Aluminum Jet Black vs Titanium Slate Apple Watch Series 10 vs Black Ultra 2- which finish is more durable?
Hodinkee’s review of the Apple Watch Series 10 and the Black Ultra 2 by Tantan Wang led me down a rabbit hole about watch durability. Here is what he said about the Jet Black Apple Watch production process:
Apple achieves this finish by fully polishing the case, anodizing the aluminum, then using a black dye that gets fully absorbed into the case (not a traditional coating like PVD). The case is sealed and you get a deep black like I've never seen before on an Apple Watch, even the older DLC steel versions, and is way smoother to the touch than any watch with a black coating on it.
The titanium Series 10 watches are coated with a Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) coating, and the Black Ultra 2 is coated with a Diamond-like Carbon (DLC) coating.
Which is the most durable? Wang describes this in another article:
To frame our reference, 316L steel has a hardness of around 150HV on the Vickers scale. When looking at many PVD supplier websites, it looks like many common PVD treatments will yield 2500-2800HV….In my personal experience, many of the black PVD-coated watches that I've owned have started seeing wear in less than a year. It's part of the charm, but for those who are obsessed with the condition of their watches, PVD may not be the way to go…
With DLC, you get something that is extremely hard to scratch and can range from matte anthracite to deep gloss black, based on the proportion of the carbon mix. Looking at some supplier websites, DLC coatings can commonly range from 5000-9000HV for hardness. For reference, a diamond is rated at 10000HV on the Vickers scale.
To summarize simply:
Jet Black Series 10 - black dye coating - hardness level unknown - retail price $399
Titanium Slate Series 10 - PVD coating - hardness level 2500-2800HV - retail price $699
Black Ultra 2 - DLC coating - hardness level 5000-9000HV - retail price $799
The Jet Black is on paper the least durable of the bunch. I am sure the ink coating is much cheaper and allows Apple to keep the same price for the Jet Black vs the other aluminum finishes. DLC coatings are the most expensive and naturally more durable, but all of these watches will still show bare metal when hit hard.
For day to day bumps, each of these watches should do just fine.
Check out Wang’s piece if you really want to nerd out about black watch case coatings.