# ceramic resilency to scratches and hairlines



## breitling&omega

I'm looking into getting a ceramic watch but want to know if they are as good as people say they are against getting marked up. I've been told IWC models are very resilient and basically don't get swirls or hairlines from every day use. 

Can owners of ceramic watches give their experience on the ceramic material? I'm particularly interested in top gun models and would like to know if these watches are getting scratches and hairlines.


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## NightScar

I have a Chanel J12 and Hublot Big Bang Classic Fusion and I would say ceramic is pretty scratch proof. The ceramic on my J12 is polished and there aren't any swirls or scratches on it and I've had it for maybe 2-3 years now. The Hublot, I actually wore lat Saturday and got a few hairline scratches on the bezel. I got kind of scared but I just took my shirt and gently wiped it off and it's gone. So far, my experience with ceramic has been great.


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## breitling&omega

wiping swirls off with a shirt sounds like magic. I've heard many people saying that swirls and hairlines can be removed by rubbing it with something they find in their household-sounds absolutely amazing!


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## Cinq

I've heard that ceramic is so hard that when you scratch it with a metal object, it's the metal that gets caught in the ceramic, leaving a mark. It should be possible to remove that mark, I've read that it works with a pencil eraser (if that's the correct word) but I have no ceramic watch so I never tested this.

Ceramic is also brittle, it's possible the case shatters if you drop the watch and it hits something hard in the wrong spot :roll:

Kind regards,

Cinq


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## NightScar

That is one weakness ceramic has, it is brittle and could shatter if dropped in the wrong angles, although there has been only a handful of issues I've seen of it happening.

Here's the scratch-proof test a Hublot Big BangS ceramic bezel was put through:


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## GeorgeD

impressive
thanks for this Nightscar, very helpful


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## illus83

Nightscar, it killed me to look at your scratch test...I'm glad to see it made it out alive.

I have the Top Gun ceramic and it holds up very well. I was also able to wipe a hairline scratch away with my shirt.


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## NightScar

illus83 said:


> Nightscar, it killed me to look at your scratch test...I'm glad to see it made it out alive.
> 
> I have the Top Gun ceramic and it holds up very well. I was also able to wipe a hairline scratch away with my shirt.


I must apologize, that is not my scratch test. I am not crazy enough to do it on my watch. I got it from TZ, someone there was brave enough to do it and I just wanted to share. From my experience though, I often get my Hublot Big Bang's bezel caught up on the zipper of the pockets of my jackets and has caused similar scratches and with a quick wipe from my undershirt and the watch looks brand new again. :-!


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## ricochet

I have a Ceramic Doppel Topgun. When I attempted to change the straps, very light scratches happened when the head of the watch tool touched the underside of the logs. Of course it doesn't affect the appearance at all since they were in the underside. But I decided to have them removed in the IWC SC. Most were removed but the immediate space surrounding the scratches was left shiny than usual. It could be due to the buffing done.


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## exxondus

omg!! u really used the key to scratch your hublot!!!

what if it really got scratched!!!

Thanks for the demo tho :-! i would NEVER have the guts to do such stuff :-(


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## illus83

Alright, so this past weekend I banged by watch on a meter. I was able to rub most of it off with my shirt, but it left a very tiny spec of metal where the ceramic came off. Anyone have any recommendations for touch up?


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## Tony A.H

DANG.!!!!!
that's COOL.!!
Man. you got me on this one.!! you made me nervous by lookig at your pics.!!
very impressed.

Cheers
Tony


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## NightScar

This is a pretty cool chart:



> *Vickers Hardness Chart*
> 
> 18K Red Gold 160
> Aluminium 167
> Europium 167
> Magnesium 175
> Ytterbium 206
> 24K Gold 216
> Silver 251
> Cerium 270
> Neodymium 343
> Thorium 350
> Copper 369
> Stainless Steel 400
> Praseodymium 400
> Samarium 412
> Palladium 461
> Holmium 481
> Lanthanum 491
> Hublonium AG5 500
> Thulium 520
> Dysprosium 540
> Platinium 549
> Gadolinium 570
> Erbium 589
> Iron 608
> Vanadium 628
> Nickel 638
> Terbium 863
> Tantalum 873
> Zirconium 903
> Titanium 970
> Cobalt 1043
> Chromium 1060
> Lutetium 1160
> Rhodium 1246
> Niobium 1320
> Molybdenum 1530
> Beryllium 1670
> Hafnium 1760
> Iridium 1760
> Uranium 1960
> Rhenium 2450
> Tungsten 3430
> *Zirconium Oxide (Hublot Ceramic) 6200 *
> Boron 4.9 x 104
> Hydrogen N/A
> Diamond Not rated, as it is a mineral and not a metal


So diamond is pretty much the only thing that can scratch it.


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## Tony A.H

wow. that's a really nice Chart.|> but i'm surprises to learn that some Alloys that I thought they were harder than others but turned out to be softer!!! like: the 24K Gold,Silver,Aluminum were Harder than an 18K Red Gold.!
also i thought Steel was 316 not 400 on the Vickers Scale.! hmm you learn something New everyday ;-)

but most amazing Figure is the Hublot Ceramic.WOW.!!
and now i'm wondering about how Tough is the New Panerai Composite (Radiomir 339)??! i heard it's harder than Zirconium. hmmmm :think: time will tell.
thanks for the Chart
Tony


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## NightScar

The 316 on the steel isn't the hardness rating on the Vickers scale. IIRC, it is the grade of the stainless steel. I believe 304 is the most common and followed by 316.


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## Tony A.H

oh. sorry 
you're right.!! it's the Steel Grade.:thanks
T


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## WatchFan56

wow seeing that Hublot scratch test was cool


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## sixfiveduke

I have a Big Pilot Top Gun in ceramic as well and accidentally had my wife's watch touch mine as we were getting in the car now mine has a pretty good size scuff on the side. Am I understanding it correctly that its actually not scratched but has material left on from my wife's watch?


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