I felt it happen. It was almost a disgusting feeling. The beloved Apple Watch Series 7, squeezed like a slice of salami between a block of wood and my wrist that was supporting a nearly 75-pound package, meets the few grit it’s been pulling.
My arms suddenly took in tremendous strength, I quickly lifted the heavy pack to relieve the pressure, but it was too late. The sand or grit covering the wooden bezel had carved an awful little ravine across the almost pristine face of my Apple Watch Series 7.
I blame myself.
First of all, it is important to realize that this is an Apple Watch Series 7. It is not made of stainless steel or titanium. This is important because the crystal is not made of the sapphire that you would find in a high-end Breitling watch. Instead, it has Ion-X glass, which is supposed to approximate some form of strong gorilla glass.
This watch glass, which protects the large, colorful and sharp wearable Retina LTPO OLED display, is very good at withstanding daily bumps, drops or clumsy knocks in the corner of the office. However, it’s not scratch-resistant, and in the battle between the compact grain and glossy surface of the Apple Watch Series 7, it’s lost a lot of time.
take it off
My problem is that I have been wearing this watch almost every day since September. It’s one of the first things I wear in the morning—even before I shower—because I train six days a week; I really like the way you do curls, push-ups, etc. I also wear it for outings – leisure, exercise, commuting. Apple Watch doesn’t leave my wrist until the end of the day. (To be fair, I don’t shower or sleep with her.)
It’s constantly on my wrist, so much so that I’m the guy you see taking calls and talking to his wrist like a modern day Dick Tracy (Opens in a new tab). The watch is a great companion and I wouldn’t apologize for using it like that.
So sue me if I wear it because I embarked on the grueling project of clearing one of the crawl spaces in my basement. A little history of the house to help you understand the unique features of this space:
Almost forty years ago, someone dug the basement of our house and put all the dirt, gravel, and sand (four feet of it), behind a concrete spare wall. They added a closet entryway and some frames around it and then used the space above the still exposed sand to store things. When I bought the house, I continued the tradition. Although, I recently found that I needed to free up space to access some faulty wires. And since I have a trash can in my house for a major kitchen renovation, I thought this would be an ideal time to clean the house.
The accident occurred when I decided to get rid of a disassembled and bagged computer desk in the early ’90s. The pressure plates were very heavy. I reached at the bottom of the bag with my right hand (I’m the rare right-handed person who wears their watch on their right), slid it over the wooden frame (the part of the wall that holds the sand), and prepared to lift everything out of the crawl space.
I didn’t hear the scratch, but I could feel it on my wrist.
hard to see
To be honest, I didn’t look at my watch right away, hopefully, like Christmas story (Opens in a new tab)Ralphie and his BB-shot goggles, although they felt bad, the damage was probably minimal, perhaps not even noticeable.
Shortly after I got the case out of my house, I peeked at my Apple Watch Series 7. To my horror, there was now a large, ugly wound down the center of the watch screen. I ran my finger over it. It was deep and messy. terrible.
Crestfallen, I removed the watch and placed it on the charging stand while I finished my work.
I can’t say for sure that the Sapphire Crystal would have held up better, but I suspect all I would have gotten was a scratch and not that half-inch-plus clip.
My advice to you is, if you are lifting heavy things or working with your hands and you have an aluminum Apple Watch, remove it before you start or at least invest in a suitable Apple Watch screen protector or case. Your Apple Watch will thank you for that.
next step
There is not much to do about the damage. I don’t think it’s going to get any worse, and luckily my Apple Watch Series 7 works as if there was nothing wrong, as if I wasn’t aware of its distortion.
I can fix it. If it’s in warranty or if I’m an AppleCare+ member, it might not cost me anything. I’m not. I can still fix it (Opens in a new tab)But it will cost about $299 the same as the new Apple Watch.
I won’t fix it but I will continue to wear it. Every time I see a flaw, I curse myself and silently apologize for my Apple Watch Series 7. I deserve better than this.
