Armand has by far the most informative channel on watches. For information more directed to the technique and the inside workings of watches I found Mark of Island Watches very good with the watch and learn series.
Thanks for this video and explanation of the various coating types. I generally shy away from any coating, colored anyways, just out of pure maintenance or risk of more unsightly wear and blemishes vs a noncoated surface. I do have 1 black PVD sports watch. It looks fitting for a motorsports theme watch and it's not that expensive.. A Roue watch which you've reviewed before. I have Diashield on my Seiko SBBN033 Tuna, but I still picked up tiny scratches or tiny dimples of scratch on the shroud of the watch.. And I am damn careful and not that active to really put it to the test. So, for me, Diashield didn't seem to do anything.. No coating is impervious to even the smallest damage, but just saying the Tuna still picked up tiny scratches despite the Diashield and being very protective of how I wear and handle my watch. No worries. The tuna is a tool watch and I would expect some signs of wear regardless.
Great video Armand, thank you. This is a technical aspect not much talked about. It's refreshing to see a channel exploring themes that others don't even think about!
Interesting and informative. Seiko is very coy regarding the process they use for some models. On English language web sites they simply say "coating". In Japanese the term is めっき, mekki, which can mean gilt, gilding, plating, coating, or wash. I own a Seiko Presage in "rose gold". I contacted Seiko for more information. They only said it was a plating and would provide no further information such as the thickness of the plating.
Armand you really know your stuff mate. So much more informative and detailed than every other watch videos ( and believe me i view a lot of them,!!). You must be a watchmaker i presume? keep the standards up , superb. regards Andy McI.
+Janice McIntyre: Thank you very much for the kind words! As it turns out, I'm not a watchmaker by profession but I have been reading technical leaflets from brands and historical accounts for a few years. I do occasionally reassemble watches but, in truth, I have learned more from doing this than I had knowledge to begin with.
I was hoping you were going to discuss the PVD gold treatment Seiko, Tissot, Mido, and some of the other watch manufacturers are using. It's thickness, hardness, and lifetime prognosis. How do they hold up in everyday wear?
Interesting vid. I got through about 2/3 of it. I was wondering if you know, is there a layman's method for applying PVD or electroplating to a case? I removed a bad enamel (PVD?) coating (I think) and now it's just base metal. But now I want to re-apply a black coat on the case. I'm not sure how to do it. Thanks.
Thank you Armand. Very educational. I love your videos :) One thing I noticed is you switched between units for measuring thickness of a coating. Is there a chart somewhere that compares these units?...just interested.
Thanks for an interesting video(as always)- I have a grade 5 titanium limited edition of 250 Jeanrichard Aeroscope Chronograph with DLC coating that I got for a huge discount thanks to my missus (rrp was £4400- I paid £320!)... it's not a watch I would have chosen but I dont dislike it, it's become a luxury beater watch for me. I've knocked it and seen videos where they test it and it doesn't mark or scratch plus its light weight
Good video. Would be interested to learn more about the "pros and cons" on diashield for Seiko as that would be the most common watch owned amongst your viewers. I hear about different issues but nothing concrete. Thanks !
I have the Nixon Mission smartwatch, which has Cerakote on the bezel. In short, IT SUCKS! It started chipping within 3 days, and the most extreme thing I did was go to the grocery store. After a couple of months, it was horribly chipped, so much so it was embarrassing. I emailed photos to both Cerakote and Nixon and never got a response from either. I'd stay away from it for any application.
Good job Armand. The range of coatings and technical details surrounding them are a bit of a minefield of information and indeed misinformation. You're head must have hurt after reading all the tech specs. The amount of times I've seen modern gold PVD watches described as gold plated, even by watch show rooms. I don't own any, but have sent a couple of SKX cases away for cerakoting as part of a mod. Never really sure of the longevity of these finishes but the consensus seems to be that DLC black is the best of this type.
All of the "platings" and "surface hardening" only create restoration issues, and do nothing to make the steel prettier. It's all mostly a one-time, one-trick-pony, mostly all marketing, and nothing else i.e. BS. But I like the look of the bright yellow and white coatings, but it's just for show.
lots of cheap shitty PVD coming out of China. 'PVD' has become a buzzword and they lie about it. Very difficult to judge the coating's quality unless it's a name as big as Sinn, Seiko, etc
