Question about Swatch automatic

[Richard Wright]

I have a Swatch automatic mens watch. It was bought four months ago,
and has been worn continuously.

The back of this type of watch has a plastic (?acrylic) glass, so that
you can see the movement.

The outside of my plastic glass back has now become so corroded (or
eroded) that is not possible to see the movement clearly. On a quick
look, the inside seems steamed up with moisture, but that is obviously
not the case.

More seriously, the plastic has developed a crack about 5 mm long. The
crack starts at an edge of the glass. One side of the crack is
slightly higher than the other..

I have not dropped this watch. Nor could the back of the watch (which
is obviously in contact with the wrist) have been damaged by knocking
it against something hard. It looks like some sort of stress fracture.

I am wondering whether Swatch are likely to fix this sort of problem
under guarantee.

Before I approach them I would like to know hether the plastic backs
of this type of Swatch are known to be unstable?

[dAz]

Post by Richard Wright
I have a Swatch automatic mens watch. It was bought four months ago,
and has been worn continuously.
The back of this type of watch has a plastic (?acrylic) glass, so that
you can see the movement.
The outside of my plastic glass back has now become so corroded (or
eroded) that is not possible to see the movement clearly. On a quick
look, the inside seems steamed up with moisture, but that is obviously
not the case.
More seriously, the plastic has developed a crack about 5 mm long. The
crack starts at an edge of the glass. One side of the crack is
slightly higher than the other..
I have not dropped this watch. Nor could the back of the watch (which
is obviously in contact with the wrist) have been damaged by knocking
it against something hard. It looks like some sort of stress fracture.
I am wondering whether Swatch are likely to fix this sort of problem
under guarantee.

they will probably just give you another watch or if they determine its
not covered by the warranty then offer you another watch at a cheaper
rate, but that was the case years ago, may not apply now.

but they won't repair it, replace only.

Post by Richard Wright
Before I approach them I would like to know hether the plastic backs
of this type of Swatch are known to be unstable?

well I had a swatch auto back in 93, one that had a clear plastic case,
for whatever reason the case became brittle only after 18 months, this I
found when one day I caught the case on something and ripped the band
off, the band is fitted into a finger joint type mounting with a
stainless pin pressed through, the 'fingers' on the case side all broke
off, I had a look at the other side of the case and gave the band a firm
tug and that side broke off.

the front and back plexis are acrylic and are pretty resistant to most
things, but the case itself was a different plastic, I don't know if it
was exposure to sunlight because I did a lot of surfing in those days
and was always on the beach although I didn't wear that particular watch
in the water, it could have been the sunscreen, no idea, whatever the
reason the case became brittle and swatch would not supply me another
case, so I chucked it in the junk drawer where it still is.

anyway in your case it sounds like something has been exposed to the
acrylic back and caused it to craze and crack, something you use in work
or a cream you use on your skin?

[Richard Wright]

Post by dAz

Post by Richard Wright
I have a Swatch automatic mens watch. It was bought four months ago,
and has been worn continuously.
The back of this type of watch has a plastic (?acrylic) glass, so that
you can see the movement.
The outside of my plastic glass back has now become so corroded (or
eroded) that is not possible to see the movement clearly. On a quick
look, the inside seems steamed up with moisture, but that is obviously
not the case.
More seriously, the plastic has developed a crack about 5 mm long. The
crack starts at an edge of the glass. One side of the crack is
slightly higher than the other..
I have not dropped this watch. Nor could the back of the watch (which
is obviously in contact with the wrist) have been damaged by knocking
it against something hard. It looks like some sort of stress fracture.
I am wondering whether Swatch are likely to fix this sort of problem
under guarantee.

they will probably just give you another watch or if they determine its
not covered by the warranty then offer you another watch at a cheaper
rate, but that was the case years ago, may not apply now.
but they won't repair it, replace only.

Post by Richard Wright
Before I approach them I would like to know hether the plastic backs
of this type of Swatch are known to be unstable?

well I had a swatch auto back in 93, one that had a clear plastic case,
for whatever reason the case became brittle only after 18 months, this I
found when one day I caught the case on something and ripped the band
off, the band is fitted into a finger joint type mounting with a
stainless pin pressed through, the 'fingers' on the case side all broke
off, I had a look at the other side of the case and gave the band a firm
tug and that side broke off.
the front and back plexis are acrylic and are pretty resistant to most
things, but the case itself was a different plastic, I don't know if it
was exposure to sunlight because I did a lot of surfing in those days
and was always on the beach although I didn't wear that particular watch
in the water, it could have been the sunscreen, no idea, whatever the
reason the case became brittle and swatch would not supply me another
case, so I chucked it in the junk drawer where it still is.
anyway in your case it sounds like something has been exposed to the
acrylic back and caused it to craze and crack, something you use in work
or a cream you use on your skin?

Thanks.

It is not that the surface of the back is crazed - it is misty in
appearance.

I think the cause of the mistiness is different from the cause of the
crack.

For the crack, I had thought of differential thermal expansion of the
acrylic and the stainless steel case, but that would surely have been
anticipated by Swatch's engineers - if they have them, rather than
aesthetic designers.

Hadn't thought of the cause of chemical corrosion, but your suggestion
makes me think. I am wondering about Mortein personal insect
repellant..

After I posted I went to the Swatch site.and their FAQs. I decided I
don't have the time or energy to engage with Swatch.

So I cleaned up the area of the crack and let a little super-glue flow
over it, and round the rim. Doesn't look too bad, and is not aesthetic
vandalism - given the already degraded appearance of the back.

[Alex W.]

Post by Richard Wright
Hadn't thought of the cause of chemical corrosion, but your suggestion
makes me think. I am wondering about Mortein personal insect
repellant..

Have you considered skin acidity? I myself have skin so acidic
that it can eat through the plating on my spectacle frames in
under six months, and I have heard of others who had problems
along these lines.

[Richard Wright]

Post by Alex W.

Post by Richard Wright
Hadn't thought of the cause of chemical corrosion, but your suggestion
makes me think. I am wondering about Mortein personal insect
repellant..

Have you considered skin acidity? I myself have skin so acidic
that it can eat through the plating on my spectacle frames in
under six months, and I have heard of others who had problems
along these lines.

Sorry to hear about the plating on your spectacle frames!

Is the plating metal or plastic.

I have assumed that in general plastics are resistant to acid, so had
not thought of skin acidity as a cause of corrosion of the acrylic
crystal on the back of my Swatch.

[Alex W.]

Post by Richard Wright

Post by Alex W.

Post by Richard Wright
Hadn't thought of the cause of chemical corrosion, but your suggestion
makes me think. I am wondering about Mortein personal insect
repellant..

Have you considered skin acidity? I myself have skin so acidic
that it can eat through the plating on my spectacle frames in
under six months, and I have heard of others who had problems
along these lines.

Sorry to hear about the plating on your spectacle frames!
Is the plating metal or plastic.

Both.

Post by Richard Wright
I have assumed that in general plastics are resistant to acid, so had
not thought of skin acidity as a cause of corrosion of the acrylic
crystal on the back of my Swatch.

Depends on the plastic and the acid....

[dAz]

Post by Alex W.

Post by Richard Wright
Hadn't thought of the cause of chemical corrosion, but your suggestion
makes me think. I am wondering about Mortein personal insect
repellant..

Have you considered skin acidity? I myself have skin so acidic
that it can eat through the plating on my spectacle frames in
under six months, and I have heard of others who had problems
along these lines.

thats on metal not plastic, and plated metals is the problem, the
plating cracks or wears through and tt\hen the skin acid attacks and
eats under the remaining plating pitting the metal.

I have the same problem, best thing to do is avoid plated base metal,
gold plated stainless steel on a watch case lasts a long time and when
the gold is worn away the stainless steel underneath is unaffected.

the watch I have on at the moment is a black PVD coated stainless steel,
it show no pitting at all, with eyeglass frames, stainless steel or
Titanium, or plastic, but watch the sunscreen or insect repellant ;)

[dAz]

Post by Richard Wright
It is not that the surface of the back is crazed - it is misty in
appearance.
I think the cause of the mistiness is different from the cause of the
crack.

nope, the mistiness is caused by exposure to a solvent of the acrylic
resin (plexi for short), it starts as a misting, eventually stress
cracks appear and the plexi is weakened, whether it shows as lots very
fine cracks (crazing) or as large cracks.

Post by Richard Wright
For the crack, I had thought of differential thermal expansion of the
acrylic and the stainless steel case, but that would surely have been
anticipated by Swatch's engineers - if they have them, rather than
aesthetic designers.

your case back is basically an armoured plexi, the plexi has a step cut
on the inside edge and metal tension ring is fitted, when the plexi is
pressed into place the acrylic is compress or placed under tension
between the ring and case, this is what gives the water resistance.

my guess is the solvent has weakened the plexi to the state where is it
not as flexible as it was, and stress crack or crazing from possibly the
thermal expansion, so heat and cold probably do play a part.

Post by Richard Wright
Hadn't thought of the cause of chemical corrosion, but your suggestion
makes me think. I am wondering about Mortein personal insect
repellant..

here are the msds files for the various Aerogard products, Ethanol is
the main solvent used, along with butane

http://www.rb-msds.com.au/product/product_display.aspx?intProductID=1

Post by Richard Wright
After I posted I went to the Swatch site.and their FAQs. I decided I
don't have the time or energy to engage with Swatch.
So I cleaned up the area of the crack and let a little super-glue flow
over it, and round the rim. Doesn't look too bad, and is not aesthetic
vandalism - given the already degraded appearance of the back.

well it is quite possible the back is a stock armoured plexi, I know the
one I had was, might just as simple as having a new one fitted.

[Richard Wright]

Post by dAz

Post by Richard Wright
It is not that the surface of the back is crazed - it is misty in
appearance.
I think the cause of the mistiness is different from the cause of the
crack.

nope, the mistiness is caused by exposure to a solvent of the acrylic
resin (plexi for short), it starts as a misting, eventually stress
cracks appear and the plexi is weakened, whether it shows as lots very
fine cracks (crazing) or as large cracks.

Post by Richard Wright
For the crack, I had thought of differential thermal expansion of the
acrylic and the stainless steel case, but that would surely have been
anticipated by Swatch's engineers - if they have them, rather than
aesthetic designers.

your case back is basically an armoured plexi, the plexi has a step cut
on the inside edge and metal tension ring is fitted, when the plexi is
pressed into place the acrylic is compress or placed under tension
between the ring and case, this is what gives the water resistance.
my guess is the solvent has weakened the plexi to the state where is it
not as flexible as it was, and stress crack or crazing from possibly the
thermal expansion, so heat and cold probably do play a part.

Post by Richard Wright
Hadn't thought of the cause of chemical corrosion, but your suggestion
makes me think. I am wondering about Mortein personal insect
repellant..

here are the msds files for the various Aerogard products, Ethanol is
the main solvent used, along with butane
http://www.rb-msds.com.au/product/product_display.aspx?intProductID=1

Post by Richard Wright
After I posted I went to the Swatch site.and their FAQs. I decided I
don't have the time or energy to engage with Swatch.
So I cleaned up the area of the crack and let a little super-glue flow
over it, and round the rim. Doesn't look too bad, and is not aesthetic
vandalism - given the already degraded appearance of the back.

well it is quite possible the back is a stock armoured plexi, I know the
one I had was, might just as simple as having a new one fitted.

Thanks for the detail. I suppose the bottom line is that personal
solvents and Swatch automatics do mix.

[Frank Adam]

On Tue, 01 Feb 2011 07:30:37 +1100, Richard Wright

Post by Richard Wright
Thanks for the detail. I suppose the bottom line is that personal
solvents and Swatch automatics do mix.

.. in order to achieve that classy cracked finish.

Sorry, couldn't resist.. :)