Eddie,
Have you priced up the possibility of a superdomed sapphire crystal on the Vanguard, sort of like the one on the Blancpain 50 Fathoms reissue. I think people have talked about this topic for different watches before and the answer has always been it will add to the cost which of course is true. But how much would it add? It certainly would take the watch into a different league style wise and might be worth the extra but I've got no idea how exactly how much it would add so it's impossible to judge.
I'm not talking about some crystal that stands 5mm higher than case making it too tall, just something subtle as I think the shape of the curve is more important than the actual height ( maybe 2mm???) .
Just a thought , as the rest of the watch is looking like something really special.
regards
siggy
The cost price of a hi-dome sapphire is around the £100 mark, depending on size. I don't know the price off the top of my head but Sinn offered a hi-dome sapphire option to replace the acrylic on one of their watches and it was quite expensive. Perhaps someone on the forum will know the price.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
In the scheme of things I think it might still be worth it. Include your margin Eddie and I think you would still see them sell very well. It's still quite early with regards to the details that you have released but I think if the attention to detail that you have shown with the hands is present throughout the entire watch then such a crystal would not be out of place and the package as a whole would be worth it.Originally Posted by swanbourne
regards
siggy
Perhaps you're talking about the Sinn 356 Flieger Chrono--£875 with acrylic, £1395 sapphire, so £520 difference.
Eddie will decide. For my part, while a high-domed sapphire crystal would certainly add to the appeal of the watch, it's hard to imagine that the added appeal would be in proportion to the added price.
Hmm... 520 quid would temper my desire somewhat :) but I bet Sinn's mark up is a lot more than Eddie's. Especially in that instance if they believed they could get away with it because that sort of crystal adds so much to the appeal.
regards
siggy
Personally speaking, I like the thought of acrylic on this watch as I think it will work better with the retro appearance of the model. Furthermore, I think acrylic is a better choice for the new PRS-50 also. I appeciate that a sapphire would be more hard-wearing, but scratches are easily polished out of acrylic, so I have no problem with using this material.
Cheers
David
I haven't seen a domed sapphire I liked. I haven't seen any 'expensive' ones up close though. Do some have flat bottoms, and some curved?
I think what is being discussed is the type of sapphire crystal cut to the same shape as a regular plastic crystal. These, from casual observation, would be mistaken for a plastic crystal.
Some Grand Seikos with domed sapphire, sadly, not mine.
The two big reasons these are so expensive are that they require a much thicker waffer, almost thick enough for two regular thickness flat crystals, and they require much more cutting to get the inside and outside curves.
The "real" domed sapphire is domed on both sides, which a hi-dome sapphire needs to be.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Yokobies offers a domed AR saphire crystal option on his Seiko mod's for $45 extra - is that something different?
Here a pic of the sapphire crystal of my Omega Speedy
A high-domed sapphire crystal add appeal to the watch, I like them very much.
Regards,
Engi
I've just now checked on ofrei and the price for 1 single 31.3 mm diameter, 2.2 mm thick domed sapphire crystal is US $ 45 ... :roll:
Waiting for you info.
Regards,
Engi
So I'm guessing that the 'cheap' domed sapphires I've seen are only domed on top, and flat on the underside. That would make them somewhat lens like, and would explain why they make reading the watch harder?
Read from 0 degrees off perpendicular they don't distort, but any angle off perpendicular, yes, they are horrible.
Any update on the crystal for the Vanguard ... :roll: ?
Ciao
Engi
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Eddie
:cry:
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