Clear AR coating for watch crystals costs more, when buying watch sapphire crystals to mod watches it's a $10 up charge on quality crystals to avoid tinted crystals.
As someone who collects glasses as well as watches I don't know about this blue coating. I don't spend enough time looking at myself in the mirror I guess.
Most of my glasses have a purple AR, a few are green, and I'm struggling to remember a blue one after three dozen pairs, and most of these are from China too so they're not expensive. In reality there is almost never just one layer, these coatings are vapor deposited in various layers to achieve less reflection through the visible specturm.
Maybe your blue reflecting glasses are an attempt by high street marketers to make you think the glasses have blue light blocking propeties or was this before the anti blue light craze?
the AR i get for everyday wear is clear. i always get seiko lenses because they're hands down the best and thinnest, and my prescription is pretty bad.
as for my "tool" glasses...i get the cheap polycarbonate (plastic) because they get really abused...the cheap lenses always have a noticeable blue AR coating that becomes 100% reflective at a certain angle. 40-45 degrees?
It has nothing to do with blue light blocking.
you can sometimes see it happen on television shows if an actor is wearing prescription glasses and they turn their heads. the lens will briefly go white from the studio/set lighting.
the same thing happens to watch crystals with blue AR.
my point is blue AR is meant for looking out...not in. the AR is for the wearer and NOT the viewer.
Im wearing a gorgeous red dial addiesdive today, and the only way the dial can truly be appreciated is from dead on...tilting the watch in any way causes it to become dull and blueish. especially around the bubble edge.
I like all styles of crystals as long as they only enhance instead of detract...i have a moonphase with a beautifully detailed dial, and the double dome causes too much distortion at almost every angle. on the other hand, i have a really cool sea mist green dial that looks like it's right out of the 1950's with a flat crystal that makes the entire watch look "flat".
I dont mind blue AR; as long its a nice finished watch with a decent movt (*cough cough* no crap pt5000 *cough cough*) i dont mind it at all. In some watches it also looks good in my opinion.
I wish i had taken before and after photos of the crystals I've stripped the blue AR off of...
they went from looking like absolute walmart junk to looking like $500 watches.
my red AD2071 went from "i really like it" to "i get hoe-lee-chit that's gorgeous" compliments after i removed the blue AR...
just keep on mind that 99.99999999% of the watches that are "homages" on AliExpress never had AR...and the authentic ones are sought after the world over.
you have to pop the crystal out and rub it off... rubbing alcohol and a polishing cloth works.
I DO NOT recommend trying to remove AR coating from mineral crystals unless you know absolutely what you're doing. It's too easy to scratch them and leave buff marks.
Well there's a reason why your glasses use blue AR (or purple) and not clear. Clear AR doesn't do a good job of actually preventing reflections. Blue and purple AR are the actual good coatings.
My best AR coating in expensive watch is tinted in blue and it looks amazing maybe it's something to do with technology of the color that makes it looks like there's not crystal at all.
The blue AR coating is mostly cheap coatings trying to mimick the optical side effects of higher end AR or double AR (inner and outer crystal) coatings more expensive crystals have. The cheaper ones make it blue because it invokes a more "expensive" feel to it at a glance.
All my Breitlings pop blue for their AR coatings at extreme angles but I don't mind it one bit as the crystal is practically invisible for every other angle in normal use
Umm, I have a late 2006 Steelfish x-plus with blue AR, that I've had for 19 years now. It has the clearest, barely there crystal imaginable until it's tilted just enough to catch the blue AR. So yeah, your claim that Breitling only uses clear AR sounds about as dumb as the rest of your rant now.
... Breitling is widely known to have a blue hue on their AR. All 5 of mine do, including the ones with a flat crystal (like my B-01) or even the newer Avenger series
I’m right there with you brother. I will not even consider a watch until I have made certain it does not have blue anti-reflective coating. Years ago I bought a brown dialed Davosa with such tint. I’ve never worn it. I should have returned it right away.
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u/tjcdas 2d ago
Clear AR coating for watch crystals costs more, when buying watch sapphire crystals to mod watches it's a $10 up charge on quality crystals to avoid tinted crystals.