How a Third-Place Metal Became First Class
Jul 2, 2019, 06:00am
https://www.forbes.com/sites/msolom...or-panerai-iwc-zenith-montblanc/#4ae0b00255a8
https://www.mrporter.com/journal/ab...enters-its-bronze-age/3929?setupsession=false
Something strange is afoot in the Jura Mountains. Bronze is sweeping the workshops of Switzerland’s finest watchmakers, the rugged copper-and-tin alloy replacing stainless steel as the horologist's metal of choice.
http://horology.world/archive/articles/hot-metal-christopher-ward-bronze-collection-loupe-r11/
November 8, 2018
These days watchmaking – like much of the wider culture – seems obsessed with the authentic, the analogue and the ruggedly individual, and over the last half-decade, in particular, this has manifested itself in two new ways. One is the fresh enthusiasm for retro, vintage-style design, and the other is the seemingly unstoppable march of bronze.
When we launched our frst bronze cased watch last year, it was a version of our best-selling C60 Trident,” says CW co-founder Mike France. “And though we hoped and believed it would do quite well, it was really something of an interesting experiment. We were totally unprepared, certainly, for just how quickly it took off. And if bronze was hot back then, it’s become even hotter since. The use of bronze for watch cases is a trend that shows no signs of stopping any time soon – or even of slowing down.” Bronze is, of course, an alloy of copper and tin – usually around 12% tin, occasionally with small amounts of other metals (from aluminium to zinc, nickel to manganese) mixed in. It was frst created six or seven thousand years ago, gave its name to The Bronze Age in the Near East (and, later, Europe) in the three millennia before Christ, and has been used for statues and weapons, mirrors and coins, music instruments and ship fttings. Until very recently, though, it was never used for watches.
Part of the reason, of course, is to do with its intrinsic qualities. It’s a little more brittle than stainless steel, and a little heavier, but the main difference is that it rapidly takes on a vintage-like matte patina on exposure to moisture (not necessarily buckets of water, but just the stuff it absorbs from the atmosphere and your skin). This protects it from corroding beautifully – hence its use on ship propellors and the like – but gives each example a unique, ever-changing mottled appearance over time. This was a look that held little appeal to many in the past, but seems thrillingly personal, old-school and honest now.
So what is the future for bronze watches? Interest is still on the up, it seems, and part of the appeal is that this metal looks so different to anything else, and yet – unlike gold or platinum, or even something like ceramic – doesn’t cost too much more than regular stainless steel. Plus, of course, it suits today’s authentic vibe brilliantly. “We’re always interested in new case materials,” says Mike, “but not since titanium has anything seemed to work this well for watches. In fact, I think bronze has an even wider appeal.”
It must have some sort of downside, though, surely…? “Only that it seems to suit the more rugged, outdoorsy watches best. That’s why it works so well on Tridents, and why we haven’t yet attempted a bronze dress watch. For one thing, it would risk making your white dress shirt cuffs go green.” A minor issue, then, and easily fixed by a wardrobe of dark-coloured shirts. And anyway, small idiosyncrasies are all part of the appeal of bronze. These are not watches designed to be all things to all men – far from it – but instead to have a striking, unusual, inherently casual and highly personal allure. A bronze Trident – whatever the model – is a Trident that’s unique to you.
Source: Loupe Magazine - Issue 11 - Winter 2018