A novel material for watch crystals and watch cases: Mg-spinel transparent ceramics

ended

Watch companies over the last century have continuously experimented with watch materials: from precious metals to simple plastics, watches can be made out of almost anything. Consumers’ expectation from a watch is now not only just for timekeeping but also for their craftsmanship, appeal and design. Therefore, a fresh scratch on an otherwise flawless crystal is a devastating sight for such a watch user. The feeling can be even worse on a brand-new watch, or one that just returned from servicing. The growing preferences of mid & high-range branded watches are therefore contributing significantly to the timepiece demand almost all around the world and Europe is still leading the market as the heart of the watch industry. Thus, vendors have to keep up with the trends by introducing innovative products/parts to satisfy the various needs of the customers. Watch crystals and watch cases are unquestionably important parts since they protect the sensitive working mechanism from the external effects. We are now proposing a novel yet promising approach so as to use transparent ceramics (TCs) as scratch resistant watch crystal and case. Our technology is unique in a way that this hi-tech TC material (Mg-spinel ) is applied to watch crystal & case market. Mag-Spin has built-in advantages over the transparent materials such as acrylic (plexiglass), mineral glass and sapphire used for watches. Mag-Spin is highly durable in extreme conditions and hardly possible to be scratched in everyday use. Our ability to introduce embedded design and colour and to customize the level of transparency also make it suitable material to be used in elegant and fashionable timepiece products. On top of it, unlike sapphire, Mag-Spin’s microstructure allows future improvements from the scientific & engineering perspectives; there is still plenty of space for much better performance. Our progressive material engineered, designed and built is currently at TRL6 stage.