Ceramic cases may be much cheaper to produce... but they sure as heck are not going to be able to withstand a drop or a knock. I do hope the industry does not move away from metals.
Ceramic cases may be much cheaper to produce... but they sure as heck are not going to be able to withstand a drop or a knock. I do hope the industry does not move away from metals.
Wait. Ceramic is cheaper to produce? So why do ceramic dialed watches command such high premiums?
Ceramic is known to be hard and therefore it will be brittle. From the Panerai stable anyway, it makes their composite models all the more attractive.
Sympathy for the owner of that one though, a very big ouch.
Ceramic cases will be predominately china clay based... That costs about £6 for a 20 kilo bag at retail. Eddie would know better than myself but how much do you expect 20 kilos of stainless steel to cost... Im guessing a lot more than a fiver with change. I suspect the high price is due to it being 'the new thing'. So my statement is basically based on cost of raw materials. They will have added a few binding ingredients and probably some fine fibre to more readily smooth things out and to add a bit of strength... But its not beyond something that any secondary school tech class couldn't handle....if they had a big press to compress the clay.Originally Posted by chicaneuk
Last edited by canuck; 24th May 2013 at 17:32.
You'd like to think they were covered on their owners household insurance. I know mine are, makes a lot of sense really when accidents like this are just waiting to happen.
Stuart
The raw material costs have only a tiny impact on the manufactured costs, which have only the tiniest impact on the retail prices.
--Edit--
At current commodity prices, 20 kg of 316 stainless would cost you less than $50.
Last edited by seffrican; 24th May 2013 at 17:49. Reason: Added info
You did read my bit on how ceramic cases aren't actually made from clay, right?
Regards,
Adam
No, not before I posted mine, look at the timestamps - posted at the same minute.
If you can find where I claimed that they were made from China clay, please point it out to me. To me, I appear to have written that raw materials costs are very little to do with the final cost, which is apparently exactly what you were saying.
Easy there, big guy, I didn't mean to get your dander up. Since you responded directly to the "china clay" comment, I assumed -- mistakenly, clearly -- that you hadn't seen my response. No offense was intended.
Regards,
Adam
Ceramic's one of the "buzz words" of the moment, and people who buy expensive watches generally love a good buzz word!
And raw material costs, whether higher or lower, are irrelevant to the price charged by the watch houses.
Luxury watches are not in any way priced with any kind of good value for money in mind - their manufacturers leave it to the more gullible of us to convince ourselves of that!
The rest of us just bend over and take our medicine - that's the hobby!
Wow I had no idea ceramic could just shatter from what sounds like not a high fall! Definitely a SS guy!
Ouch is all I can say for the poor watch and wallet likewise. Ceramic looks really nice however I'll stick with ceramic inserts for now.
Because they can. ;)
I agree. The correct movement would be towards increasingly better case hardening methods. Unfortunately, it seems that only the niche brands care about this sort of thing. Though, I guess, Omega is somewhat on board with their grade 5 Ti on the newer blue Liquid Metal POs.
It seems as if the better manufactures saw all the ugly low end PVD watches and said, "hey lets make a watch just as ugly, 10 times more expensive, and way less durable". Sign me up guys!
I quite like it. It's what I would call proper WABI.
Seriously though, what a horrible thing to happen. The owner must be gutted beyond imagination.
Lol!I quite like it. It's what I would call proper WABI.
Seriously though, what a horrible thing to happen. The owner must be gutted beyond imagination.
Comiserations to the owner, I must admit I was always a little worried about something like this when I had the DSSD.
One reason I would never buy a ceramic watch, the cost to replace the case will be horrendously expensive.
Ouch! Bad days.
Ceramic watches hold virtually zero interest for me. As far as I am concerned, it is not much different to a plastic watch. Same goes for carbon fibre efforts.
So clever my foot fell off.
Ouch - I am pretty sure I won't buy anything with a ceramic case.
Wow.... Would be seriously gutted!, got to feel for the owner. Hate to think how much the repair would be, and I bet when dropped it went in slo-mo down to the floor with the obligatory " oohhh For F**ks Sake"
Reminds me of the IWC Ceramic Pilot which had the same problem.
"Ceramic" cases are actually made from zirconium oxide, not clay, and yes, they're considerably more labor-intensive and expensive to manufacture than steel or titanium cases. Are they brittle? Sure, that's the price one pays for their extremely high degree of scratch-resistance, so potential owners need to be aware of this before they drop their cash (lest they drop their watch).
For my part, I'm more than willing to have an essentially scratch-proof watch at the expense of a one-in-a-million chance that I'm going to be so careless as to let my expensive trinket take a dive and potentially crack the case, but I can certainly see the other side of the equation (for those with aesthetic issues, le sigh...). I will say from experience, however, that my ceramic watches have proven to exceptionally resilient when subjected to every day knocks (I once banged my Top Gun Double Chrono so hard against a playground jungle gym that it took the paint of the metal bar; a steel or titanium watch would've had a divot taken out, but the Top Gun still looked brand new).
Remove thy beak from my heart:
Ouch. ;-)
Regards,
Adam
Last edited by craniotes; 24th May 2013 at 18:04.
Hello Adam. I didn't realize you're a member of this forum too.
Ah, didnt know that. So its an industrial ceramic material... Even more brittle an room temperature. I would love to see how these cases are made so please tell us more if you do know. I cant figure now they would be made apart from a hydraulic ram and heat. Thanks for the info!
"Ceramic" cases are actually made from zirconium oxide, not clay, and yes, they're considerably more labor-intensive and expensive to manufacture than steel or titanium cases. Are they brittle? Sure, that's the price one pays for their extremely high degree of scratch-resistance, so potential owners need to be aware of this before they drop their cash (lest they drop their watch).
For my part, I'm more than willing to have an essentially scratch-proof watch at the expense of a one-in-a-million chance that I'm going to be so careless as to let my expensive trinket take a dive and potentially crack the case, but I can certainly see the other side of the equation (for those with aesthetic issues, le sigh...). I will say from experience, however, that my ceramic watches have proven to exceptionally resilient when subjected to every day knocks (I once banged my Top Gun Double Chrono so hard against a playground jungle gym that it took the paint of the metal bar; a steel or titanium watch would've had a divot taken out, but the Top Gun still looked brand new).
Remove thy beak from my heart:
Ouch. ;-)
Regards,
Adam
good argument and i couldnt agree more.
Absolutely no offence intended I assure you."Ceramic" cases are actually made from zirconium oxide, not clay, and yes, they're considerably more labor-intensive and expensive to manufacture than steel or titanium cases. Are they brittle? Sure, that's the price one pays for their extremely high degree of scratch-resistance, so potential owners need to be aware of this before they drop their cash (lest they drop their watch).
For my part, I'm more than willing to have an essentially scratch-proof watch at the expense of a one-in-a-million chance that I'm going to be so careless as to let my expensive trinket take a dive and potentially crack the case, but I can certainly see the other side of the equation (for those with aesthetic issues, le sigh...). I will say from experience, however, that my ceramic watches have proven to exceptionally resilient when subjected to every day knocks (I once banged my Top Gun Double Chrono so hard against a playground jungle gym that it took the paint of the metal bar; a steel or titanium watch would've had a divot taken out, but the Top Gun still looked brand new).
Remove thy beak from my heart:
Ouch. ;-)
Regards,
Adam
I also have an AP Roo, well two actually, but in steel. I like the heft of the watch. I don't like Titanium watches much either because my attitude to watch cases is pretty much summed up by this clip from Jurassic Park:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/an-ukQ...g_in_the_cars/
"Are they heavy?"
So clever my foot fell off.
Agree with this sentiment entirely...........all the same, a hubba bubba nightmare for the owner of that one
Indeed. When the little ceramic bezel insert on a Sub costs around $1,000 to replace, can you imagine what a case would cost?
The repair estimate is $8,700.
Cheap indeed.
That is utterly mental. Offensively so.
Lots of beautiful watches with ceramic dials, but not for me. You just have to drop them or hit them against something at the wrong angle, and that's it!
Same goes for the watches with the DLC coating. Had one once, and hit an edge of the bezel against something quite sharp, and it chipped the coating right through to the bare metal. When you have only the bare metal to begin with, then you don't need to worry about that sort of thing. That finished me as far as any kind of coating or ceramic is concerned.
Just remember, it's not scratching that is the issue. It's shattering and replacing the entire part. I would much rather put up with a few scratches.
Thanks for posting this. It reminds me every so often that although I think that I would like my next watch to be a Planet Ocean, it has that ceramic bezel and that puts me right off it. I will be happy for now with my AT and Speedy.
Cheers
Carl
Last edited by Carl; 2nd June 2013 at 22:25.
+1. This should be exactly the way to go.
The major Japanese brands have cottoned on, i.e. Seiko Dia-Shield and Citizen Duratect, plus Sinn with its tegimented models, Bremont and Damasko. If British, German and Japanese brands have hardened watch cases, why haven't the Swiss bothered? Let's hope that Omega's hard Ti is the start of better watch cases from the Swiss.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
