What are the differences between watch crystal (or glass) materials?Updated 6 months ago

Timex offers three different materials of watch crystal (the lens/glass that covers and protects the watch dial). Those materials are: Acrylic, Mineral and Sapphire.

The type of watch crystal can be found under “Specs” on each product page.

Acrylic
Acrylic crystals are a specialised form of plastic. It is a soft material that can be prone to scratches but conversely is very shatter-resistant. Given its softness any scratches can be buffed out.

Mineral Glass
Mineral crystals use a similar material to windowpane glass. They are still susceptible to scratches but less so than acrylic, however it is not possible to buff out these scratches as it is with acrylic. Mineral glass is not as shatter resistant as acrylic, but does offer greater transparency and clarity. Due to their improved scratch resistance versus acrylic, and improved shatter resistance versus sapphire, mineral is often considered to be the best of both worlds as a crystal material.

Sapphire
Sapphire is the hardest crystal available. Given its hardness it is near impossible to scratch, however, it can be prone to shattering if subjected to a heavy impact.

For more details on crystal/lens materials click here or for customer support call 1.888.727.2931.