9630 was the heaviest gold watch on the market at that time and Rolex limited its production run to 1,000 pieces.įollowing that, Rolex used sapphire crystal on its first quartz watch, the Rolex ref. Rolex first used the sapphire crystal as early as 1964 on the unconventional-looking and manual-winding King Midas ref. In true Rolex fashion, rather than introducing sapphire crystal to all their watches overnight, the brand introduced it slowly. When Did Rolex Introduce Sapphire Crystal? If this happens, not only does the watch need a costly new sapphire crystal replacement, but the movement may also need to be looked at to ensure that no shards or fragments are stuck inside.Īlthough acrylic and sapphire glass both have pros and cons (and devoted fans), most modern luxury watches exclusively use sapphire crystals. However, because of its hardness, a sapphire will also shatter or chip if hit at certain angles. Also, since sapphire ranks so high on the Mohs’ scale of mineral hardness, it is much more scratch-resistant, which is a significant benefit for watch wearers. It also doesn’t present the same distortions that are sometimes produced by acrylic crystals. Another advantage of acrylic is that it is much cheaper to replace than sapphire.įlat synthetic sapphire crystal has a much sleeker style and offers superb transparency to view the dial. Furthermore, if it does break, it often does so by cracking in a clean manner rather than shattering. The good news is that acrylic is durable and quite resilient to breaking. In terms of practicality, acrylic does get scratched quite easily but it’s also relatively simple to buff out the scratches in a few minutes using polishing pastes (such as PolyWatch). Acrylic is less shiny and lends a cool retro vibe and warmth to the watch. First off, many vintage Rolex watch collectors simply prefer the look of acrylic to sapphire. While many may assume that modern sapphire crystal is automatically better than old-school acrylic, plastic glass has its benefits too. One of the telltale signs of a vintage Rolex watch is its acrylic glass. Can You Swap Rolex Acrylic and Sapphire Crystals?.The First Rolex References with Sapphire Crystals.When Did Rolex Introduce Sapphire Crystal?.However, if you’re still unsure about the one you have, then read on to learn more details about the differences between acrylic and sapphire and to find out which type of crystal is on your Rolex watch. Additionally, sapphire crystals are clearer and much less prone to scratching than acrylic. Generally speaking, acrylic crystals are convex while sapphire crystals are flat. Once you’ve seen plenty of Rolex watches from different eras, it can be pretty easy to spot if a model has an acrylic crystal or a sapphire one.
Today, high-end watchmakers almost exclusively use sapphire crystals on their watches. Sapphire crystals started to gain popularity around the mid-20th Century, offering benefits like resistance to scratching (sapphire is ranked at a level nine on the Mohs scale for overall hardness) and improved transparency. It is also sold under various brands such as Hesalite, Plexiglas, Perspex, and others. plastic) crystals or sapphire crystals.įirst came acrylic (Polymethyl methacrylate), which is a transparent thermoplastic that was used as a shatter-resistant alternative to glass. Depending on the era that they were made, Rolex watches can either have acrylic (a.k.a. However, the crystal that sits above the dial that serves to protect the face of the watch also adds its own flair to the overall design.
When you look at a Rolex watch, it’s only natural to pay the most attention to the material, case, dial, and bracelet.
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