[ThisHobbyBankruptsMe]

A few months ago I got the Flieger Baumuster B, Black Forest edition.

Stowa advertises their black coating as TiN (titanium nitride) applied by PVD.
This type of coating as a Vickers hardness rating between 2000 to 2500, sources differ. That puts it in the same ballpark as sapphire itself.

However, I already see one... not sure if you can call it a scratch, more like a slight bit of wear at the sharp edge of the bezel. Coatings always wear away at sharp edges. It's barely noticeable and it hasn't gotten larger. I think it may be been there from the factory.

For those who have had long-term experience with their Black Forest coated Stowa watches, how scratch resistant have they been for you?
I'm keen to hear your experiences.

 

[Stowie]

I dont have personal experience so take this for what you will. But I’ve heard overtime PVD can wear off of “high use” surfaces. ie bottom of watch corners etc... It just depends on PVD quality and thickness.

As for scratches, if you scratch deep enough it will go through the coating. Just depends on the scratch. I assume scuffs wouldn't go through but a proper scratch might.

Again just what I’ve read. Hope this helps!

 

[ThisHobbyBankruptsMe]

I dont have personal experience so take this for what you will. But I’ve heard overtime PVD can wear off of “high use” surfaces. ie bottom of watch corners etc... It just depends on PVD quality and thickness.

As for scratches, if you scratch deep enough it will go through the coating. Just depends on the scratch. I assume scuffs wouldn't go through but a proper scratch might.

Again just what I’ve read. Hope this helps!

PVD is not a coating, it's a coating process. Companies like to use the term without specifying the material that's actually being used as the coating.

I often see people online saying things like "DLC is stronger than PVD". It's a pointless statement since both are coating processes and can be used on a variety of compounds. It's those compounds that determines the final hardness and durability of the coating.

 

[Stowie]

PVD is not a coating, it's a coating process. Companies like to use the term without specifying the material that's actually being used as the coating.

I often see people online saying things like "DLC is stronger than PVD". It's a pointless statement since both are coating processes and can be used on a variety of compounds. It's those compounds that determines the final hardness and durability of the coating.

I understand what your saying, I just use PVD as a blanket term for it. I’m not trying to get into the nitty gritty. My general point was the durability just depends on the quality. I’ve seen people whose watches barley ever wear, and others who wear quickly. I’m not disagreeing, I’m just saying it all depends on how well it was done.

The below article reflects my general point:

PVD & DLC Coating: Worth it? - Bob's Watches

Is it worth it to add Rolex coating and other modifications like colored seconds hands and adding their brand text to the dial? Check out bobswatches.com to learn more.

www.bobswatches.com

 

[fracture.]

PVD is not a coating, it's a coating process. Companies like to use the term without specifying the material that's actually being used as the coating.

I often see people online saying things like "DLC is stronger than PVD". It's a pointless statement since both are coating processes and can be used on a variety of compounds. It's those compounds that determines the final hardness and durability of the coating.

Nitriding isn't really coating. Nitriding is typically done with gas nitriding (or at least that's the experience I have with it as an engineer) and significantly increases ultimate tensile strength of the boundary layer, roughly 0.3 mm in-depth. We're talking about ~170-230% increase. Anyway, you gas the surface and create a chemical bond with nitrogen, it's not just a layer of paint on top or something. Don't ask me what kind, as I'm not good at the chemistry behind it.

I would imagine the edge you are talking about is probably as it came from factory. And that's really my biggest issue with these types of finishes and coatings; they're bound to be imperfect and will eventually show up scratches worse than brushed plain steel. Even when nitrided, which is quite expensive.

Also, I'm not sure how nitriding was done. Perhaps not the entirety of the bezel was nitrided (i.e. assembled bezel was nitrided), only the surfaces you can see, and what you're seeing is the difference between nitrided and non-nitrided surfaces.

I seriously doubt this came from you damaging the watch. To put such a dent into a nitrided surface you would surely know it happened and the movement itself could possibly require a check-up.