Strength of mineral crystal/sapphire
Hiya guys
I went hammocking a couple of days ago with some friends, and while setting up a safety line- gave the glass of my dive watch a proper whack!. Luckily it seems to have survived scratch free.
It did makee think though: how strong are mineral crystal/sapphire glasses against impact. I know they are very scratch resistant, but what about specific blunt impact?. I hit this glass with the spine of my carabiner, and was convinced id broken it.
Are there any climbers or people with similair experience who have any stories to reassure/put me off using a watch other than a casio?!
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TOM
Tom here, Really into watches, ever since I bought a Casio calculator watch around ten years ago. Anything Cartier, funky materials and quirky dials.
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Last active: 5 months ago
Here's the best illustration I've ever come across:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R21hgz-A7JY
As a former climber, who's broken something on the order of 10 watches climbing and cycling, I would say, stick your watch in your pack when you're climbing. Smashed the f*ck out of a bunch of watches, crystals shattered, bracelets mangled, cases broken, etc., etc., over the years. I was too dumb to realize that watches simply shouldn't be worn while climbing!
I have never had a watch crystal shatter, but I have scratched and chipped mineral glass crystals in the past. It takes a pretty sharp impact to cause that damage. I have never even scratched a sapphire crystal. despite giving one or two a pretty hard impact on something. My understanding is that a sapphire crystal is more scratch resistant and harder, but it will shatter while mineral crystal will crack without chattering completely.
Thanks guys !