Watch spread: titanium watches

TAKING FLIGHT

The Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon by Audemars Piguet makes a strong case for the use of titanium to house high-end features such as the tourbillon. Measuring 41mm, the titanium case is juxtaposed with a green dial decorated with the sunburst Evolutive Tapisserie engraving. Beating within is the self-winding Calibre 2950.

FACETS OF TIME

Bvlgari gives its 42mm Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Titanium a fresh look with a new black opaline dial and a black rubber strap. As we have come to expect from the Octo Finissimo models, the watch is ultra-sleek with a thickness of just 6.9mm, thanks to its ultra-thin, self-winding manufacture movement BVL 318, which incorporates a chronograph and a GMT function.

DEEP DIVE

There’s one interesting difference between the titanium case of Panerai’s Luminor Marina 44mm Guillaume Nery Edition and that of other watches. The former is 3D-printed via direct metal laser sintering. Other features that set this self-winding dive timepiece apart: the rubberised coating applied to its bezel; the crown and bridge lever; a gradated dial meant to evoke the effect of sunlight filtering through the depths of the seas; and a stunning 70-year warranty.

RACE TO THE TOP

Tag Heuer’s latest Aquaracer Professional 300 dive watches look more refined and dressier, thanks to such updates as a slimmer case, bezel and bracelet, shorter lugs and even more widely spaced horizontal lines on the dial. While most of the new models come in steel, this variant has a 43mm titanium case and is powered by the brand’s automatic Calibre 5.

NEW CLASSIC

First reissued in 2017 in steel and a black dial, the Longines Avigation BigEye is inspired by a chronograph with a 1930s design. This time, the 41mm gets even more of a modern touch with a titanium case, a gradated petrol blue dial and an automatic movement outfitted with a silicon hairspring that makes it more resistant to magnetic fields.

FLYING COLOURS

One of the most wearable of De Bethune’s offerings with its streamlined form, the DB27 Titan Hawk dial now comes in what seems to be horology’s most popular colour for 2021: green. Powered by the in-house automatic calibre AutoV2 and housed in a 43mm grade 5 titanium case, it features signature De Bethune codes such as the patented floating lugs and a crown at 12 o’clock.

HIGH ENERGY

When Zenith launched the Defy 21 Ultraviolet with vibrant purple movement bridges last year, the idea to use such a high-frequency colour was to highlight the speed of its 1/100 of a second El Primero 9004 chronograph movement. It continues the concept with the Defy 21 Ultrablue's bright blue movement bridges that contrast with its 44mm sandblasted titanium case.