Weird Science: Carbon, Ceramic, Tantalum Watches

Split-Second Takeaways:

• • After centuries of metal monotony, new case materials are revolutionizing the watch industry.

• • Buyers have new options that are light, scratch-resistant, and offer precious metal feel with stealth factor.

• • Carbon fiber, ceramic, and exotic metals such as tantalum are standouts.

• • Major watchmakers including Audemars Piguet, Officine Panerai, and Hublot are leading innovators.

• • The revolution is underway at The 1916 Company; we have exotic material watches in stock.

For ages, the watch industry revolved like a carousel around a static pool of case metals. Gold – in all its forms – was the standard. Serious VIPs rolled with platinum. In the 19th century, steel joined the party. Through the transition from pocket to wristwatches, mechanical to quartz and back, and the emergence of modern “luxury” watches, the material orthodoxy held firm.

Whether due to the tech boom of the late 1990s, necessity born of oversize cases, or an insatiable consumer craving for novelty, the old regime crumbled with stunning speed and little warning from the mid-2000s. Today’s watch buyer enjoys more material options than any prince, king, or pasha from the dawn of watchmaking to Y2K.

Where does this leave modern watch collectors? The key is to understand the advantages, weaknesses, and variety of today’s leading luxury watch materials.

Audemars Piguet’s Forged Carbon technology drew first blood in the watch industry’s case-material arms race. While isolated examples of exotic materials had appeared in limited volumes and novelty formats before 2007, AP’s Royal Oak Offshore Alinghi Team limited edition of that year represented a tech watershed for the industry. With a production run of 1,300 units, the only “limiting” factor for this particular edition seemed to be the number consumers would buy. And they bought the Alinghi with gusto. 

The floodgates were open. From 2009, series production of the Royal Oak Offshore “Bumblebee” featured on these pages completed carbon’s jump from obscurity to the luxury mainstream. The material’s unique appeal flows from the durability of the finish and extreme weight reduction carbon affords.

On the wrist, the Bumblebee’s forged carbon case reduced total mass to 135 grams – just over a quarter pound. For comparison, a typical Royal Oak Offshore weighs about half-a-pound on a hornback alligator strap, and the heaviest of all ROOs, the platinum chronograph on matching bracelet, has been reported to weigh nearly two pounds. Even men who prefer the wrist feel of smaller sports models such as Rolex’s Datejust or traditional 41.5 mm “Bond” Omega Seamasters will be struck by the unobtrusive presence of the ‘bee.

This is a watch for owners who enjoy the look of a full-size sports watch but prefer not to endure the one-arm gym membership that some of these models impose.

Audemars Piguet uses a carbon matrix of non-directional fibers to create a chaotic marbling effect on the surface of forged carbon. Combined with the matte finish, the result is a material that hides all but the most extreme effects of abrasive contact.

Any Royal Oak Offshore owner who has been forced to suffer the indignity of deep scratches to the intricate finish of a metal variant will feel liberated and empowered by camouflage power of forged carbon. The only clear drawback is that a truly catastrophic blow could chip or crack carbon, thus necessitating a case replacement; steel simply gouges.

The Bumblebee also employs ceramic to shield its bezel, so the result is cover-to-cover scuff suppression.

Panerai’s Luminor 1950 Ceramic 8 days Chrono Monopulsante GMT ( PAM317) takes the ceramic watch concept to the next level. Constructed entirely of the stone-like material, the PAM317 has been designed to resist scratches as though the entire case were crafted of the same sapphire that covers the dial. While the first ceramic watch cases were built in the early 60s by Rado (the Dia Star 1), mainstream watchmakers only began to embrace the resilience of ceramic during the late 2000s.

The PAM317 of 2008 was among the first Panerais to feature the groundbreaking technology. Since the 1980s, most luxury watches have thwarted crystal gouging through the use of sapphire crystals; only diamonds threaten them. Ceramic, which is a non-metallic crystal similar to fired pottery, resists scratches as effectively as sapphire.

In practice, ceramic trades the luster of polished metal for abrasion resistance. For owners, the benefit is a watch that will retain its showroom appearance almost indefinitely. Aside from occasional cleaning and replacement of worn straps, ceramic approaches the holy grail of a “no maintenance” case material. On the PAM317, the entire case – crown device included – is composed of the nearly indelible compound. Owners of older PVD coated (i.e., scratch prone) Panerais will be green with envy of this charcoal chronograph.

To be sure, even ceramic has a vulnerability: fractures. Like pottery, porcelain, or sapphire crystals, ceramic is brittle and subject to shattering rather than gouging. While malleable steel will show grooves and carbon’s matrix will accommodate shallow gouges with aplomb, ceramic tends to resist marking right up to the point of failure. It’s an all-or-nothing proposition.

For Panerai buyers, it’s worth noting that the ceramic models omit the push-button strap swapping that has been a feature on the Lumior case shape for almost a decade. Drilling the ceramic lugs for this feature would have compromised their integrity.

The good news for ceramic owners is that the threshold of failure is very high. At the point that ceramic watches like the PAM317 fail, other concerns – like one’s wrist bones – should supersede watch condition. Very few watch collectors suffer a sapphire crystal failure, and owners of ceramic can expect an equally stellar experience going forward.

Naturally there will be holdouts. With a track record dating back to a time when the Spanish Armada was still afloat, metal watches remain the meat of the luxury watch market.

But even metal has received a modern makeover. Hublot’s Big Bang Tantalum proves that metallic materials can ride the wave of style and technology. Tantalum has emerged slowly and steadily in comparison to carbon and ceramic, but the trickle of tantalum luxury watches has given way to regular roll-outs as more watch buyers embrace the grey metal.

In essence, tantalum combines the super premium wrist pull of platinum, the stealth factor of ceramic and carbon, and the corrosion resistance expected of a luxury watch. Colored gold can be too formal for the all-purpose sports watches modern buyers favor. And “white” precious metals can offer little distinction from polished steel. Tantalum provides an impressive “murdered-out” monotone without the overt pretense of colored gold.

Even better, tantalum is bio-inert, so collectors who struggle with nickel allergies (think early 2000s-present Rolex) will find a safe haven in watches like the Big Bang Tantalum. When combined with Hublot’s natural rubber strap – an innovation the company pioneered – the Big Bang Tantalum is a “case” study in the materials revolution that continues to sweep the premium watch sector.

After centuries in stasis, watch materials are multiplying through consumer demand for options and watchmakers’ new technology. Ironically, the luxury watch industry’s “golden age” of material innovation is anything but.