FRONT — ask the oracle
THE ORACLE SPEAKS The wizardry of the watch world explained
of composites have come to define their style over the years. They’re also the reason their sporting ambassador can wear their oversized watches while playing. Carbon TPT®, Quartz TPT®, they’re at the bleeding edge of materials. Unfortunately, they also feel a lot like plastic. Otherwise materials like Ulysse Nardin’s Carbonium and Girard-Perregaux’s ‘carbon glass’ take the organic, grained nature of these materials and run with it.
[Ceramic]
[Cutting Edge Materials in Watchmaking]
While some watchmakers see opportunities for the advancement of haute horology in refined mechanics and novel complications, the vast majority of brands are instead perfecting their timepieces with the introduction of ever newer, ever more advanced materials. While NASA may be struggling for budget, watchmakers are apparently not if their R&D departments are anything to go by, and every year some new alloy, composite or other cutting-edge material is announced with a funky new name. To cut through all the science-adjacent jargon, we’ve decided to go through the main materials used in watchmaking, what they are and why they’re being used.
[Composites]
The most common composite in watchmaking is Carbon Fibre, which thanks to marques like McLaren, is shorthand for racing performance. It’s made up of tiny, micro-thin fibres that when twisted together like yarn become ten times stronger than steel, at least at the upper end of the scale, while being five times lighter. Then there’s forged carbon which uses the same base material, but suspends it in a resin to strengthen it, allowing easily usable blocks of material. Carbon however is just the tip of the composite iceberg. Many watchmakers over the years have been experimenting with similar concepts – lightweight polymers suspended in an epoxy resin – to create ever lighter, ever more durable materials. Leading the pack is Richard Mille, and these kind
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As you might have gauged from our cover star this issue, the Rado Captain Cook Ceramic, this material is in pretty high demand in the watch world. It has everything a fine timepiece could want: hardness, corrosion resistance, light weight and, at least these days, the potential for colour. Zirconium Oxide Ceramic is made by firing a base material in incredible heat until it becomes a solid block of ultra-hardness. This isn’t just a labourintensive production method; it makes ceramic relatively difficult to work with even once its cooled. It’s phenomenally hard at 1200 HV but brittle, and a slight mistake while milling could result in the whole piece being scrapped. That also means that if you do manage to scratch your sexy ceramic bracelet, you can’t just get it buffed out. Until recent years it was also a little restrictive of a material, available in mostly greys and blacks. Now though we have Hublot with their intensely bright coloured versions, IWC’s sandy Mojave numbers and many more besides, all in that sleek, futuristic feel and finish.
[Titanium]
The most common aerospace material to find its way into watches, titanium is basically stainless steel but better. It’s lighter, more anti-magnetic and more durable at 350 HV. It can still scratch like other metals, but because of its natural oxidisation smaller scratches become less visible over time. There are only two real downsides to titanium. First, there’s the higher price compared to steel. Second, there’s the finish. Titanium has a distinctive grey look that some collectors like, others find incredibly dull and flat. Seiko at least have gone some way to alleviating the latter with their incredible, brightly polished titanium. As far as I’m aware Grand Seiko is the only watchmaker doing this but given the results, I doubt that it’ll stay that way for long. Given sustainability is at the forefront of brand thinking these days, it’s also worth noting that Panerai’s own Eco-Titanium is completely recycled and still aviation grade.
