Application of Titanium in Watches
Titanium was discovered by Gregor in Cornwall, England in 1791. However, for its mining and smelting difficulty, it gradually developed in the middle of the 20th century. Titanium has high strength, good corrosion resistance, high heat resistance characteristics and is widely used in various fields. Many countries in the world recognize the importance of titanium alloy materials, have carried out research and development on it, and has been applied. In a long period of time, titanium materials are mainly used in aerospace, military industry. After entering the new century, the development of titanium civilian products industry began to catch up.
1. What are the Excellent Characteristics of Titanium and Titanium Alloy?
①. High strength;
②. High hardness;
③. Low modulus of elasticity;
④. Excellent high and low temperature performance;
⑤. The corrosion resistance of titanium is strong.
Since precious metals are mainly used in high-end brands of watches, such as: stainless steel is mainly based on 316L steel and #Rolex patented 904L steel, with the progress of science and technology, high-tech material titanium has been applied to the manufacture of watches.
2. Titanium As a Watch Material Has a Very Good Advantage:
①. Titanium watches are quite comfortable to wear since they are surprisingly light;
②. Titanium is hypoallergenic, it does not contain nickel and it is comfortable to wear even when the skin is sweating;
③. For titanium is harder than steel, titanium watches are more durable;
④. Corrosion-resistant properties make titanium particularly suitable for diving watches;
⑤. As a recyclable metal, titanium is also very environmentally friendly.
3. Can Titanium Alloy be Used As the Movement Material of Mechanical Watches?
Unfortunately, it can't. The main advantage of titanium alloy compared with steel is low density, strong corrosion resistance, but the absolute hardness and strength are not as good as steel, and the processability is very poor, not suitable for the internal parts of the watch, but the case still has its advantages, the problem is that it is low brightness, easy to scratch, to rely on coating (plating) layer to protect. Many small holes on the deck are very small, and irregular cutting requires higher tool requirements, if the splint strength is high, the processing difficulty is higher, coupled with the watch movement of the splint material hardness requirements are not high, at the same time anti-wear gem bearing to fix, of course, some small accessories have high strength material, but the small accessories are easy to be processed by the rules. So the splint material is more suitable with copper alloy. Although copper will rust and not wear-resistant, but it is cheap, easy to cut, can be solved by coating, lubricating oil, ruby bearings, steel parts and other components in a relatively " low-cost” way.
