The Breitling Watch Source Forums

This may have been discussed in the past??
I would not think i am the only one wondering why there was never a black steel bracelet for the skyland or super BS
As a black Steel owner, and someone that really, really prefers bracelets, i dont wear my BS at all.
I know i could get a regular SS pvd'd but that woudl not match.

Does anyone know the recipe for making black steel?
Possibility of getting one made from reg SS bracelet.
I am thinking that a high temp treatment of a reg SS bracelet would make the connecting hardware and screws brittle???


I think the anneal it in a high temp furnace with certain gases...

Anyone know?

Thanks

I believe there are at least two reasons for not having a blacksteel bracelet. First, to have the bracelet made the same way would be quite costly. If you search the forum you'll find a few threads on this, and if I recall correctly one of the members investigated and actually got a quote for a DLC bracelet (not from Breitling though). The quote was about the same money as the watch originally.

Second, even if you would make a bracelet it wouldn't last very long. Sure, DLC is extremely tough, but DLC will wear DLC so in every spot on the bracelet where you have friction you'll see signs of DLC wearing off.

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Collection: http://s540.photobucket.com/albums/gg32 ... mview=grid

Despite the coating being very tough, I'm not convinced you would want a bracelet made in the same finish as most people tend to scratch the bracelets before the watch head. How many times do you see watches advertised as having scratches on the clasp?

I don't think it would be long before the bracelet would look tatty, and black steel's can't be re-finished like SS or Ti

Shame, as all black would look damn nice

Somebody had info directly from the company that does the DLC for Breitling. It came down to cost and wear, as already mentioned. That said, there was a member who had his pro II DLC'd and it looked pretty awesome. Forgot who it was though. I know it was posted on WUS and TZ--probably here as well.

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-RJ

The guys that have responded have pretty much said it all.

As rightly said above, DLC will wear DLC, so that in itself is enough to make me turn away - in fact that's why I avoid ANY surface coatings like the plague. I can imagine the little pressed parts of the flip-lock clasp wearing into the coating on the other part of the clasp pretty quickly, and that would irritate me. You only need to look at a PVD coated watch from a few years ago and they look appallingly tatty. Sure DLC is much tougher and will last much longer, but where parts touch each other (which on a bracelet is a lot of parts) it will show signs of wear.

The other thing to remember is that for all it's toughness DLC can and does get scratched as a couple of owners on here will testify, and as said above there's no real DIY repair option if you get a scratch. It's not a case of picking up the Cape Cods and polishing it out unfortunately.

Lastly, from what I've seen elsewhere where people have attempted an aftermarket DLC bracelet, there are problems getting an exact colour match. Unless it was spot-on it'd bother me a lot....... but then I'm quite anal like that.

However, if you really wanted to try this out, you could give a company called Backout Concept as go - http://www.blackoutconcept.com

Apparently their process is even tougher than DLC and it's fully reversible, so if you hated it you could go back to the standard steel. Again, colour matching may be a problem, but the example watches they have on their site look damn cool. Not a clue about pricing though.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Thanks for the replies. what does DLC stand for?
It is tougher than PVD, right?
i had a kobold phantom, it did wear at the clasp, and a small scratch on the head...it does bother you to look at it, even though most people dont see it.
I would still like to attempt a blacksteel bracelet.
I will check out blackoutconcept

DLC stands for Diamond-Like Carbon, and is indeed much much tougher than PVD. But still - if you get it scratched, you're screwed.

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Yeah, it’s a shame – I like the look, but the reality is that any surface treatment will wear, and the bracelet will do so more readily than the case. It’s been a few years since I took an undergrad subject in materials science – but I wonder if there isn’t some way to incorporate the pigment into the alloy itself? I guess if it was practical, a company like Breitling would do it as short of a very thick coating (like .5mm) or a coating with diamond like hardness, regular scratches invariably make coated watches look like crap after a few years.

Mag-Lite flashlites have some sort of anadized coating, but if you have ever dropped one on a hard or cement surface...ugh!
color is skin deep on metal i suppose.
I think it would be worth the cost of a bracelet to experiment....at least to me.
I can live with desk dive marks on the clasp.

Yes colour is only skin deep on metal surfaces unfortunately. I've said it on here before but the only black watch I'd ever consider is one made of ceramic. The IWC "Top Gun" watches or the Panerai 317 are probably the best examples of matt black ceramic pieces, but neither of these come with bracelets. Rado (!) and Chanel (!!) also make ceramic models and they DO make ceramic bracelets, but they're polished and are hardly the kind of watches that most of us here would go for.

Personally I'd love to see a matt black ceramic Breitling with the B01 movement inside. Just dreams though unfortunately.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Found the link to the DLC'd bracelet. Pretty damn awesome if you ask me.
http://www.breitlingsource.com/phpBB2/v ... 45&start=0

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-RJ