Titanium in watches

Watches are necessary for people's daily life, and the amount of material used in the case and bracelet watches accounts for 95%. The traditional watch material is brass, nickel-plated surface, etc. The watch surface contains a large amount of nickel. The surface layer of the watch contains a large amount of nickel, and "nickel allergy" occurs when it is worn frequently. Subsequently appeared austenitic stainless steel production of watches, but also because the austenitic stainless steel contains an allergic reaction to the human skin elements of nickel and chromium, therefore, from the 1970s, scientists began to study the use of the human body's affinity for the manufacture of good titanium cases, bracelets, watches. Components such as straps, clasps, and ti.

Titanium as a watch material is derived from high-grade waterproof, sports watches with timekeeping functions. Titanium watches in Japan were developed as high-grade titanium sports watches by two major manufacturers, CITIZEN and Seiko, at the same time. Subsequently, Japanese watch companies began developing all-titanium watches in 1972. In order to apply titanium metal to watches, nearly 30 years of research have been conducted, and researchers have solved seven major technical difficulties, including pressure molding technology, machining technology, surface processing technology, welding processing technology, wear resistance, decorative properties, and biocompatibility.

As a result, modern titanium watches have the following characteristics: light, 60% of stainless steel; resistant to human sweat and seawater corrosion; best strength among metal materials; surface hardness is 2 times of stainless steel; no metallic cold feeling when wearing; good affinity with skin, no allergic reaction; good decoration effect.

At present, the production of titanium watches using industrial pure titanium, Ti-6Al-4V and titanium alloy Ti-15333. the early 1990s, high titanium watches first entered the market and price reduction, followed by an increase in production, process improvement, the case can be used in investment casting, sheet metal molding and powder metallurgy methods of manufacturing, the price is reduced, the titanium watch has to be a high-end watch in order to be popular.

Many countries around the world attach great importance to the research and production of titanium watches; Japanese titanium watch research work won the Japanese Titanium Association Award 1994 annual titanium space production award; Swiss watch weighs only 50 grams; China's Northwest Nonferrous Metals Research Institute has also developed a "titanium watch NIN" brand series.

With the development of 3D printing technology, personalized custom-printed titanium watches continue to appear. the Luminor 1950 case, made of titanium, is resistant to sensitivity and erosion, and its weight is 40% lighter than that of steel. To further reduce the watch's weight, the interior of the case has been skeletonized with technological innovations and extremely complex geometrical shapes, while retaining its exceptional water resistance (up to 10 bar, equivalent to a depth of approximately 100 meters) and tensile and torsional strength. This technique, known as "direct metal laser sintering", uses a fiber-optic laser to create a three-dimensional component made of layers of titanium powder, each just 0.02 mm thick, fused to solid titanium. Lighter weight and a uniform, flawless appearance using traditional processes.