Technical Details of this Military Chronograph. A lot of people ask us what are the benefits of sapphire crystal over a standard mineral crystal? The reason that sapphire crystals are so strong is that after the sapphire glass is manufactured it is also heat-treated to remove its internal stresses-which can cause weakness-it is then made into the watch crystals and two layers of anti-reflective coating are applied, interestingly sapphire crystal is now used on the latest iPhone.