Material gains: what’s the deal with steel and what type is the best for watchmaking?
Whether it’s a bespoke luxury piece, a tough tool watch or even a daily diver, stainless steel is still watchmaking’s primary material of choice. Yet while 316L grade steel is increasingly used by a number of brands, there are, in fact, better, smoother and harder alternatives for watchmaking. Is there such a thing a precious steel? Well, in German, the name for stainless steel is “edelstahl”, effectively a portmanteau of “edel” which means “noble” and “stahl” which means “steel”, suggesting that some people certainly recognise the benefits of the hard-wearing material. But which is the best form of steel to use for making watches? Let the metallurgy commence! 316L This is your normal grade stainless-steel that’s used by everyone from $300 microbrands to top Swiss manufacturers. In short, it’s become the industry standard and an alloy widely used in the food and medical industries. If there is one brand that can unlock the full magic of 316L without having to resort to alchemy, it is Grand Seiko. The brand’s mastery of the Zaratsu technique uses a machine to achieve a uniform polish that is mind-bogglingly smooth, no matter how many watches we see with a GS logo at 12.…
The post Material gains: what’s the deal with steel and what type is the best for watchmaking? appeared first on Time and Tide Watches.
Sometimes you get a horological itch that you just have to scratch. My latest is focused on the verdant charm of a green Rolex. But I’ll need one of Luke’s “The Enabler” excuses first. I’m currently running all manner of different scenarios through my mind, a veritable roulette wheel of justifications, trying to find the right one to make this purchase remotely acceptable to my better half. Please help with suggestions! But that’s just stage one, the second challenge is actually tracking one down … I’ve had a good look in the drawer marked “green” at Bob’s Watches, and lo and behold if I didn’t find the “Hulk”. I do love green, and while seriously practising my strategy to make this a late Christmas present for myself, there are plenty of good reasons to have a closer look at this bright 116610V 40mm Submariner. While I have nothing but respect for the all black iconic Submariner and its monochromatic tool sensibilities, I am a sucker for apple green, and this would easily be my jade-coloured drug of choice. This year, with the advent of the revised but still classic Sub, the green-dialled Hulk disappeared, with a new more reserved green…
When you’re a 25-year-old footballer earning upwards of £100,000 a week, a standard luxury watch can feel a little pedestrian. As Esquire UK’s Finlay Renwick writes in this illuminating story into the lifestyles of football’s elite: “For the best and boldest in Europe, your run of the mill Big Bang, Nautilus or Submariner just won’t cut the Colman’s. They’re after something a little more unique.” The man they go to in such circumstances is Matthew J. Jones, the man behind MJJ Exclusive. As the CEO and creative director, the 30-something’s day-job involves kitting out playboys, Saudi royals and footballers with watches and jewellery custom-made to their personal specifications. Suffice to say, this isn’t an area where the “less is more” mentality tends to hold sway as this gold, diamond and sapphire Rolex Datejust made for Liverpool midfielder Naby Keïta suggests. “I’d say 95 per cent of our business is to order,” Jones tells Esquire. “A player will come to us and we can create pretty much anything they desire. We’re actually working on a world first at the moment, a watch that is made completely out of sapphires.” Jones’ client list includes some of the best players on the…