Reply With QuoteOh man, I feel sorry for you! That will mean an entire case change, it won't be cheap!
Care to share some pics and how it happened?
Hi all!
Just cracked a lug on my ceramic Top Gun chrono!
Any idea how much it’s going to cost me to replace?
Oh man, I feel sorry for you! That will mean an entire case change, it won't be cheap!
Care to share some pics and how it happened?
Nothing too exciting.Originally Posted by crazyp
I dopped it to a tile floor in my gym’s locker room.
Last edited by EJL25; 9th December 2019 at 21:27.
Ouch, feel so sorry for you. I read on a forum a guy who did this to his ceramic omega and it was a new case at $7k iirc, but eventually omega agreed to help out as a gesture of goodwill. I would be calling on accidental damage home insurance?
Too bad. That is one downside of a ceramic case. Hope they don’t quote an astronomical sum for case change.
On a separate note, there seems to be an epidemic of dropping watches on a gym floor.
Apparently gym is not a safe place for watches!
Funnily enough I've also done the same; I think in locker/changing rooms, one can end up being rather clumsy as your focus may not be all there. Now I only wear G shocks to the gym!
Really feel sorry for you OP, this is my biggest fear with ceramic as well.
I loved owning ceramic cased watches ( Ocean 7 meteor, IWC Ingenier as I am OCD about scratches and they always looked brand new.
I am gutted for you as your accident is the very rare nightmare scenario with this material.
There are other online examples with ceramic cased omega, IWC Pilot and Panerai watches and only the option of a very expensive recase into the thousands has been the outcome.
Hopefully your insurance may cover it.
Ouch. So sorry. I do hope your accidental damage policy covers it.
I guess a case replacement. I’m getting my second ceramic case’d watch soon - I won’t be taking it to the gym!
Sorry to hear this and yes, watches and gym floors are not a good mix.
I hope IWC will help you sort this out.
there's a borked one on chrono24 atm
guy says he was quoted 3k for the repair (will probably be more in reality once they slap on a movmenent service etc)
https://www.chrono24.co.uk/iwc/pilot...id11236181.htm
Really sorry to hear this and hope you have insurance to cover the cost. It’s not going to be a cheap fix.
Whilst I am very careful with my watches this is an accident that can happen to anyone and is the reason I would not buy a ceramic cased watch.
Condition says fair, more like f****d.
Really. The amount of stories of cracked ceramic cases seems absolutely tiny when compared to the amount of ceramic watches that must be in circulation. The only example must people point to, is that one picture of an IWC (coincidentally enough). Ceramic is certainly more brittle than steel, but I don’t think it has a a “glass jaw“ either.
Is this a purely ceramic case, or one of IWC’s hybrids?
Last edited by Oafley Jones; 9th December 2019 at 18:31.
That sucks, be almost tempting to buy another used around the £4.5k mark, swap over the original parts to keep serial numbers and sell the rest or keep for spares, either way you go its going to be expensive unless there is an insurance payout..
Just bought a ceramic watch today. Not the sort of thread you want to see! Best of luck OP, I hope the insurance is painless.
Is insurance likely to cover accidental damage outside the home?
Some can, depends what cover he has.
Depending on policy, yes. Mine certainly does.
Only if you have specificity expanded the cover to include accidental damage out of the home.
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I don’t draw that conclusion. For example - gold cases would cost more to replace and are less resilient - but that material has been used for many years by almost every manufacture.
Unlikely there would be a catastrophic failure of a gold case that required a complete case replacement?
question, if they are so easily damaged why do they make them?
A gold case will get a scratch, a dent, and I imagine gold can even be added back on. Seems. Totally different to ceramic where it will chip, and a new case seems to be the only option.
That's not to say that I believe there is no place for ceramic watches though. Purely a case of cost v reward. Some would argue there is no place for sapphire crystals due to the cost of replacement compared to acrylic.
Engineering prowess I imagine.
This is the problem with ceramic cases, excellent scratch resistance but prone tobreakage when dropped onto a hard floor. My wife has a couple of £400 ceramic Armanis, they’re OK at that price level, but no way would I spend big money on one.
Taking all things into account, stainless steel is a pretty good material for watch cases.
Do we really see them around in 20 years? Seems a bit of a fad, just too impractical
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I don't see them as impractical, never dropped a watch yet. Might as well consider watches get stolen, too risky to own.
My next reasonably expensive watch will be ceramic. There isn’t a perfect material, but there is a lot to like with ceramic, as long as you don’t drop it onto a hard surface!
D
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Did you have a deployant on it?
That's the first thing I did when I got one (ceramic omega), ordered a new strap and clasp!
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Do you have the bit that came off?
If you did could it be glued/bonded?
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Could stick a small piece of a black jack chew to it.
That’s a very good question actually. Ceramic seems a very impractical material to make watch cases. Now if manufacturers were charging reasonable amount to replace, fine, but they view it as another way to milk money. I would never buy a ceramic watch, I prefer scratches on steel cases than running the risk of breaking the ceramic v
rare=collectible
(who knows)
Whenever I see reference to a ‘ceramic’ case or bezel insert, I substitute the word with ‘pottery’ which makes it feel much less high tech, and perhaps reflects the suitability of the material a tad more realistically!
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dropping any watch on a tiled surface is a bad idea, and may well require a steel case to be replaced as well
i have had several ceramic watches and its the only type of black watch i would buy.
For the uninformed and the uninitiated the ceramic used in watches is not the same as the Ceramic used in pottery. It is more like the ceramic used by NASA in their satellites and space shuttles.
However, there is no denying that it is brittle.
Indeed, but it's fine for the intended purpose.
Cars will crumple if driven into a wall.
If you want a black watch there is far less chance of marking a ceramic watch than a DLC/PVD coated one although admittedly damage to a ceramic case would be all or nothing.
Ceramic is cool - it was used on the space shuttle for god sake
But why use it to make a watch case unless you intend to pop it the oven for a 40 minutes at Gas mark 4. If weight is an issue, use Titanium or Aluminium. If price is an issue use plastic, steel or alloy. If you want to go high spec then use gold, platinum or palladium . If you want to go high tech when use a composite like Carbon Fibre, Kevlar, Graphene.
Ceramic is great for tableware, roofing tiles, decorative arts, insulators and things designed to withstand high temps or remain stable at temperature, it can even be an effective coating, but you wouldn't buy spanners, screwdrivers, saws, hammers and other tools made out of it because it's fragile.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
I think you are right, it seems to me any disadvantages out weigh any advantages.
but this is the watch world anyone for a yukkie green ceramic?
Re: you wouldn't buy spanners, screwdrivers, saws, hammers and other tools made out of it because it's fragile.
Neither would you buy those made from gold or platinum.
The point is ceramic is scratch resistant u like other materials you mentioned.
Anyway a personal choice and trade off. I like variety.
An IWC big pilot and a DSOTM in ceramic is enough for me.
The previous owner of my Top Gun Doppel 3799 had dropped the watch and also needed a replacement case:Hi all!
Just cracked a lug on my ceramic Top Gun chrono!
Any idea how much it’s going to cost me to replace?
Total cost were 2200 Euros including a new saphire. In the end, he had to pay only 2/3, as his AD made a special deal and basically charged him only at cost. However, this was in 2012, so expect a significant increase in these cost (the 3k mentioned in the C24 ad may be a reality).
Good luck!
Christian
what would a steel case cost in comparison?
It’s a classic example of risk and hazard. The hazard is the catastrophic failure of the case as a consequence of being dropped on a hard ceramic floor, the risk of it happening is whatever you perceive it to be. You can mitigate the risk by careful handling, avoiding removal in an area with a hard floor and developing a careful technique, but you will never eliminate the hazard unless you totally avoid hard floors or don’t own the watch.
Like I said, I’m OK with ceramic watches worth £400 that keep wifey happy, put another nought on the price and I’m not happy. Fortunately there are no ceramic watches that appeal to me, I used to like Rados but not enough to own one.
Everyone will reach their own decision, if they like the watch enough they’ll accept the risk of breaking it.
Yes I know, it’s the brittle bit I was referring to!
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Who knows? With steel you're unlikely to ever be in a position to need to know.
Given that its ceramic plating used for reinforcing Kevlar vests, “Fragile” really isn’t the word I’d use.
Again, how many photos of a cracked ceramic watch has anyone seen? It’s that one IWC for me. You’d think we’d be overrun with them given the opinions here.
Thats why IWC released their Ceratanium material now for their Top Gun!
I have a 10 year old Rado, ceramic case and bracelet (as does the mrs). Both still look as good as new, though neither has been dropped onto a hard surface yet.
My friendly local jeweller fits straps and batteries, he’s been doing it for years, but he managed to break the bracelet end link on a ceramic Armani whilst removing the bracelet to get the caseback off. It happens, the material can and will break.........just accept the fact.
As I stated earlier, its all about hazard and risk, if you like the watch enough to accept the risk that’s fine, that’s the right answer for you, but it isn’t the right answer for some of us.
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