The thin bits in the bracelet might be worn out, and yes, the case might have been scratched and dented badly, but the material still held up. Just look at a hard-worn 70-year-old watch. Stainless steel, however, is tough enough. The titanium Tudor Pelagos - Image: Xupes If you care only about the longevity of your watch and not its aesthetics, titanium is the better option. So while titanium watches tend to look like scratch magnets, the material is actually wearing out significantly less than 316L. It is actually a layer of oxidation on the surface that is very easily scratched. But hold on, wasn’t titanium known for its easy scratchability? Well, yes and no. Grade 5 titanium, by contrast, has a hardness of 396 Vickers, making it 1.76 times harder than 316L steel. Diamond is one the hardest materials in the world and measures a 10 on the Mohs scale, equivalent to 10,000 Vickers. To put this into perspective, 316L has a hardness of around 225 Vickers. This means it will gather scratches and dings when worn in the shape of a watch, even under careful use.
It is, however, a relatively soft material. Other benefits of the material are its nonmagnetic and ductile properties. This alloy is exceptionally resistant to corrosion due to a higher amount of molybdenum than other alloys. Most watches are made of stainless steel, particularly 316L stainless steel. From watch manufacturers’ point of view, though, it is product failure, so they are on a quest to end aging - the quest for the fountain of eternal youth. Some of us pay significant premiums to get it. Some of us like some of this wear and tear. There is, of course, the mechanical side of it too, which I will not go into here. And I am only limiting myself to aesthetics for this article. Most will come out discolored, scratched, and dented. We are a demanding bunch, wouldn’t you agree? Even under considerate, careful use, a wristwatch takes massive abuse over the decades. It will get banged into stuff, dragged over table tops of all sorts, and go through temperature changes, vibrations, magnetism, water, steam, dirt… And what do we expect to come out at the other end? A functioning product that still looks great. That product will endure a degree of torture that will keep even the best product designer awake at night.
Are we done with aging? Strap a product to your wrist, and go about your daily business for 30 or 40 years.
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