Scratches, do you hate them?
Ok, I’ll admit it, I’m a scratch fascist. They F*** up the look of a watch and I can't live with that. I know, I'm OCD and I go crazy seeing my prized possession being subjected to the rigors of daily wear. It’s a pet peeve for most people and eventually, they accept it as part and parcel of owning a watch but not me. Scratches are the bane of my life and I absolutely loathe them!So, allow me to share with you some of the tips and tricks that I use to avoid them.
1. THE LUGS
Yup, I believe we've all had our fair share of lug razes when we first attempted changing straps. Here are a few mistakes we all commit during that first strap change:
1. You didn't tape up your lugs and scraped the spring bar tool against them.
2. On watches without drilled lugs, you tried to use the lug walls as a point of leverage to depress the spring bar pin, causing scratches or dents along the lug edge.
3. While pulling the strap out, the spring bar scratches up the inner lug walls.
4. When removing metal bracelets, the see-saw effect causes the end-links to dig into the watch case.
I've attached a little diagram to show you guys how to solve the problem. Of course, the best thing to do is to not change straps on watches.
2. THE CASE BACK
Many owners often scratch up their case back without knowing It.
These marks usually come from resting the watch dial side up. Guess what stupid? The clasp is made of metal, the case back is made of metal (or sapphire or hardlex) and what happens when metal meets metal?
Here's simple solution for the dense individual:
1. Rest the watch crown side up/down on a soft piece of cloth
2. If 1 doesn't work because you want your watch to gain speed when it’s not worn, place a soft thick cloth or a small cushion between the case back and bracelet to prevent any form of contact.
If for whatever reason, you like your watch placed dial side up, make sure you at least slot a cloth in between the bracelets and the case back.
3. UNDERSIDES OF ENDLINKS (Applies to some watches only)
This is pretty much a unique problem for SEIKO MM300 owners. If you pick your watch up by the clasp side and leave it hanging, the bracelet will form a 90 degree angle against the end link portion of the watch as the whole structure gets weighed down by the case.
Swinging the watch around might cause the 90 degree angle to form an acute angle with respect to the end links. When this happens, the link right before the end link actually touches it. Swing the watch around hard and soon enough, you'll find a nice indentation on your end link due to the sharp edges of the bracelet link.
An illustration in case you're lost:
When its in the "good" position:
When its in the bad position:
Notice how the edges of the link will actually contact the bottom of the end links?
Always remember to rest your watch on its sides on a soft clean towel and pick the watch up together with the towel before putting it on. This minimizes the chance of metal to metal contact.
Just like here:
4. INNER LINK SCRATCHES CAUSE BY CLASP
All watches with butterfly clasps will have this problem. Basically, any point of metal to metal contact in a watch will wear down the surface finish.
PIcs for reference:
You can always change out the damaged links with extra links but that’s not a solution for people with smaller wrists. As too many links have been removed, the contact point will be shifted to the non-removable links.
What I suggest is to take some time and slowly figure out where the contact point is between the clasp and the bracelet (they differ from watch to watch) and tape them up with nicely cut out masking tapes. A small strip of Gaffer tape does the job so does transparent thin films. I don’t suggest the standard sticky tape because they don’t adhere to brushed metal surfaces well and when subjected to body heat, humidity, sweat or salts, they will start to peel or trap dust between the tape and the watch surface.
5. SIDES OF THE LINKS DURING RE-SIZING
This happens when we re-size our watch bracelet at an incompetent shop.
You’ll be lucky if the shop uses a screw type pin remover but for those that use the hammer and pin technique, the chances of them scuffing up the sides go up by ten folds.
So remember, tape up your links, protect your investment!
6. PUSH BUTTON CLASP PIN-HOLE SCRATCH
Push button dual deployment clasps use a form of beveled pin-hole mechanism whereby a pin with a bulbous tip gets slotted into a hole that has two spring loaded chamfered guides. Once the pin pushes past these slides, they’ll snap back and keep the clasp locked.
Photos:
Most people simply snap the clasp in place whenever they wear their watch. This causes the Pin to Rub against the entry point of the chamfered guides. Do that a thousand time and your clasp will eventually fail.
To prolong the life of your dual button clasp, always depress them when locking up the clasp.
CONCLUSION
In short, as long as you are careful and look out for all the metal to metal contact points on your watch, it will stay scuff free and scratch free! Clean it frequently by soaking it in a pail of water and dab off the moisture. Never put it under a running faucet as the water pressure might be too great for the seals to handle. Always polish your watch with light pressure and ensure that a clean cloth is used.
With proper care and maintenance, your watch will retain its sheen and aesthetics for years to come.
