Anti Reflective Coating - Who Can Tell?
Just watching one of Max's videos and he mentions Anti Reflective coating on watch crystals and it got me thinking - which of my watches have it and which ones do not? I have a variety of watches - from Seikos to Rolex - and I would be hard pressed to tell which ones have AR, let alone which have AR coating on both sides of the crystal. Is it just that I do not have a trained eye? Can most watch enthusiasts tell the difference? Is there a standard test to see if a watch has the AR coating? Thanks
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The "bluish" haze is a dead giveaway.
Handle enough watches and it's not hard to tell which ones have it and which ones don't. The glare is noticeable on ones without any or with very little.
Front: coating only on inside
Back: coating inside and ouside
I photograph my watches and once I put them under a light source, it gets very easy to spot which ones have good AR vs. no/minimal AR coating
you can absolutely tell the difference: good AR really does make a watch look way more expensive and you notice the lack of it on other watches once you habdled one with great AR - Frederique Constant, Alpina, IWC for example all have insanely good coatings ;)
Aaah, you’ve touched upon my favorite topic. When I began my watch journey I didn’t know about AR, but I found out the hard way that I absolutely cannot stand a watch without AR coating. It’s my pet peeve. For example my Tudor Monte Carlo that had a wonderful design and no AR coating. It bugged me to no end, and I had to sell it. The problem with little or no AR coating is twofold:
1. Not being able to see the time, and then you have to “tilt” the watch to get a viewing angle. This is the lesser problem.
2. You can’t see the vibrant dial colours as there is a slight whitish haze in the crystal that obscures the dial. It creates a barrier between you and the watch dial, and it‘s like eating a lollypop with the wrapping still on. Not a good experience. (I have another good analogy, but I must restrain myself :-)
Watches with good AR coating invites you in and let’s you see all the colours and all the details. One step further and you have several layers of AR coating on BOTH sides (like some Omega and Breitling etc) and you are literally “sucked in” to the dial. I like double-sided AR coating - I’m sure you are not surprised. I know people don’t, and I would also not buy double-AR if it is a beater watch. It can be a big problem I agree. But the magic of the double AR coating is palpable and I love it. My advice to you: Go for AR coating on the inside, but ask for and require several layers. It is really important. Or go the other direction that I also like: Go acrylic like in the old days. I love acrylic as it gives a very nice warmth, and there is no glare that needs an AR coating. Go old school, yay. You can always buff out a scratch with Polywatch. Viewing the dial is incredibly much more important than whether the watch has 40 or 48 hours of power reserve. Just my 2 cents.
Sometimes it's just on the underside of the crystal and might be harder to spot. I also feel that sapphire crystals gives of more of a glare than softer crystals? Akryl has very little reflections in my experience and I suspect that mineral crystal might be somewhere in between?
The shape of the crystal also matters. Domed crystals don't suffers as much as flat ones. Here is my BB36 with FLAT SAPPHIRE, enjoy:
What was I talking about again 🤔 Yeah, how to tell? What @Aurelian said 😊
Aaah, you’ve touched upon my favorite topic. When I began my watch journey I didn’t know about AR, but I found out the hard way that I absolutely cannot stand a watch without AR coating. It’s my pet peeve. For example my Tudor Monte Carlo that had a wonderful design and no AR coating. It bugged me to no end, and I had to sell it. The problem with little or no AR coating is twofold:
1. Not being able to see the time, and then you have to “tilt” the watch to get a viewing angle. This is the lesser problem.
2. You can’t see the vibrant dial colours as there is a slight whitish haze in the crystal that obscures the dial. It creates a barrier between you and the watch dial, and it‘s like eating a lollypop with the wrapping still on. Not a good experience. (I have another good analogy, but I must restrain myself :-)
Watches with good AR coating invites you in and let’s you see all the colours and all the details. One step further and you have several layers of AR coating on BOTH sides (like some Omega and Breitling etc) and you are literally “sucked in” to the dial. I like double-sided AR coating - I’m sure you are not surprised. I know people don’t, and I would also not buy double-AR if it is a beater watch. It can be a big problem I agree. But the magic of the double AR coating is palpable and I love it. My advice to you: Go for AR coating on the inside, but ask for and require several layers. It is really important. Or go the other direction that I also like: Go acrylic like in the old days. I love acrylic as it gives a very nice warmth, and there is no glare that needs an AR coating. Go old school, yay. You can always buff out a scratch with Polywatch. Viewing the dial is incredibly much more important than whether the watch has 40 or 48 hours of power reserve. Just my 2 cents.
IWC also has some next level blue AR 😍
Check out some of the top of the line Japanese watches, like Seiko Astron, Casio Oceanus, or Citizen Attesa. The AR coating is so good that it makes the glass almost disappear. When I am wearing my Citizen AT8181 or Seiko Oceanus T2600, I constantly look at the watch because of how the AR coating makes it look.
AFAIK there is no standard test, but one thing that is very evident is the hazing of non AR coated sapphire crystals. It's very noticeable here:
And a to a lesser degree here: