Titanium AW5 thread

[spinedoc77]

Dang, that does look pretty bad. If mine starts looking like that I dunno what I'd do. Maybe some are more prone to this than others? I do pay for the AC+ monthly just in case it gets bad and drives me crazy. I'm almost 4 months in and no marks so far luckily. I only have used sport loops so far, not sure if that could have any impact?

It's actually worse than the picture. It's one long "scratch" almost the entire width of the watch, right up on the very top next to the bezel. That's why I suspect it's my hand rubbing on my desk when I text message. I will most likely just pony up the monthly AC+ so in a year when I go to sell it at least I can exchange it.

 

[the future]

What‘s so weird are the wildly diverging experiences people have with the Titanium Watches. Some wear them for months in all kinds of situations and they‘re still pristine, some get marks/scratches basically right out of the box. It‘s almost like different batches have the coating applied differently.

 

[spinedoc77]

What‘s so weird are the wildly diverging experiences people have with the Titanium Watches. Some wear them for months in all kinds of situations and they‘re still pristine, some get marks/scratches basically right out of the box. It‘s almost like different batches have the coating applied differently.

I think part of it, and it's only my educated guess, is that since most of these aren't true "scratches" most consumers are probably somewhat ok with them. They are more like shiny spots or spots where the brushed look is disrupted, and you can't physically feel any scratching. If the issue were true scratching I think there would be much more of an uproar.

 

[JimmyiPod]

I own a AWS Ti and a Bandwerk pure black leather band and the lugs fit and match perfectly.

Do you have any pics you can share?

 

[44267547]

What‘s so weird are the wildly diverging experiences people have with the Titanium Watches. Some wear them for months in all kinds of situations and they‘re still pristine, some get marks/scratches basically right out of the box. It‘s almost like different batches have the coating applied differently.

Why would the fingerprint coating have any matter at all? It’s a basic fingerprint/smudge resistance coating, it has no adequate protection against damage from scratches/scuffs. If there was some type of ‘light scratch resistance’ coating, then what you’re saying would make sense, but a fingerprint coating isn’t really relevant in this matter against damage.

 

[the future]

Why would the fingerprint coating have any matter at all? It’s a basic fingerprint/smudge resistance coating, it has no adequate protection against damage from scratches/scuffs. If there was some type of ‘light scratch resistance’ coating, then what you’re saying would make sense, but a fingerprint coating isn’t really relevant in this matter against damage.

Huh? Apparently it is exactly this coating that is "damaged" as owners like spinedoc say these are no "scratches" at all. Hence the metal itself is not damaged, only the coating is.

 

[44267547]

Apparently it is exactly this coating that is "damaged" as owners like spinedoc say these are no "scratches" at all.

Out of 59 pages in this thread, the coating isn’t the sole issue why natural titanium would scratch with contact (There’s plenty of posts saying otherwise). You alluded to the coating perhaps is applied inconsistently, I’d say that’s not the case at all. A fingerprint coating offers _zero_ protection against contact against a granite countertop as an example with the natural Ti.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Out of 59 pages in this thread, the coating isn’t the sole issue why natural titanium would scratch with contact (There’s plenty of posts saying otherwise). You alluded to the coating perhaps is applied inconsistently, I’d say that’s not the case at all. A fingerprint coating offers _zero_ protection against contact against a granite countertop as an example with the natural Ti.

Yep, got some contact with the underside of my granite counter as I was getting up from the bar stool, and it left ugly scratches on my Space Black Ti AW5 near the power button. My SB Stainless Series 0 thru Series 3 were all much more resistant to scratches than my SB Ti Series 5, with it's glossy and smooth and tough DLC finish. Wishing I had stuck with SB Stainless this time too.

 

[the future]

Out of 59 pages in this thread, the coating isn’t the sole issue why natural titanium would scratch with contact (There’s plenty of posts saying otherwise). You alluded to the coating perhaps is applied inconsistently, I’d say that’s not the case at all. A fingerprint coating offers _zero_ protection against contact against a granite countertop as an example with the natural Ti.

Of course the Ti Watch can also be scratched, but that is not the point of this discussion. The vast majority of blemishes reported here were not scratches but marks in the coating. So the "special problem" of the Ti Watch is not that the metal scratches more easily than e.g. stainless steel, but that the coating is easily damaged (the Stainless Steel Watch, as you know, has no coating). If one is worried about real scratches, you'd need to get a Watch with DLC anyway.

 

[noobinator]

I've banged my natural Ti watch a fair number of times over the past couple months and I don't see anything yet. This thing is pretty durable in my opinion. I think repeated wear / rubbing would cause the most issues but luckily mine looks great so far. Not saying it won't scratch but I'm not worried about it.

 

[techno-Zen]

Yep, got some contact with the underside of my granite counter as I was getting up from the bar stool, and it left ugly scratches on my Space Black Ti AW5 near the power button. My SB Stainless Series 0 thru Series 3 were all much more resistant to scratches than my SB Ti Series 5, with it's glossy and smooth and tough DLC finish. Wishing I had stuck with SB Stainless this time too. View attachment 888487

That would have absolutely scratched the SB SS as well but damn that sucks.

 

[spinedoc77]

Huh? Apparently it is exactly this coating that is "damaged" as owners like spinedoc say these are no "scratches" at all. Hence the metal itself is not damaged, only the coating is.

I've probably not been very clear, but I don't necessarily think it's just the coating being damaged. It's possible that the titanium underneath is being damaged, but not scratched, maybe it's just the brushed titanium is being polished. The more I think about it the more this makes sense, the Ti is strong enough to withstand scratches, but it's easy enough to accidentally "polish" it through pressure.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

That would have absolutely scratched the SB SS as well but damn that sucks.

Yeah, it does suck. And yet my old series 0 and series 2 SB Apple Watch are mostly scratch free, while my more recent Series 3 LTE SB AW looks new. The smooth shiney DLC coating on the SS watches I’ve had seems much thicker and tougher to me.

I have AC+ but want to save it for when the watch gets smashed while mountain biking, or some other stunt.

 

[spinedoc77]

I just got the titanium pad from Amazon a few guys have mentioned. It DOES work but with some caveats. I very gently, with almost no pressure, gave a few passes to my "scratch", which really was more of what I believe to be the titanium finish polished by pressure. The scratch, which went all the way across from one end to the other end of the top of my watch, disappeared. The downside is you do get some very light swirling that doesn't match the brushed finish slightly. Keep in mind this is under a bright light with me eyeballing the area and focusing on it. What I did was just very lightly brush the rest of the top of the watch so it all matched and it looks really good. If you put a very bright light on it and bring it up a few inches from your eye you will see the swirls, but other than that it's imperceptible. Did I take the coating off? Probably, and I could care less, fingerprints didn't seem to stick any more than the rest of the watch and the color didn't change at all, we'll see if that holds true with time.

As I was eyeballing the watch I noticed many other tiny little "scratches" all around the watch, this is just the way the Ti watches are going to wear. I am very careful with my watches, but what can you do? My prior silver SS and SBSS were completely abused, construction, working out, you name it and they are flawless to this day. This sure as hell will be my first and last Apple Ti watch I'll buy.

 

[the future]

I just got the titanium pad from Amazon a few guys have mentioned. It DOES work but with some caveats. I very gently, with almost no pressure, gave a few passes to my "scratch", which really was more of what I believe to be the titanium finish polished by pressure. The scratch, which went all the way across from one end to the other end of the top of my watch, disappeared. The downside is you do get some very light swirling that doesn't match the brushed finish slightly. Keep in mind this is under a bright light with me eyeballing the area and focusing on it. What I did was just very lightly brush the rest of the top of the watch so it all matched and it looks really good. If you put a very bright light on it and bring it up a few inches from your eye you will see the swirls, but other than that it's imperceptible. Did I take the coating off? Probably, and I could care less, fingerprints didn't seem to stick any more than the rest of the watch and the color didn't change at all, we'll see if that holds true with time.

As I was eyeballing the watch I noticed many other tiny little "scratches" all around the watch, this is just the way the Ti watches are going to wear. I am very careful with my watches, but what can you do? My prior silver SS and SBSS were completely abused, construction, working out, you name it and they are flawless to this day. This sure as hell will be my first and last Apple Ti watch I'll buy.

Thanks for reporting/confirming the pad (mostly) worked! Too bad the marks lowered your opinion of the Ti Watch as it is (IMO) the most beautiful Apple Watch ever.

 

[AJ44]

Even love the look in a low lighting dive bar.

 

[KarimLeVallois]

I went to the Apple Store a couple of weeks ago to check out the link bracelet with the natural and have to say that the match is so much closer in real life. The renders online make the natural look too warm and way off from the link bracelet.

 

[Doebldodl]

Do you have any pics you can share?

Here we go: "Natural" Titanium Apple Watch 5 44m with matching Bandwerk Pure Black Leather strap. Highly recommended!

 

[KarimLeVallois]

Here we go: "Natural" Titanium Apple Watch 5 44m with matching Bandwerk Pure Black Leather strap. Highly recommended!

View attachment 889399 View attachment 889400

I’m usually more of a brown leather guy (mainly wear brown shoes/belt), but damn that looks nice!

 

[Hls811]

It's a company Lenovo machine buddy.
[automerge]1577362777[/automerge]

100% agreed. I tend to go SBSS but the S5 just felt the same as my S4 and S3 thus, wanted a change. I then couldn't decide between the normal Ti and SBTi but couldn't get a regular Ti scratch free out of the box (I tried 5 times) thus this made my mind up for me. I then went with SBTi and it is simply stunning especially when the light catches it. It's presence is understated but stealthy - go with the dark grey (black) leather loop:

Is that the currently available Black Leather Loop? Is it really a dark gray? I haven't seen it in person, but I kinda like that! I've been looking for the Midnight Blue band or Stormy Gray, but that not quite black might be a good alternative (and its readily available!)

 

[JimmyiPod]

Here we go: "Natural" Titanium Apple Watch 5 44m with matching Bandwerk Pure Black Leather strap. Highly recommended!

View attachment 889399 View attachment 889400

Thanks

 

[KarimLeVallois]

Hmmmmmm, two Natural Titanium watches with marks out of the box. One had marks in two corners and the other one prominent mark in one corner, annoying...

 

[Cogsworth]

I own other titanium gear and a couple traditional titanium watches, it is definitely NOT the coating getting damaged. As many have said the coating on the natural titanium Apple Watch is just for fingerprint resistance and offers no protection from marks or wear. I've been wearing mine since launch and it has a couple marks/scuffs that look just like the wear on my other titanium stuff that is not coated. Since it's a softer metal, it's just the way titanium wears. It can be scratched, but it's also easy to scuff.

Doesn't bother me, it's a watch. It's gonna wear, get scratches and scuffs just like any other watch. I wear the hell out of it and it still looks great.

 

[AJ44]

Starting to try some new combos with Ti, here’s Indigo

 

[KarimLeVallois]

Hmmmmmm, two Natural Titanium watches with marks out of the box. One had marks in two corners and the other one prominent mark in one corner, annoying...

Three... They all seem to be marked/scratched in the same places