High Tech Watches

Clear Aluminum. Silicon gears. High-Tech Ceramics.

Sounds like a list of items needed to upgrade the Space Shuttle right?

Actually these are some of the latest high-tech materials to be used in mechanical watch-making.

First you have clear aluminum (I didn't even know the metal could be made transparent) as employed in the new Krieger Mysterium. Their ad says it is "So Beautiful, it's Scary." You can take a look at it and see if you agree. According to Krieger this type of case material took 4 years to develop and because it so hard to work with they are only able to produce a limited quantity each week. Because of this they are limiting this edition to 1,000 peices.

Then you have Patek Philippe who announced just prior to the Baselworld watch fair that their new limited edition 39mm Annual Calendar watch will contain an anchor escapement wheel made of silicon. This material (long used is computer components) is ideal for micro-machanics. The fact that it is extremely hard, dense & perfectly smooth means that the wheel needs no lubrication. Read more about it at Europastar.com. Does this mean another Silicon Valley will emerge, this time in Switzerland?

And finally one recent trend in case & bracelet materials is high-tech ceramic. This material is extremely hard (considerably harder than any metal in fact) and is highly resistant to heat, corrosion, scratches, wrist sweat etc. And it looks pretty cool too giving watch cases a color and style that is completely new and innovative. The best known example of this is the Chanel J12 in either white or black ceramic. Versace has added their own ceramic watch, the DV One, also in white or black ceramic. We'll see how long the trend continues. . .