Guest avitt Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 A few days ago, Jake48 posted some pictures of his Breitling Blacksteel wearing a bracelet which I DLC coated for him: http://www.rwg.cc/members/Skyland-Blackste...C-B-t94198.html I wanted to add some additional information, to answer a few of the questions that have come up. Since I started with DLC coating services, I have resisted coating bracelets. The main reason is that I am concerned that the customers won't be satisfied with the results. Bracelets are difficult to coat. PVD is a line-of-sight process. This means that parts that are touching or overlapping in the coating chamber will not be completely coated. So, to fully DLC coat a bracelet, each link should be disassembled and coated individually...and this is usually not possible. This is the reason why I've made the general statement that I don't coat bracelets...But then Jake48 asked me very nicely. Since he was aware of the difficulties and limitations, and willing to accept the results, I figured I'd give it a shot. The challenge with a Blacksteel bracelet is matching the color of the case, which is very, very light. My first step was to seek guidance from the coating center. When I showed them pictures of the genuine Blacksteel, they recommended AlTiN PVD coating. After I applied a brushed finish to the bracelet, Jake48 and I decided to run 1 link in DLC, and 1 in AlTiN, to see which would be the best match. Here are a couple of shots of the results (DLC is on the left, and on top in the following photos): Jake48 made the call to go with DLC. He based his decision not on depth of color (light/dark), but rather on the hue. When viewed under various lighting, Jake48 felt the DLC matched the color of the Blacksteel better. We decided to coat the bracelet in just a few sections, with minimal disassembly. The results of the DLC coating were actually excellent. All of the visible surfaces were evenly covered: As expected, there were some uncovered areas in the shaded areas between the links. In normal use, these areas are not too noticeable, but they do become evident when the bracelet is flexed at extreme angles: On The Watch As shown in Jake48's thread, the bracelet is not a perfect match to the shade of the Blacksteel replica...But is does look fantastic: As Jake48 mentioned, the bracelet appears to match differently under different lighting conditions. As an example, the following two pictures were taken from the same angle: The bottom line... This was a fun and interesting project, and it has been a pleasure to work with Jake48. However, I am not completely satisfied with the color match. Thanks for reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotoman Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 sweet. great things man even if it was not up to your standards thanks for sharing i wore my SS version of that watch today, great weekend watch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samurai Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 An interesting project and excellent results. Kudos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chronoluvvv Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 An interesting project and excellent results. Kudos. + 100 rather tempting too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuDro Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 What would happen if you applied your DLC over the existing DLC of a BlackSteel? Just curious... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikellem Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 Now that's a keeper.. Another masterpiece by our friend Avitt I love your work! MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P4GTR Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 Thats a great looking watch. The pictures are a treat to go along with the newfound knowledge of these coatings. It's very much appreciated, thanks to you both! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 What would happen if you applied your DLC over the existing DLC of a BlackSteel? Just curious... DLC can be layered...So theoretically, it should be possible to apply DLC over the factory coating of a Blacksteel. The downside is that the risk of delamination increases with the number and thickness of the layers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 Dang, that looks good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fijikid Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 BAD ASS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 Avitt Is the colour match the only reason you wouldnt do another bracelet? If say you had the whole watch body and bracelet would you consider doing it again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 Avitt Is the colour match the only reason you wouldnt do another bracelet? If say you had the whole watch body and bracelet would you consider doing it again? I no longer have the "no bracelet" policy. Shortly after posting this last March, I caved in to popular demand, and starting taking bracelets. Since then, I've probably coated a couple dozen, all with excellent results. I'll coat most bracelets now, if the owner understands and accepts the limitations and risks (of incomplete coverage between the links, etc). Those bracelets with open spaces between the links are most suitable for successful DLC coating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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