Sapphire vs Gorilla Glass - contrast/brightness/reflections

Its been 9 months since you wrote that comment.

How has the screen and bezel fared so far?

gaijin said:

This is not correct.  Sapphire is, indeed, much harder to scratch than Gorilla Glass, but it will break more easily and when it breaks it shatters.

That's very interesting. This is the first time I am reading this angle on the "Sapphire vs GG" choice.

First I am wondering how much this is true, as I haven't heard anyone mention this yet.

Second, so, say you are more likely to smash your watch against things than you are worried about scratching it (say: rock or indoor climbing), then actually GG might be the better choice than Sapphire because if you smash the Sapphire against a rock it's more likely to break & shatter?

I bought my 6x sapphire the day they came out, and I have banged it into a million things since. The display is still flawless.

I don't think my sapphire display has a coating, because if it did for sure I would have scratched some off. IMO there is no way the sapphire crystal is easier to scratch than the gorilla glass. Not a chance.

I get that if you look at sapphire and non-sapphire next to each other there is probably a difference in reflection, but in the real world where you only wear one watch the sapphire is perfectly acceptable to me.

I went with F6 Pro with screen protector (hasn't arrived yet). Read a lot about Gorilla Glass DX vs. Sapphire. Two things helped me decide... Firstly, the readibility. Gorilla Glass DX gets less reflections and seems a bit more 'HD'. While these transflective screens are nice in sunlight, most smartwatches have OLED screens. Just by looking at some of the comparison pics posted in this thread, a transflective screen with Gorilla Glass DX seems closer to sharpness of an OLED screen than a transflective screen with Sapphire.... Secondly, a Fenix watch is a luxury purchase, at least for me. As I've seen mineral crystal and sapphire screen scratch (managed to scratch a nice Swiss watch back in the day), I most certainly am going to use a glass screen protector no matter which Fenix I get, to be safe. Therefore might as well go with the one with better readiblity which is Gorilla Glass DX.

The only thing about the Pro-model is the black bezel which I like the sleek, understated look of (seriously regretted going with a lighter bezel with my previous sports watch solely because it was recommended to me because of the whole 'scratches are less visible' thing) but which can have more visible scratches. However, I see many who favor the Sapphire version justify it by saying it makes their watches look more premium or jewelry-like and thus suitable for 24/7 use (business, nights out etc.). Well, to me the carbon bezel of the Sapphire version looks more like a heavy-duty sports tool than a sleek watch... Kind of like one of those Leatherman Tread tool bracelets which I would not pass as jewelry or something I'd wear to occasions instead of a nice bead bracelet.

Hi there, I know it’s been more than a year now. I got the 6 pro Solar and use it daily, sports, work, day and night for five months now. Eventually I got a micro scratch on the display right these days, no idea when and how. These things just happen to daily used devices. I was really disappointed at first. But now, reading about the differences and issues and seeing your pics, I really like both, the contrast of the Gorilla 3 DX and the scratched bezel of the F3, this is how a daily used sports watch has to look like. So I don’t think about it anymore and will happily welcome new bruises on me and the watch as well. 
Thanks for sharing. Regards, Lars. 

Interesting to note after reading through this, the Descent mk 2 dive watch only has the sapphire lens. 

robm said:

the Descent mk 2 dive watch only has the sapphire lens. 

The mk2 is a diver's watch, and approved for depths (tested to engineering standard EN13319 for dive compliance). The sapphire glass is common for scuba diving watches.

Thanks. It makes my decision easier.