zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

sapphire toughness Posted By: Soren Date: 10/16/07 04:00GMT

Hi all

I read somewhere in this forum that the sapphire crystal is almost impossible to scratch, but will shatter on impact as opposed to the hesalite crystal.

Hmmm... Not exactly... It's an instance of Hard/Brittle [Sapphire] Vs. Soft/Plyany [Hesalite]

I was wondering it the sapphire would break if accidentally dropped on a tile floor from about 1m height which could happen in the bathroom?

Well, here's the schtick... If you dropped a Hesalite crystaled watch on a tile floor and it hit on the crystal it might scratch, and it might break, but it would be like breaking a piece of plastic it'd be kinda "Gummy" for lack of a better term.

With a Sapphire Crystal if it hit a tile floor it might not shatter unless it hit the wrong way and there would probably not be so much of a scratch on it. However, if it hit the wrong way [enough pressure at a small enough point] it would break [instead of scratching] and probably shatter.

The Hesalite Crystal has some bend in it, so it "rolls with the punches", while the Sapphire is brittle[Like Teeth]... They will take a lot ofpunishment, but if enough pressure is applied they can break.

thanks,

Soren

I hope my description is helpful and is understandable.

Cheers!