A watch made of advanced materials is the modern man's watch. It's the watch for the Tesla crowd. It's the watch for the Mars Rover crowd. It reminds you that you're a member of the elite fraternity of watch connoisseurs who bought something high-tech, something well-made, and yes… something expensive.
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Since the topic of Tesla cars has come up, this link would be good reading for those who see Teslas and their ilk as being the answer to environmental problems!
https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/renewable/the-environmental-impact-of-lithium-batteries/
To say nothing of the problem of dealing with dead lithium batteries.
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?
The propensity of ceramic to shatter. This is an area I wish I had more data on. It's repeated ad nauseam on the forums that ceramic is ultra tough and rarely scratches, but if you drop it or knock it hard enough, it shatters.
Since the topic of Tesla cars has come up, this link would be good reading for those who see Teslas and their ilk as being the answer to environmental problems!
https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/renewable/the-environmental-impact-of-lithium-batteries/
To say nothing of the problem of dealing with dead lithium batteries.
This so-called researcg institute is funded by Koch brothers and petroleum and construction corporations.
Respectfully, let's not confuse steel vs titanium with this one-sided discussion.
I think this is true. There's no doubt it's scratch resistant, but also no doubt the it is brittle when compared to steel - this is not the slightest bit controversial.
Do they shatter? Yes, absolutely, and since you mention Panerai:
But other brands do as well, so here's an IWC:
And of course Omega:
But completely shattering is only one mode of failure, more common is chipping:
For impacts, it's as much where and how it's hit, rather than exactly how hard. An impact in the wrong spot can cause damage that would not cause damage in another spot:
If I recall correctly, this watch was dropped onto the rim of a water glass from just a short height:
How often does it happen? Only the brands know, and I'm sure they aren't going to tell anyone. I think this type of failure was "big news" when these watches were first on the market, but I see fewer reports now, and I think that's because those who own them have simply accepted the risk, or mitigated it with insurance. No one should be surprised if they hit or drop it and it breaks, but it's up to the individuals to determine if they want to take that risk, provided they even like the case material to begin with.
Your making this whole materials issue the fault of others is quite nonsensical. Many people prefer stainless, and you prefer something different. Making this into a "new technology" v "old technology" argument is equally as nonsensical as blaming others for the choices a brand makes. You have stated your issue is with GS, so why not ask GS why they didn't make any Ti watches in their latest run, rather than go on multiple forums and blame others for their own preferences?
I’m wondering what the environmental impact of manufacturing with titanium is these days. My dad worked on Skunk Works projects and I recall that there were some pretty nasty leftovers when they moved on from some of their SR-71 facilities. Steel is probably far cleaner (but I’m just guessing).
Grand Seiko. [...] they've regressed in materials
