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Watch Trend Report 2022: The best titanium watches
As a tough yet lightweight material, it's no wonder that horological heavyweights live in titanium.
By Lynette Koh /
This is the second instalment of a five-part Watch Trend Report 2022 series on the top trends in horological releases so far this year.
In recent years, soaring prices for stainless steel timepieces has seen some of them selling on the secondary market for more than those in precious metals. Now, we are seeing the rise of another utilitarian metal: titanium. Lightweight, corrosion-resistant and tough, titanium has become the latest case material of choice in high-end watchmaking. Here are some of our recent favourites.
Vacheron Constantin makes a strong argument for titanium as a case material of choice in high horology with its Overseas Tourbillon Skeleton. It is the brand’s first watch to be made entirely from titanium — including the 42.5mm case, integrated bracelet, crown and bezel. It uses Grade 5 titanium, which is alloyed with aluminium and vanadium to make it stronger.
Related: Vacheron Constantin’s Traditionnelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar can run for 65 days on a single wind
Since 2017, Hublot’s partnership with French artist Richard Orlinski has given rise to several successful timepieces distinguished by their highly dimensional and angular forms. This year, instead of the rubber straps the Orlinski watches usually come with, Hublot has crafted a bracelet in polished titanium to match the 40mm case of the Classic Fusion Orlinski Bracelet. Mixing chamfered facets with a mirror- polished finish, the striking bracelet has 83 components.
Strong, light, and characterised by a dark, matte finish when sandblasted, titanium is synonymous with Bvlgari's ultra-thin Octo Finissimo models, and gives them a industrial-futuristic look. It is also the case material of Bvlgari’s technical blockbuster, the Octo Finissimo Ultra — a 1.8mm-thick timepiece that was the world’s thinnest mechanical watch when it was unveiled in March. Until, that is, it was dethroned last month by Richard Mille’s 1.75mm-thick RM UP-01, also cased in titanium.
Related: How Bvlgari made the world’s thinnest mechanical watch
One of our favourite recent entrants on the luxury sports watch scene, the Hermès H08 was offered in cases made of titanium or a graphene composite when it was launched last April. This year, the French luxury house follows up with a self-winding timepiece in a 39mm dark blue, PVD-treated titanium case with a sunburst satin-brushed black ceramic bezel.
In 2019, A. Lange & Sohne released its first sport-elegant model, the Odysseus, in steel with a matching bracelet. The brand is known for working almost exclusively with precious metals, so this came as a surprise. A few months later, it unveiled a white-gold version of the model, paired with a rubber strap. This year, it surprises onlookers again with a titanium version of the Odysseus. The brand’s first titanium watch, it comes with a titanium bracelet and an “ice blue” dial.
Related: A. Lange & Sohne’s latest Lumen model is fully usable in the dark