Is aftermarket AR a thing?
Sapphire has a high reflective properties. Don't need to explain the issue with that. Add in a dome and black dial, and it can be too much. (Are you listening Hamilton?)
Does anyone know if it's possible to have AR coating applied to a sapphire crystal? I had a quick look on the line - nothing much.
I thought about removing crystal and taking it to an optometrist if possible?
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The Heretic
Vintage Seiko & Soviet, Hamilton, & few of my own builds.
The City
Member since
Last active: 1 week ago
I suspect it might be easier and cheaper to replace your crystal than to have it applied afterwards. However knowing that your replacement crystal would be any better might be another question.
I don’t know how easy it is to find a replacement crystal, but I would agree that’s probably easier than getting the existing one coated. If an optometrist can do it, would it need to be removed from the case first? If so, I would think replacing it would be the way to go.
I love Hamilton as a brand. But they have a huge problem with this. And lume.
Had 4 Hamilton's, got rid of them all because of legibility issues 😞
Unfortunately that is the Hamilton way. I’ve learned to enjoy mine regardlessly but I know plenty more who haven’t.
I don’t like the expression “Love it or hate it”… but that really is the case here. However, if you do find a solution, then all the better for it! Just let us know how you do!
I have asked my watch maker the same thing for the titanium variant. He told me he would have to find a crystal the same size with ar coating but couldn’t guarantee the water resistance if the crystal wasn’t made for the watch. In the end the Hamilton got sold because I couldn’t enjoy it
You can find AR sapphires for purchase with the more regularly modded watches such as Seikos. The higher-end watches are not going to have readily available crystals on the 3rd party market and they are not going to be cheap to take off and have sent for AR coating — especially if you want double sided.