Watch Case Materials

Many of today's finest watch manufactures offer their timepieces in a choice of case metals; the three most common alloys used are high grade stainless steel, eighteen karat gold, and platinum.

Some of the new materials used for watches are titanium and ceramic, to give the watch watches a more modern feel and a wider variety of finishes. Any of the metals may be coated in PVD to turn the watch black or brown.

Platinum is the most exclusive metal used for watches. Platinum is an extremely rare precious metal with excellent heat, wear, and corrosion resistant properties making it an ideal material for collectible exquisite timepieces. With twice the weight and cost of gold it has become the metal of choice among discriminating watch collectors seeking pieces that impart ultimate prestige and wealth. It is not uncommon for the most complicated watches, those that combine multiple complications, to command prices as high as several hundred thousand dollars. For watch aficionados nothing is as mesmerizing as a high complication timepiece cased in platinum.

There are many choices today as most fine watch manufactures offer their collections in all three metals. The metal you choose for your new watch is a personal choice usually based on your lifestyle. If you are a beginning collector or active person you will likely begin with a stainless steel watch and eventually graduate to buying more expensive, finer watches in eighteen karat gold. If you are a serious collector with deep pockets you've probably already discovered the joy of collecting high end watches and have a few gold or platinum pieces in your collection.

Gold is the second most common metal used in watch making and is regarded as the classic choice for fine watches. Although it is more malleable than stainless steel, eighteen karat gold is durable and well suited for watches. Eighteen karat gold alloy can be formulated into three different colors; traditional yellow, pink/rose, or white. Some watches are not available in every color choice, particularly limited edition watches.
 
Watches with complications, such as Tourbillion, Perpetual Calendars and Minute Repeaters are most often sold in gold. A classic gold watch is the marker of many a man's milestones celebrated in life; wedding, anniversary, and retirement. Also, for many people, being handed down their "fathers gold watch" is rite of passage.

Stainless steel is by far the most common alloy used for watch cases and bracelets today because of its durability and anti-corrosion properties. It is a very hard metal which is ideal for crafting professional sport watches such as dive and pilot watches, travel alarm, watches, and sport chronographs. Increasingly ladies diamond watches are being offered as a less costly alternative to gold and is a good choice for an everyday watch.

Titanium

Titanium is a space age metal that is twice as strong and half as light as stainless steel. It is also non-allergenic, extremely resistant to salt water and other forms of corrosion, and able to withstand extreme temperatures. Silver to gray colored the metal has a lustrous tone. Titanium has been used mainly in industry, but also used in some jewelry because of the range of colors it produces when heated.

Strangely enough, the blue color in a blue sapphire comes from the mineral titanium that is within the crystal. The higher concentrations of titanium in the sapphire, the more color saturation.

PVD

One method that can be used to change the surface properties of a material is called Physical Vapor Deposition, or PVD (you'll also see it labeled as Ion Plating, or IP, which is a variant on PVD). The PVD process involves placing the item to be coated in an inert (non-reactive) atmosphere, heating it up to 400° C or so (depending on the process), and basically spraying it with the molecules that you want to coat it with. That's the general process, however there are a lot of subtle variations like using charged ions for the ion plated variation. PVD has been around since 1838 and is heavily used in semiconductor manufacturing, automobiles, and many other places including, or course, watches.

PVD results in a coating up to a micron or so thick that's tightly bonded to the base material. It won't flake off, as the coating is interpenetrated with the underlying material which is what makes it different from paint, powder coats, or anodizing. If you hit it with sufficient force, however, you can go through the PVD and into the material below, and since it's still a coating, polishing to remove scratches is not recommended.

Titanium

Titanium is a space age metal that is twice as strong and half as light as stainless steel. It is also non-allergenic, extremely resistant to salt water and other forms of corrosion, and able to withstand extreme temperatures. Silver to gray colored the metal has a lustrous tone. Titanium has been used mainly in industry, but also used in some jewelry because of the range of colors it produces when heated.

Strangely enough, the blue color in a blue sapphire comes from the mineral titanium that is within the crystal. The higher concentrations of titanium in the sapphire, the more color saturation.

Ceramic

is essentially a delicate substance. However, with help from the latest technologies, it is now possible to convert it into a highly durable and scratch-resistant material. Such use of ceramic has resulted in the creation of fashionable watches that spell class and elegance and are yet strong and durable.

Thus, ceramic, if treated properly, can become the most suitable material to be used in watches. A large number of extremely strong and high-quality watches utilise ceramic in them. Although it is highly strong, ceramic is very convenient to use since it is thin and lightweight. It is considered to be the ideal material for watches because of these qualities.