So the question is, why do some sapphire crystals look blue?

Since the smooth surface will produce light reflection, in order to reduce the light reflection, the mirror surface will be coated when the watch is made. After treatment, the mirror surface will glow with a faint blue or purple.

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