So we have seen steel, tungsten, bronze, ceramic, wood, and even all sapphire cases.

But how about Carrara marble for the case?

http://www.giulianomazzuoli.it/content_ca_dettaglio.php?id_categoria=18

This company, which makes watches that look like pressure gauges, is also apparently the first to use cement as a case material:

http://www.watchtime.com/watch-to-w...-12263961&mc_cid=2008b63005&mc_eid=2ad7e8e55f

Thoughts?

Cheers, Al

 

Is this where we paste the entire argument about the Omega ceramic cases?

 

I appreciate any innovative effort by anyone in the watch industry. I am amazed anybody at all is playing with new materials and design . Pretty much. As long as it doesn't use elephant ivory or rhino horn, et cetera.
I'll just vote with my $.

 

Interesting. I knew someone who had a Tissot "rock watch" in the 1980s.

http://www.tsota.eu/berlaghestoel/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/rockwatch21.jpg

 

I think it was Romain Jerome who made a watch using parts from the Titanic. Not sure if these parts were used on the case or dial though.

 

It's a wide open field, but, just because you can doesn't mean you should.

What's next, meteorite dials?

 

I hope not, but if you are intent on going there, I can't stop you...

 

Cemento

 

Honestly this was a watch I really wanted back in the day. I love natural materials, so this really appealed to my 80's tastes. Now not so much, in particular because they are a bugger to repair...

 

just because you do something differently, does not mean its better ...





and yes, it seems that bikes and mechanical watches are - after 100+ years - pretty much maxed out. For watches it seems to be ss/titanium

so, while I applaud innovation, I quite often get the vibe of "HEY, WE HAVE A SOLUTION - WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM?" - so quite often those "innovations" are more a marketing-differentiator than a technical necessity that needs to be addressed. Just look at all the case materials Hublot is using ... with so many different ones, shouldnt there be one superior? ... and if yes, why have the sub-optimal ones ...

(partly also applies to omegas co-axial escapement).

cheers,
Al

 

I think they both look nicer than I was expecting them to. Not sure I would buy them. I think they might appeal to women more than men. When I bought my first expensive watch, a Tag F1. I remember the tissot wooden watches and thinking they were quite nice but not for a 16 year old boy.

 

This has surely got to be the winner...

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/introducing-the-richard-mille-rm-56-02-tourbillon-sapphire

Not a fan of these but as an exercise in pushing the boundaries its pretty impressive.

 

Too much!

When in the opal mining regions, you do see cheap watches with opal dials in some of the shops. Very cheap quartz watches of course. I have thought about trying to use opal in some manner on a dial of a watch, but thickness is an issue. To use a stone set on the dial, you would need to make sure all the hands clear it - long posts on the movement and possibly clearance issues under the crystal as a result. To make a dial out of opal it would have to be cut so thin it would be super fragile. Not just to handle and assemble, but also for removing replacing hands for service. For example you have to be very careful removing hands from an MOP dial - slightest pressure on the dial and it will crack.

 

I would love to know what they use for the cement case - do they add some sort of epoxy to the mix to give it strength? The idea is not so surprising considering people have used concrete for kitchen countertops - that style seems to be fading now though after being quite popular for a number of years.

If you have ever seen a well done terrazzo floor, they can be quite beautiful. Place I used to work had them in some of the washrooms - in parts of the building build in the 1940's. Decades later they still looked great.

 

I would think they would at least need to include an additive to prevent moisture from permeating the cement.

 

Wonder if the cement would have a couple of italian blokes setting up the rio bar the day before.

 

i assume the same is true for meteorite-dials ... do you have any experience or thoughts on that?

 

yeah, i think its def. some kind of "engeneering cement" (vs. regular cement) .... just like the "engeneering ceramics" as opposed to the ceramics of your dinner plate ;-) ...