removing scratches from sapphire

Hi all,

I know this is a topic covered quite a lot online but all the posts seem to be from a few years back, couldn't find anything recent that I could piggy back on.

Basically I just bought a used watch on eBay, and turned up with a very minor scratch on the crystal. Its very hard to notice - 3 people ive shown it to couldn't spot it, but because I know its there I see it all the time lol

Could someone please advise if the stuff shown on the link below would be safe/ suitable to use to try and polish it out as they seem very cheap compared to others that ive seen

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7pcs-5gra...-25-5-Micron-/271817558726?fromMakeTrack=true

Thanks for your help and advice,
Pete

I'm skeptical on this one- not sure I've seen someone successfully polish a sapphire crystal, although I suppose it partly depends on how bad the damage is in the first place. I also assume the polish would remove the Anti-reflective coating (assuming that watch has AR) on the crystal.

Interested to hear if others have had more success.

I guess sapphire can scratch, but, if your watch has an anti-reflective coating, it's possible that's what is scratched. If so, polishing the crystal would remove the scratch but also all of the AR.

Or perhaps it's more of a chip than a scratch? I'd hazard a guess that the paste you linked to would be incredibly difficult to use and achieve a seamless finish.

If it's not that noticeable I'd be inclined to leave it. If it really bothers you, perhaps having the crystal replaced is the easiest (if not the cheapest) option.

Thanks for your replies, calibre11 - id hunted the web and found this post where someone had removed a minor scratch http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tree&goto=1932539&rid=5666 just not sure if I want to attempt it, don't want to cause further damage!

imagwai - I defo think its a scratch more than a chip but as I said its not that noticeable so may just take your advice and leave it (although itll prob bug the hell out of me) I don't think this has the AR coating, not that I can see anyway. I don't have that blueish tint when angling it in the light. How much is a crystal replacement likely to cost?

Thanks again