WATCHCASE MATERIALS

from Graduation Document - Jansher Aidan Bakhshi

REFLECTIONS

Gold: The percentage of pure gold versus the percentage of base metals is expressed in karats - 18 karat gold is 75% pure gold and is standard for watch cases. Yellow cold is pure gold alloyed with other metals. White gold is pure gold alloyed with silver, palladium, or rhodium and pink/rose gold is pure gold alloyed with percentages of copper. The more copper added, the darker the hue. A small percentage of silver or zinc can be added for a desired tone

Silver: Silver is similar in appearance to stainless steel or platinum. It is naturally nonreactive and resistant to decay. Unfortunately silver easily tarnishes. True silver watches are very rare. Watchmakers will instead use silver mixed into the gold alloy to create yellow and rose gold watches.

Bronze: Bronze watches are also innately anticorrosive, anti-magnetic, long-lasting, resistant to seawater, and harder than stainless steel and iron combined. Brass watches develop a rich patina over time. Platinum: Platinum is a natural white metal that produces silver colored watches. It is Incredibly hard, durable, and scratch-resistant. Platinum watches can almost always be refinished to look new again.

Palladium: Palladium is a natural white metal that produces silver colored watches. It is lightweight, hypoallergenic, and easy to finish and polish. A few companies, such as Ulysse Nardin and Moser & Co, use palladium for cases and bracelets. However, due to the high cost, it is incredibly rare to find a palladium watch.

Stainless Steel: Made of iron-carbon alloy mixed with chromium and nickel, Stainless Steel is fairly lightweight, affordable, highly corrosion-resistant.

Aluminium: Aluminium is silvery white in color and is low in density, resistant to corrosion, and flexible. Widely used in watches because it’s readily available and inexpensive.

Figure 22. Hublot 2018 Big Bang Red Magic Ceramic

Tungsten Carbide: Tungsten carbide is a chemical compound containing equal parts of tungsten and carbon atoms. In its most basic form, tungsten carbide is a fine gray powder, but it can be pressed and formed into shapes through a process called ‘sintering’ for use in industrial machinery, cutting tools, abrasives, armor-piercing rounds, other tools and instruments, and jewelry.

Tantalum: Tantalum is a rare, hard, blue-gray, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosionresistant.

Carbon Fibre: Carbon fibers are usually combined with other materials to form a composite. When impregnated with a plastic resin and baked it forms carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (often referred to as carbon fiber) which has a very high strength-to-weight ratio, and is extremely rigid although somewhat brittle. Carbon fibers are also composited with other materials, such as graphite, to form reinforced carbon-carbon composites, which have a very high heat tolerance.

Figure 23. Chrono24 2018 Cases in Carbon Fibre

Titanium: Alloyed with iron, aluminum, vanadium, molybdenum, or other metals, Titanium is very lightweight, highly durable, dent and corrosionresistant, non-allergenic and has a high strengthto-weight ratio

Brass: Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Cases made in brass are often electroplated to look like silver or gold cases since brass corrodes if left uncoated.

Ceramic: Made of zirconium oxide, a non-metallic material created by the action of heating and cooling, Ceramic is durable, lightweight, scratchresistant, heat resistant and smooth. It can be produced in a variety of hues and finishes

Silicon: Silicon cases are rare. This metalloid is growing more and more common in watchmaking (mostly in balance springs and escapements), as it does not react to changes in magnetism and temperature like metal does and does not require lubrication. As such, watches with these silicon components are often more accurate, more reliable and more resistant to magnetism than their counterparts using metallic components.

Polycarbonate: Polycarbonate is a man-made substance with an appearance and likeness to plastic that is used for bullet-proof vests, digital music player cases, smartphones, riot shields hard-side luggage and watch cases. It is extremely durable and remarkably lightweight. Polycarbonate can be finished in any color with a matte or glossy surface. Watchmakers from Luminox, Nixon, Glam Rock and ToyWatch feature polycarbonate watch styles in their collections, many for its incredibly lightweight quality on the wrist.

Plastic: Thanks to how polymers form they can perform molecular magic compared to many more traditional materials like metal, stone, mineral glass, or sapphire crystal The variety of polymers is what makes them so useful, and given the vast physical properties of the many types of polymers it is guaranteed that they would make their way into the technological marvels that are wristwatches.

Silicone Rubber: A rubber-like material comprised of silicon, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. It temperature resistant, water repellent and pleasant to the touch with a high-grade feel.

PVD Coated, Physical Vapor Deposition: Steel with a vacuum coating of oxides, carbides or nitrides, deposited by ionic attraction has increased durability, reduced friction on metal components. improves hardness and wear resistance.

DLC coated, Diamond-Like Carbon: Carbon coating with similar properties to diamond. It is ultra-hard with strong resistance to wear and scratches, Low friction, slick and resilient to damage or coating dents from physical shock