I and a handful of others have had questions concerning the durability of the IPK plating. Because of this, I have been reluctant to order anything with it, particularly a bracelet. So when I ordered my forum LE, I went with the plain steel bracelet. Having received my T3 LE with the black IPK bracelet, I thought I would share my experience with it for the benefit of others.

First let me state that if I wear a metal bracelet just one day, it will be scuffed. Typically, it will be scuffed on the clasp and a few links on each side of the clasp. I work in front of a computer all day and my left wrist apparently tries to grate cheese all day on the top of my desk. It has happened with 4 Seikos, 1 Citizen, and 1 gold plated Invicta. This comprises 3 stainless steel bracelets, 2 titanium bracelets, and 1 gold plated bracelet. So far, every metal bracelet I have had has suffered from this. This is why I have leaned toward stainless steel over any kind of plating when having a choice.

So, I report that after wearing my T3 LE for one day, true to form, it was scuffed by the end of the day, The plating has worn through to the base metal in two places very noticeably, and is thin in a handful. I am not really surprised because this is what I expected. But, we often hear how tough the IPK plating is, and I just wanted to share my experience. Also, worse than with the ss, titanium, and even gold bracelets, it is more noticeable with the black because you end up with the silver colored steel showing through, so it is quite noticeable. On a ss or titanium watch, I just get scuffs. Even the gold plated is not as bad because the gold and silver differences are more subtle.

I don't say all this to complain as it was just what I expected to happen. Plus, we are getting the T3 LE for a bargain, so for me, it was worth it. If it gets too bad, maybe I will order a steel bracelet later...or maybe even the rubber strap. So, if you are concerned about this because you have had similar experiences with metal bracelets in the past, I would recommend you lean toward the plain stainless steel if possible.

Thanks for the write-up, Joe. I still need to get my T3 bracelet sized, but I have a rubber strap on the way so I might just wait on that one.

I don't care for the 2-tone look that much, but as you said the T3 was a bargain too good to pass up.

-Jim

Ive got a T3 on the way, so will write up what experience I have with it........although I don't grate cheese

Monkey wrote:Ive got a T3 on the way, so will write up what experience I have with it........although I don't grate cheese

Jaydog doing a bit of a diary in another thread.
He has the T3 and i can tell you it will get a real test on the ipk,dishwasher and all.In fact,i,m pretty sure it's already been in at least once.
My brother is such a butcher. Arrrggghhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the review Joe. As you Know, I too was very concerned about the durability of the IPK. Although I did not get the extra SS bracelet (I was ordering just in case of this problem) that I ordered with my LE, so far I have had no problems with the IPK that came with it. The finish seems a touch thin on the edges but is only noticable to the critical eye. Because it is winter here in New England, I have tended to wear long sleeve shirts while wearing the LE. If it does tend to wear away as I expect since your report, I won't be quite so dissappointed. I still think it was worth giving it a shot as I really love the look. Maybe CW can improve the process or switch to a ceramic finish in the future that would really take some normal daily abuse. I guess I have been lucky so far.

Thanks for the heads up on the IPK bracelet Joe.
I also suffer from scuffed bracelets from sitting at the keyboard all day,
and have scuff marks on all my bracelets steel, or titanium.
Interestingly though, the 'brushed' finish on the Kingfisher LE
seems to be holding up very well (touch wood).
I've been wearing it pretty much constantly throughout January,
and it has yet to show half as much marking as my C4, which was pretty
much my main watch at work from October to December.

I'm pretty heavy on scuffing bracelets as well. So far the T3 IPK is holding up but its winter and its covered up with long sleeves. I'll probably get a rubber strap for the summer months.

I thought the IPK would look weird but its actually done in a very tasteful way contrasting with the mirror finish narrow links next to it and the brushed SS. Its very original and I've had positive commments from friends.

After I created this initial thread, I created another thread in the Gallery forum with a picture of the T3 I am talking about in this thread. Here is a link to the other thread so you can see a picture of what I am talking about:

http://www.christopherwardforum.com/vie ... f=2&t=1070

joerattz wrote:After I created this initial thread, I created another thread in the Gallery forum with a picture of the T3 I am talking about in this thread. Here is a link to the other thread so you can see a picture of what I am talking about:

http://www.christopherwardforum.com/vie ... f=2&t=1070

Strange ??????

You need to visit more often Joe. The last reply in this thread before yours was in February and the last reply in the thread you have linked to was in May.

Methinks you were just a tad late.

Someone spammed a response on this thread that has since been deleted by a moderator. I got an email message with a link when the spammed message was posted. So I clicked on the link in the email and it took me to this thread, but because a moderator had already deleted the spam post, there was nothing new to see. Since I knew I had posted another thread with a picture about this same topic, I decided to post a link to it here.

But yeah, I haven't been paying as much attention lately. I am sure once the new pics start going up for all the new CW models, I'll be more involved.