![]() The $350 Apple Watch Sport forgoes 316L stainless steel for 7000 series anodized aluminum, which Koenig points out is much more scratch-resistant than its pricier sibling, though any nicks to the anodized layer will end up being more noticeable. If after all of those assurances you’re still concerned about scarring your shiny new wristable, though, you’re in luck. Not only are scratches "totally normal," having them "shows that the watch is authentic, original, and has lived life as it should." "They show that the watch has been worn and appreciated," says Manousos. In the world of high-end watches, some wear and tear indicates legitimacy. That’s all assuming a few scuffs are a bad thing. If you do scratch your Apple Watch and choose not to fix it, you’ll likely only have to live with it for a few years, not several generations. Unlike a time-tested mechanical timepiece, the Apple Watch is a very small computer, and very small computers suffer battery death and firmware obsolescence and a host of other inconveniences that grind them to a halt. It’s possible, of course, that there’s no five-year maintenance plan-or something like it-simply because nobody expects an Apple Watch to last that long, any more than you expect to see someone pull out an iPhone 4 or original iPad on the subway today. For comparison Rolex and Omega offer guides, special tools, and even week-long classes to their certified watchmakers on how to properly polish the intricate details of their cases and bracelets (often, the designs will mix polished and brushed surfaces that can be tricky to mask and blend)." With the Apple Watch, so far at least, it appears that you’re on your own. "Apple has no provisions in place for polishing or servicing the Watch or Watch Edition models. ![]() "Most mechanical watches have a maintenance interval of five years… In talking with Apple Retail employees, there seems absolutely no plan or expectation to offer any similar service to the Apple Watch," Koenig explains. In fact, you may not want to get rid of them anyway. The good news though? Your scratches, when they do happen, don’t have to be permanent. A few hundred dollars is already a lot to ask for a smartwatch a few thousand just to maintain a slightly smoother case would have been untenable. ![]() ![]() So while scratches are likely to bless the surface any of stainless steel watch, they might be slightly more likely to do so on Apple’s version than those opting for more expensive solutions. While a mirror-polished finish looks nice, it makes a scratch very visible," Manousos explains, whereas "a brushed finish can hide or obscure a scratch a bit better." "The majority of the case has a smooth, curved, mirror-polished finish. Manousos agrees that "the finishing of the steel is really what sets apart different brands." It’s also where Apple runs into some trouble next to some of its 316L competition. "Most watchmakers stamp or forge the cases of their watches, which hardens stainless steel," says Greg Koenig, product designer and co-founder of Luma Labs, but even that "clearly doesn’t bump the surface level up enough to be very scratch-resistant." Watchmakers more commonly offer protection by providing a finish on their stainless steel, in a process called work hardening. The $550 stainless steel Apple Watch might cost more than the last Timex you owned, but it’s a pittance next to traditional high-end watches using many of the same materials. But as Manousos, points out, those advantages also make 904L more difficult to machine, and therefore more expensive to produce. It’s possible to use a form of stainless steel called 904L, which is both harder and even more resistant to corrosion than 316L, in a luxury watch.
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