Titanium in watches

Watches are a necessity in people's daily lives, and their cases and bracelets account for 95% of watch materials. Conventional watches are made of brass with a surface treatment such as Ni plating. The surface layer of these watches contains a large amount of nickel, which often produces a "nickel allergic reaction" when worn. Later, watches made of austenitic stainless steel appeared, but because austenitic stainless steel also contains elements such as nickel and chromium that can cause allergic reactions with human skin, scientists began to study the use of titanium, which has a good affinity for the human body, in the manufacture of watch cases, bracelets, straps, clasps, and buttons, and other parts of watches from the 1970s.
Titanium as a watch material began with high-grade waterproof, sports watches with timekeeping functions. The development of titanium watches in Japan began when two major manufacturers, Citizen and Seiko, simultaneously put high-grade titanium sports watches on the market. Subsequently, Nippon Watch Co. began developing all-titanium watches in 1972. In order to apply titanium to watches, in the course of nearly 30 years of research, researchers have solved seven major technical difficulties, including pressure molding technology, cutting processing technology, surface processing technology, wear-resistant treatment process, weldability, decorative properties and biological adaptability.

Therefore, modern titanium watches have the following characteristics: light weight, 60% of stainless steel; corrosion resistance to human sweat and seawater; the best specific strength among metal materials; surface hardness is 2 times of stainless steel; no general metal cold feeling when wearing; good affinity with skin, no allergic reaction; good decorative effect and so on.
At present, the production of watches made of titanium material using industrial pure titanium, Ti-6Al-4V and titanium alloy Ti-15333. the early 1990s, the first batch of full titanium watches into the market and the price is very high, and then due to the increase in production, process improvement, the watch shell can be taken from the melt casting, plate stamping molding and powder metallurgy method of manufacturing, the price is correspondingly reduced, full titanium watches have been to the high-grade watch to the public.
Many countries in the world attach great importance to the research and production of titanium watches; Japan's titanium watch research work won the 1994 Japan Titanium Association's Merit Award; Switzerland produces titanium space watches weighing only 50g; China's Northwest Nonferrous Metals Research Institute has also developed a "NIN" brand series of full titanium watches.
With the development of 3D printing technology, personalized and custom-printed titanium watches continue to appear. the Luminor 1950 case, made of titanium, is anti-sensitive and erosion-resistant, and its weight is 40% lighter than that of steel. To further reduce the weight of the watch, the interior of the case has been skeletonized using an innovative technique that creates highly complex geometries while preserving the case's outstanding water resistance (up to 10 bar, equivalent to a depth of approximately 100 meters) and its robustness against tensions and distortions. This technique, known as "direct metal laser sintering", involves the use of titanium powder to construct three-dimensional parts, layer by layer, using fiber-optic lasers, with each layer of material only 0.02 millimeters thick, which are fused together to form a solid piece of titanium. The finished product, which is not made using traditional techniques, is lighter in weight and has a flawless appearance.