The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Can anyone comment on the durability of the Black Steel as pertains to scratches and scuffing? I had one AD tell me it scratched/scuffed very easily. Another told me that short of getting in a motorcycle accident and sliding on your wrist for a few hundred feet, I'd have nothing to worry about.

Though I don't ride motorcycles, I am looking for a watch I can wear on an almost daily basis (under "normal" conditions) that I don't have to baby.

Thanks!

It's a surface coating so it can most definitely be scratched. That said it is a tough surface coating, so the reality is somewhere between what the two AD's you've spoken to have said. It's not going to scratch if you sneeze on it, but then you can certainly scratch it with far less than a motorbike accident. There's no definitive answer as there are so many variables. It depends on the angle of a strike, what the striking material is made of, how pointed or blunt it is, etc.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

I disagree with both those statements (the ones quoted by the OP, not Driver8's).

I have seen evidence of wear in high wear areas - edges of the buckle for example and I have also had an experience of a ding causing the metal to become misshaped and show through the DLC. However, it is pretty resilient to general use.

I can't comment on Breitling's formulation, but I had a DLC'ed Lum-Tec titanium Super Combat B1 and managed to put a mark on the bezel at 6:00 without much trying and the titanium was visible through the mark. Annoyed the crap out of me and it was, of course, not repairable short of sending it back to be recoated. Will never buy a coated watch again....

I think it is safe to say Breitling's DLC is a bit tougher than most, certainly lesser brands like Lum-Tec. Just the other day I had my Blacksteel Blackbird on and was carrying a hamper as I turned the corner into the closet. Rammed the bezel right into the wall and left a 3" gouge. While thinking, "no,no,no," I brushed the paint and stuff off the bezel and case side. Not a mark. Maybe just lucky.


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SHARKMAN

The wall is a relatively soft material compared to a watch.

Try the same impact on a steel door jam. The outcome will be quite different.

Cheers