I've got a Pelagos. Titanium is much lighter which makes the watch very comfortable to wear (especially since the Pelagos is both large and tall). I love the sort of dull luster of the brushed finish; it gives the watch a 'tool' appearance. So far I haven't had any problems with scuffing or scratching (as compared to stainless steel).

 

Titanium is deliciously comfortable but indeed it can scratch more easily. Some more expensive brands use a hardened grade of titanium (not mentioned in your link above), but even that scratches more easily than steel.

 

This is not true. The harder titanium treatments are MUCH harder than steel. I've seen a 15 year old titanium Citizen Eco-Drive that had dirt encrusted on the case and in the bracelet, but didn't have any scratches. The truly definitive write-up, with real chemistry, is below.

https://www.watchuseek.com/f905/def...tive-citizen-titanium-thread-super-titanium-ti-ip-duratect-mrk-dlc-3494498.html

 

I wonder if their fiber reinforced poly-resin and carbon fiber reinforced poly-carbonate cases are as tough as stainless steel or titanium. If they aren't I wonder why Bertucci offer them as options. Resin is bound to be weaker than steel and titanium. Though it does lower the cost of the watch. I might go for one of these if they are any good. The steel and titanium ones are a bit too pricey for a quartz watch.

What do you think?

 

Both and especially that carbon reinforced resin will be very sturdy. Can still scratch though!
My main issue is that they feel like cheap basic plastic. No pride of ownership feel to them.
The steel versions are still very reasonably priced.

 

If it's not military grade metal it's going to crack... No
Titanium is a best choice. Unless you going to zipline on your watch it only comes to aesthetics and personal preferences. They all designed to withstand pressure per WR rating.

 

I’ve got the poly case and have been happy so far. Survives Navy life on a ship just fine.

 

For the materials you mention, "strength," as you put it, should be an absolute non-factor. If the watch breaks while on wrist, your wrist is broken, too, and you've got bigger problems.
Buy this watch for look and feel. If you like the look of the Ti, get it. Resin tickle your fancy? Get it.

As for scratch resistance, yes, steel is the hardest. If the Ti is sandblasted, you won't notice scratches as much as you will on polished Ti.

Just consider wearing comfort and the look of the metal. I like Ti and it wears light and easy, so I'd go for it.

 

I just bought a titanium one. As you say, it's best to go by what you fancy rather than your fears of what might happen to a watch.

By the way (this question is for everybody), how come titanium easily scratches if it's stronger than steel? That doesn't make intuitive sense to me. I'm not doubting it-just trying to make sense of it.

 

If you want a truly tough case, you are going to have to up your ante into Damasko or Sinn territory--at the Bertucci price point, all are going to be rather equal--get the one that looks best to you.

 

In my experience it’s titanium bracelets that seem to come of worst in the scratch wars. The Bertucci titanium watches on straps look stunning so I’d go for one of those.

 

Hardness and strength are not one in the same. Strength is resistance to fracture when under load. Tensile strength is ability to resist fracture when pulled from both ends (consider a solid rod), for example. Strain is the amount of "bending" the material can withstand and go back to original shape when the load is removed.
Hardness is resistance to abrasion. As a poster above said, not a lot of difference between most stainless steel types and most titanium types (or alloys), plus with a ton of heat treatments, coatings, surface hardening, etc. there are literally endless possibilities and properties to consider.

But the good thing is, no need to consider most of that. Just buy what you like! If you truly want scratch resistance, there are options out there, but not at Bertucci prices.

 

I also love my Pelagos, go titanium.

 

Titanium....my rotation is filled with all titanium watches

 

Good explanations about the hardness-strength difference.

 

All of these except the orange one and the digital were refurbished used watches purchased directly from Bertucci. The orange was new and the digital came from an eBay seller. Even the "C" rated ones look pretty good in terms of having been scratched up. The worse wear on any of them is the black plating on the one with the bracelet.

IMO buying anything except a titanium case from Bertucci is like going to a world-famous steak house and ordering the grilled chicken salad. Titanium is what Bertucci is known for.

 

I think the only thing that matters regarding watches and scratch resistance is whether hardened titanium is more scratch resistant than the 316L stainless steel that is most used for watch cases and the 904L used by Rolex. This topic has been discussed numerous times on WUS. From what I've seen Grade 5 hardened titanium is more scratch resistant than 316L and 904L. As far as I know only Sinn and Damasko use stainless steel that is more scratch resistant than hardened titanium. My Grand Seiko hardened titanium watch does not pick-up scratches as easily as my 316L Breitling. On the other hand, while my grade 2 titanium Certina picks-up scratches easier than the Breitling they quickly disappear through oxidation.

 

On the other hand, that while my grade 2 titanium Certina picks-up scratches easier than the Breitling but they quickly disappear through oxidation.

Do you mean they disappear by themselves or that contact with a sleeve buffs them away over time?

 

Does anyone know if Bertucci use hardened titanium or coat it to make it harder?

It has no information about this on their site. All it has is:

Bertucci Performance Watches - Titanium

 

Not at their price point. No.

 

I will join the chorus that you're really asking a mostly aesthetic question & I vote for titanium. I have no experience w/Bertucci watches, but have/had other titanium watches & accessories.

Personally, I prefer metal over plastic for aesthetics, and lighter weight to heavier weight for function. I know many people, particularly dudes, like their jewelry & gear on the heavier side. Weight is hardly ever a functional advantage by itself (the only thing that comes to my mind is that heavier guns & cameras can be easier to hold steady) & usually comes down to "it feels better". For me, a heavy watch doesn't work or feel better, it's just heavier.

When it comes to scratches, I don't like them, but they're rarely a dealbreaker unless they somehow affect function (like on a crystal) & that wouldn't apply to a watch case or bracelet. In my experience, regular titanium watches & bracelets do scratch more readily than their standard 316L & 904L stainless steel equivalents let alone super steel alloys like those used by Damasko & Sinn, but not so much that the scratches outweigh, no pun intended, the weight savings.

I think some manufacturers, like Citizen, do add some surface hardening even on lower-end titanium models, but I doubt that Bertucci does (they would probably mention it if they did). Their matte & black finishes look like they would hold up best for not highlighting scratches, though.

I'm thinking of getting a Bertucci watch but can't decide which one to get regarding the choice of case materials they offer-which are: titanium, stainless steel, fiber reinforced poly-resin, and carbon fiber reinforced poly-carbonate.

Titanium is stronger than stainless steel and resin-at least in the following two strength comparison test videos:

And as I like tough watches the decision should be easy. But I read somewhere that though titanium is tough it scratches very easily. And as I have a phobia about scratches on watches I'm hesitant about getting a titanium-cased Bertucci.

So those of you who have watches with titanium cases are welcome to tell me about your experiences with them. Are they all that they are made out to be? And what are their downsides?

 

The reality is hardened titanium or steel is really just a cool gimmick that's may not be that amazing in the real world.
There are a lot of things you will encounter in this world, depending on your work environment or lifestyle that are harder than these hardened alloys and will damage them.
Besides diamond jewelry (obviously), there are plenty of industrial carbide ceramics (tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, silicon carbide) that are almost as hard as diamond, that will damage hardened metals, and you can unexpectedly encounter them in your daily life.
For instance, there's a thread somewhere on these forums where people were complaining about their Sinn tegimented steel bracelets getting scratches even though they were only doing office work. Turns out their desk table tops were probably made of a Formica-like material. Formica has embedded ceramic chips to resist scratches and damage to its suface. These chips are harder than hardened titanium or steel watches and will scratch them.

If you scratch or dent the 316L steel normally used in watches, you can take it to any competent watchmaker or jeweler and they can polish/buff out most superficial damage for a reasonable price.
If you scratch off the titanium oxide layer on titanium watches, exposing the shiny metal underneath, the metal will oxidize again over a number of weeks or months, effectively "healing" the scratch.
However, if you do manage to scratch or dent a hardened steel or titanium watch, you are screwed. The material is so hard even the manufacturer will not be able to repair the damage.

 

So far, after 3 years, my hardened titanium Grand Seiko has been fairly "amazing in the real world" and if it gets scratched or dented Seiko can repair it. You are right though about there being many things often encountered in the real world that can scratch even hardened steel and titanium.

 

A plus vote for titanium case

 

duplicate

 

The exposed, shiny metal will re-oxidize over time to more of a matt-finished look, so a light scratch or scuff mark won't be noticeable, however, if the scratch is deep then it will look like a non-shiny "dent" in the metal.
Note, there are many different titanium alloys used in watches. I'm referring to the more common ones that are unhardened alloys designed to oxidize and have a greyish matt surface-- such as that used by Bertucci. There are harder titanium alloys like those used by Sinn or Damasko that are have the same matt finish, but are harder to scratch or dent than standard 316L steel. Seiko Brightz titanium alloy is designed to not oxidize-- so it looks shiny and even brighter than steel all the time.

 

Practically speaking, the only reason to favor a titanium watch case is for weight (TI has excellent corrosion resistance, but stainless steel is so good, who cares?). If you want a metal case that rivals resin in lightness, go TI. I might add that there is a certain cachet in owning a watch made of an exotic metal rather than a run-of-the-mill stainless steel watch.

If truly worried about scratches, get steel - it will still get scratched, but at least you did what you could. Of course every day when you strap on the watch, you will know you are carrying around those extra grams, so it's a trade-off.

 

The only titanium watch I have is my Tag Monza. It's been a fantastic watch with regard to durability. In 2017, it was my travel watch and I flew about 53k miles, including a trip to Europe. This year my travel watch was my ExpII and as I come to the end of 2018, I flew the same and had a single trip to Europe. Although functionally, my expII was more helpful (due to the GMT function), it is FAR more vulnerable to scratches than my Tag. I'm wearing the Monza right now and as I look at it in various light, I am noticing how few scratches are on the case. The ExpII looks like I tried to clean it with sand paper in comparison.


Having written that, one thing which could be helping that Tag is the black titanium coating, although it looks like something similar is available from Bertucci. So yeah, I would totally recommend a titanium watch. In addition to being comparatively resistant to scratches, it's also very light and comfortable.

 

I vote for titanium super light & the Bertucci watch fees feather light on the wrist

 

Brushed/polished steel watches can be made to look "as new" very easily.
Matte/blasted/etc Ti watches once damaged will never look "new" again without having the access to specialty tools + disassembly.

Just something to consider..