Titanium Watch - Maybe

55Percent · 12-02-2019 12:11pm #1

Im considering picking up a Steinhart Ocean One Titanium and just wondered if anyoine has owned a titanium watch before.
I understand it can pick up scratches quite easily. Are their any other downsides?

unkel · 12-02-2019 3:44pm

The one benefit is that it is a lot lighter than steel. And that the word titanium is cool

A lot of extra money for them though...

12-02-2019 4:03pm

As you touched upon, titanium scratches easily.

To be more accurate - the type/grade used in affordable watches scratches easily. And scratches are quite prominent as you're essentially scraping off the dark surface oxide and exposing the lighter/shinier titanium (which itself darkens over time).

To increase scratch resistance, manufacturers can use a higher grade, improved alloys, or perform various treatments, coatings etc. They tend to have their own brand name for their processes (duratect, tegiment) and you get what you pay for, more or less. Some of the higher end titanium watches are very scratch resistant.

The other potential issue is that parts subjected to steel-on-titanium friction - like lug holes, the pinholes in bracelet links - might wear or develop play/slop quicker. Again, it would depend on the grade and/or treatments so could be a non-issue on higher end titanium watches.

I don't have personal experience with the Steinhart titanium offerings.

55Percent · 12-02-2019 5:10pm

I think the scratching would drive me crazy, might just end up getting a nice nato to go with it instead of the bracelet.

Wibbs · 12-02-2019 6:36pm

As Teo notes above it's all own to the grade and especially the finish applied. I have a titanium case and bracelet Longines VHP quartz from the early 80's coated with titanium nitride and after nearly 40 years I can't find a single scratch on it anywhere. It pretty much looks like new.

55Percent · 12-02-2019 6:46pm

I have read its Grade 2 in the Ocean One. Any of the video reviews ive seen so far have shown alot of scratching, one even mentioned he was using a scotch pad to buff them out.

banie01 · 12-02-2019 7:45pm

I have a titanium citizen promaster.
Very comfortable and much lighter than equivalent steel watch.
The steinhart is a lovely piece.

fat bloke · 12-02-2019 9:46pm

Titanium's party piece of being light, ironically given the additional expense, makes watches feel cheaper to my mind. I just like that heft of a steel bracelet.

Eoin · 12-02-2019 9:48pm

I'm a big Steinhart fan, but I've read that the bracelets on that model are particularly prone to scratching

55Percent · 12-02-2019 9:51pm

fat bloke wrote: »

Titanium's party piece of being light, ironically given the additional expense, makes watches feel cheaper to my mind. I just like that heft of a steel bracelet.

This had crossed my mind but its still 144g, not a great deal lighter than the 160g seiko ive been wearing the last few weeks.

To be honest though if it was available in steel i would of already ordered it.

55Percent · 13-02-2019 4:26pm

Looks to be a problem isolated to the Steinhart Bracelet which is a shame. Might just buy it and see how it goes.

CiboC · 13-02-2019 4:32pm

I have a titanium Citizen EcoDrive that I got about 22 years ago and is still trucking on.

It has been through 1 significant bicycle accident and 1 marriage and has only let me down once, when the solar cells had to be replaced after 20 years.

I love it.

13-02-2019 4:42pm

55Percent wrote: »

Looks to be a problem isolated to the Steinhart Bracelet which is a shame. Might just buy it and see how it goes.

It's not isolated to the Steinhart. You see it (easy scratching) on lots of affordable titanium watches from Seiko, Citizen, Casio etc. Those same brands make highly scratch resistant titanium watches elsewhere in their range.

As mentioned above it's very much down to the specific type of titanium, coating, surface treatment etc. For that reason I would look for owner comments and reviews specific to the exact model you are considering. In the case of the Steinhart Ocean Ti, those comments seem to indicate that it scratches very easily.

tac foley · 13-02-2019 11:16pm

I got put off buying the spiffy-looking Tudor Pelagos in stainless/blue after seeing one in the dealers that had come in to have the bracelet changed out for the rubber strap - seems that the owner didn't trust himself to do it. It was less than two years old and looked like it had been tossed into an operating cement mixer along with half a ton of gravel. For £3300 I'm sure that I can do better.

tac foley · 13-02-2019 11:18pm

OmegaGene wrote: »

I have a titanium breitling emergency and I love it, not a scratch on it so far.

Chevy-v-Rolls-Royce.

Oafley Jones · 13-02-2019 11:24pm

tac foley wrote: »

I got put off buying the spiffy-looking Tudor Pelagos in stainless/blue after seeing one in the dealers that had come in to have the bracelet changed out for the rubber strap - seems that the owner didn't trust himself to do it. It was less than two years old and looked like it had been tossed into an operating cement mixer along with half a ton of gravel. For £3300 I'm sure that I can do better.

Tudor use grade 2 as well without any coating, so it’ll show every contact. As above though, you can refinish fairly easily with the ink side of a rubber.

Oafley Jones · 13-02-2019 11:35pm

OmegaGene wrote: »

Refinishing titanium will change the original colour

How so with the Pelagos? The rubber is simply pushing the metal into position. Any colour change would be negated by new oxidation, which will naturally occur over time.

Wibbs · 13-02-2019 11:37pm

OmegaGene wrote: »

Refinishing titanium will change the original colour

As an aside, I'm surprised to not see heat treated Ti as watch cases. The colours produced are well cool IMHO.

A Damascus steel case would be cool too.

tac foley · 14-02-2019 9:47am

Oafley Jones wrote: »

How so with the Pelagos? The rubber is simply pushing the metal into position. Any colour change would be negated by new oxidation, which will naturally occur over time.

There are some folks for whom the operation of spoon is something of a mystery.

Ryath · 14-02-2019 11:36am

Wibbs wrote: »

As an aside, I'm surprised to not see heat treated Ti as watch cases. The colours produced are well cool IMHO.

Does make for a interesting bezel.

H2O%2BKalmar%2BDLC%2BTiO2%2B02.jpg

Lorddrakul · 14-02-2019 5:34pm

I would very much like one of these titanium brutes...

55Percent · 14-02-2019 5:56pm

Russians cant be that bad when they make watches like that.

Anjobe · 14-02-2019 6:12pm

55Percent wrote: »

Russians cant be that bad when they make watches like that.

Not sure it really balances out the novichok, Ukraine etc, but each to their own.

Lorddrakul · 14-02-2019 6:17pm

55Percent wrote: »

Russians cant be that bad when they make watches like that.

Aye, I likes a nice 3133, meself.

2shea · 18-02-2019 7:17am

The Tudor Pelagos in Ti was on my list since it came out. But reviews from owners had a common theme that it seem to scratch up very easily.

So I kept saving and got the Explorer.

HDMI · 18-02-2019 5:35pm

My favourite watch by a long shot is my titanium Seiko Shogun which was a birthday pressie from the wife four years ago.

This gets more wrist time than any of my other watches and it has been my solo watch for most holidays I have been on so it hasn't been babied. Titanium wears much better in the heat when you are away and I had a ratchet clasp fitted to mine to allow for my wrist to expand, the weight feels awesome and really comfortable. When travelling I always brought along a mixed bag of straps rubber and zulu style and along with the bracelet I had an option for all occasions.

So four years old and this watch still looks in really good condition, photo's taken today. No pics of the clasp because it is from the MM300 and is stainless steel, it has the usual desk diving marks on it. Seiko like Citizen adds a coating to their titanium and as far as I know their's is much more durable than Steinhart's.

tac foley · 18-02-2019 5:53pm

I have to agree with you there, Sir. What diameter is the case, please?

HDMI · 18-02-2019 6:20pm

tac foley wrote: »

I have to agree with you there, Sir. What diameter is the case, please?

Thank you..

44mm case size and mine is the first version SBDC007, newer version has the Prospex logo on the dial and the model number is SBDC029.

This is a great read, one lunar year with the SBDC007 https://monochrome-watches.com/one-lunar-year-with-a-seiko-sbdc007-review/

Gavin1 · 21-02-2019 1:57pm

I have a Ti Omega X-33. The first time I tried it on I thought that it was a fake watch!!

The lightness is off putting. In terms of scratches, I have not noticed anything difference between this watch and my other watches,

funkyouup · 27-02-2019 5:51pm

Some info on titanium watches, the Steinhart is mentioned -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx4XuXoTLxc

Titanium Watch - Maybe

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