- Posts
- 8,487
- Likes
- 60,622
TexOmega
·I buy what I like, silly me.
Essay: Your Preference for Steel is Ruining Great Watches
- Posts
- 29,672
- Likes
- 76,830
Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerIf anything, titanium develops surface scratches just as easily as steel, so I'm really not getting it being promoted as a superior choice when it comes to that. I prefer it because with a Ti bracelet, a watch isn't a boat anchor, but it's hardly imperceptible. It also wears pretty easily if subjected to any sort of constant movement (think bracelet links moving against each other). Titanium has high tensile strength but not so great wear resistance. The only way in which it is superior to steel is with weight. I like titanium watches, and would definitely be interested in more being offered that way, but let's not kid ourselves that it somehow prevents pretty much any of the OP's issues with steel.
Yep - strength to weight ratio is the main advantage of the material, which isn't really a big concern with watches. In my experience refinishing them, Ti is quite "soft"...
- Posts
- 6,649
- Likes
- 52,276
noelekal
··Home For Wayward WatchesIt's 2021. Not everyone is on board with the changes.
That would be me.
I'm not required to join the modern era. I think I yet have the liberty to make that determination.
I can't make myself care about what is said to be the latest and greatest, state of the art watch case material.
I like stainless steel and gold watch cases.
I particularly don't want ceramic or titanium cases.
I like big V8 engines fueled by gasoline and particularly don't want a Tesla.
It's going to require a government edict to move me off of steel and gold watch cases or gasoline powered V8s. Hopefully I will have shuffled off this mortal coil before that occurs.
A crowd won't fit in a Mars rover.
I don't see the problem here that needs to go away. I'd rather have the hootenanny.
- Posts
- 504
- Likes
- 1,951
RonJ
·I like steel watches, not sure I can explain why.
Titanium watches kind of remind me of aluminum, it just feels lighter than it looks.
In the early 1800's, aluminum was a precious metal.
Royalty used the metal in their jewelry, special dining flatware, etc.
And it was a key component in the race car bodies of the 1950s and 1960s.
It's still a key design element of aircraft.
But we now associate it with beer cans, tin foil, and being a cheap metal.
Maybe steel will some day make a similar transition.
https://www.npr.org/2019/12/05/785099705/aluminums-strange-journey-from-precious-metal-to-beer-can
.
Titanium watches kind of remind me of aluminum, it just feels lighter than it looks.
In the early 1800's, aluminum was a precious metal.
Royalty used the metal in their jewelry, special dining flatware, etc.
And it was a key component in the race car bodies of the 1950s and 1960s.
It's still a key design element of aircraft.
But we now associate it with beer cans, tin foil, and being a cheap metal.
Maybe steel will some day make a similar transition.
https://www.npr.org/2019/12/05/785099705/aluminums-strange-journey-from-precious-metal-to-beer-can
.
- Posts
- 13,698
- Likes
- 53,498
Larry S
··Color Commentator for the Hyperbole.This reminds me of the Steel, Aluminim, TI and Carbon bike frame debates. Color me a luddite, I ride custom steel. I had an early Seiko TI watch and was unhappy with its durability. Ceramic is great for a lot of things but torque isn't one of them. A memorable moment in my watch history for me was when I put on my new GMT MII and felt the heft of that glorious hunk of SS. Of course, I have a jones for gold chronographs as well. The Seiko birch bark is haunting my dreams. Too bad its so expensive.
- Posts
- 807
- Likes
- 2,108
Observer
·This makes me wonder, are all watch cases made of the same steel? Knife people have strong preferences for certain steels, why don’t watch people seem to care?
- Posts
- 29,672
- Likes
- 76,830
Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerThis makes me wonder, are all watch cases made of the same steel? Knife people have strong preferences for certain steels, why don’t watch people seem to care?
Most common steel is 316L stainless. I think in the past 304 might have been used as well. Some companies use others - Rolex 904L for example. Others use "submarine" steel, or variations of hardened steels, and in keeping with the knife theme, some use Damascus steels.
People don't care because for the most part the differences are largely just marketing.
- Posts
- 3,998
- Likes
- 9,018
cvalue13
·This makes me wonder, are all watch cases made of the same steel? Knife people have strong preferences for certain steels, why don’t watch people seem to care?
^^^ this is just the sort of thought-provoking discussion that a post like OPs is intended to generate
unlike these other humorless grump-a-lugs that appear to have zero appreciation for the role of hyperbole in watch forum rants. talk about getting your watchfeelings hurt...
As they say, it takes only one match to burn down a library, but considerably more to fill one.
Every year, at least 100 watch brands present us with a smorgasbord of mixed materials and we vote for the winners with our dollars.
FYI, to bring some facts to bare: if we’re talking in terms of voting with dollars (rather than units), SS isn’t really the largest or single culprit:
Notice also that on a unit basis, PLASTIC probably has a decent market share
- Posts
- 6,649
- Likes
- 52,276
noelekal
··Home For Wayward WatchesWho's a Gumpalump here? To bring another Forum fact to bare, it must be pointed out that there are more good humored and hyperbolic fogies on Omega Forums than there are humorless grump-a-lumps without proper appreciation for hyperbole. Fogies who almost never choose to base watch purchase decisions on pie charts.
Nobody's watch feelings are hurt. I know mine aren't and don't think bradurani's feelings are hurt. Don't even think your feelings are hurt. It's a forum and the thread is food for good ol' forum debate.
Nobody's watch feelings are hurt. I know mine aren't and don't think bradurani's feelings are hurt. Don't even think your feelings are hurt. It's a forum and the thread is food for good ol' forum debate.
- Posts
- 3,998
- Likes
- 9,018
cvalue13
·To bring another Forum fact to bare
doh!
Who's a Gumpalump here?
I see what you’re doing! Sarcastic grumpalumping about there being no grumpalumps. A+ 👍
PS:
🤨
I see you posted this on WUS as well. Do you work for some Ceramic lobby or something ?
As you say: I don't care if you want your 60s re-issues and vintage inspired pieces in steel.
... I don't care that your preference is for Ceramic or any other material....
[Nor] should you be belittling them as being ignorant, nor insinuating they are somehow backward because they prefer X over Y.
Opinions of course differ, and maybe I’m misreading it, but the above seemed at least fairly ripe for a little bit of watchfeelings-grumpalumping.
And you “liked” it, so... 😗
No big deal!
- Posts
- 743
- Likes
- 2,541
bradurani
·doh!
I see what you’re doing! Sarcastic grumpalumping about there being no grumpalumps. A+ 👍
PS:
Opinions of course differ, and maybe I’m misreading it, but the above seemed at least fairly ripe for a little bit of watchfeelings-grumpalumping.
And you “liked” it, so... 😗
No big deal!
*Lays back in pool chair. Sips lemonade*
- Posts
- 29,672
- Likes
- 76,830
- Posts
- 24,257
- Likes
- 54,023
- Posts
- 3,998
- Likes
- 9,018
cvalue13
·The data you presented states otherwise. SS is 40% by value is actually the largest...
From the prerogative of OPs original post, essentially, people only want SS -> I would think one might lump together (A) precious and (B) bi-metalic (largely, precious + SS).
But if they didnt want to lump them together, it's why I said "largest or single culprit" - on a value basis.
And the "bimetallic" category is probably mostly SS.
If you mean to say a single "bimetallic" watch is itself composed more of SS than precious metal, you have to be right I'm sure.
But that's a separate matter from the OPs insinuation that people are most drawn to SS, insofar as it would appear that - on a value basis only - people are most drawn to precious metals, even when mixed with SS.
But to get really in the weeds, remember the chart above is for all Swiss timepieces, which includes both mechanical (largest portion of value, but lowest portion of units) and quartz (lower portion of value, but highest portion in units).
Accordingly, I would venture to guess that if the chart we're discussing were adjusted to focus only on mechanical watches, the proportion of precious/bimetalic would only go up - and perhaps significantly.
- Posts
- 29,672
- Likes
- 76,830
Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerFrom the prerogative of OPs original post, essentially, people only want SS -> I would think one might lump together (A) precious and (B) bi-metalic (largely, precious + SS).
But if they didnt want to lump them together, it's why I said "largest or single culprit" - on a value basis.
You wrote this:
"SS isn’t really the largest or single culprit:"
It is not the "single" but is certainly the "largest: according to the data you posted. If you meant to write something different than what you did, that's fine...
- Posts
- 3,998
- Likes
- 9,018
cvalue13
·You wrote this:
"SS isn’t really the largest or single culprit:"
It is not the "single" but is certainly the "largest: according to the data you posted. If you meant to write something different than what you did, that's fine...
Give me a break, Al.
The OP's point was, essentially, that people mostly want SS watches is effecting the popularity of ceramic/titanium. But a relevant counter-example to OPs point would be people wanting any watch that isn't purely SS (or not SS at all), to include bimetalic: which together with precious metal and other watches make up (depending on how you look at it) somewhere between 52%-60% of market compared to 40% for pure SS. (And that's before we get into the quartz/mechanical breakouts.)
So, depending on how one prefers to look at it, I repeat: "SS isn't really the largest or single culprit" creating headwinds for the popularity of ceramic/titanium.
I suppose if babysitting your false desire for nuance over brevity (due to a complete lack of generosity in reading), I could have written instead "pure SS isn't really the largest (if you count bi-metalic) or single (insofar as precious and other non-SS accounts for a large portion of market) culprit."
But I instead tried to achieve brevity, thinking the chart provided spoke for itself, and not thinking anyone would miss the intended contribution.
- Posts
- 6,649
- Likes
- 52,276
noelekal
··Home For Wayward Watches"The man would argue with a fence post," is an old saying we have down here in Texas.
- Posts
- 3,998
- Likes
- 9,018
- Posts
- 15,482
- Likes
- 45,852
- Posts
- 29,672
- Likes
- 76,830
