The second of three parts on our watchmaking special about composites. In Part 1, watch editor Ashok explained what composites were and how they are used in watchmaking. Part 2 covers the history of composites throughout human civilization, while Part 3 will cover contemporary composites and engineering feats.
More Than The Sum of Their Parts
Composite materials have been around for as long as human civilization has existed. Although you might not realize it, your carbon-based watch is the result of ancient engineering that originated in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and possibly all cultures which combined cut straw with mud for bricks. Our ancestors knew that combining two materials and heating them up to a certain temperature would make them stronger and more durable. The same composite mud-straw bricks continue to be used in places where mud is still used. It is likely that this was contemporaneous to the development of pottery, and probably a result from practical experiments using clay. Archaeological evidence indicates that people tried pure mud bricks but they probably showed their inferiority.
Concrete is probably the best example of composites used in ancient construction, at the least from our perspective. Concrete was not a new material to the Romans, but they did have a lot of success. The Romans’ recipe for concrete is regarded as having the same properties today. This extends to the use of the material to build jetties and other partially submerged structures — the Romans were the first to use a type of concrete (opus caementiciumWe are accustomed to the fact that underwater cameras can be used, but we don’t think twice about it anymore. We still have some of the ruins, and structures like Rome’s Pantheon are public buildings that also serve as major tourist attractions. Concrete is a good example of composite materials that can be found in nature. Barnacles secrete organic concrete in order to attach themselves to substrates.
Over time, composites made by humans have proven to be useful in a wide range of applications. Take the composite bow used by the Mongol mounted archer, which was instrumental in creating the largest empire on earth. The bows were made of layers of wood, horns, silk, pine, resin, and sinew. Composite bows were stronger and more efficient than the wooden bows of old. Intriguingly, this is probably the first time the word composite actually appears in descriptions of man-made things — concrete, for example, was not called a composite.
Mythology & Reality
On the subject of layers of material, we cannot ignore our favourite example — Homer’s description of Achilles’ shield from The Iliad. This was the flawed warrior’s second shield, with the first having fallen into the hands of the Trojan Hector. It is described very well, both in terms of its creation and its use in combat (against Hector). Of course, Homer is no historian and Achilles’ shield was made by the Greek god Hephaestus, so this is mythology rather than science. However, Homer did not describe magical new materials (as Tolkien did with mithril) but actually layers of metal – external ones in hardened bronze, intermediate ones in tin and a central layer of gold. Homer notes, however, that the spear tips which penetrated the outer layers got stuck in the gold layer.
Homer’s stories are often regarded as a source of historical information. However, he had a good understanding of the construction process for real shields or aspis, as they were also called. Aspis are usually made of wood with a layer of bronze on the outside and leather on the inside. Aspis with layers of metal have been mentioned, but none has survived. The surviving art depicting them, as well as the descriptions of various writers have helped us to understand their properties. Some shield-like items from antiquity show that ancient humans were able to create composites. However, there are many debates on this subject.
The 19th century saw the beginning of the industrial and scientific revolutions. As a result, composite materials began to be better understood. Polymer resins were developed to act as glues to hold materials together. These resins are still used today in quartz countertops. Scientists also discovered a way to produce synthetic sapphire using the Verneuil Process, which is still used today. In 1883, French chemist Auguste Verneuil developed this technique and the watch industry was very interested. It was because they finally had an alternate to the natural diamonds that were used in their mechanical movement bearings to reduce the friction. The friction has been a problem in watchmaking for a very long time. Movement jewels are the only solution that watchmakers have found to reduce it.
Let there be Light
Carbon fibre’s story began in the late 19th century. However, it was in an unexpected way. In 1860, the inventor and physicist Joseph Swan developed carbon fibres to be used as filaments in bulbs. Thomas Edison also pioneered the use of carbon fibres, but neither thought it had other uses. The excitement around composite materials during the 20th century was palpable. However, it was perhaps a smaller scale than that of plastics. Carbon composites have never been as cheap as plastic or the synthetic resins, which are an important part of the story. There were, however, some parallels.
Leo Hendrick Baekeland introduced composite materials to the world in the early 1900s when he invented Bakelite in 1907. It is indeed the same brittle resin that gained some fame on the Rolex GMT-Master bezel in the second part of the 20th century. The material was more brittle back in 1907. Baekeland combined the synthetic resin with cellulose to strengthen and soften it. The development of better and more advanced resins continued, with DuPont and American Cyanamid producing polyester resin in 1930s.
Around the same time, Owens-Illinois Glass Company created what is now known as fiberglass. It’s probably the most popular composite material used today, aside from cement and concrete. This initial development saw the glass drawn into thin fibres or strands, and then woven together into something similar to a textile. These fibres of glass were then combined with the newer synthetic resins to create composites that were lightweight and strong. The first fiberglass applications were in boating during the 1940s. Its cost-effectiveness and utility led to its widespread use. This cost-effectiveness also limited its use in watchmaking. However, we know that Tissot used it first for the Sideral.
Exotic Matter
Brands that are passionate about material innovation won’t stop with just one type. Some brands have bronze editions that are purely for aesthetic reasons while others offer titanium versions with a practical rationale. For a select group of highly distinctive watchmakers, it’s just the start. Roger Dubuis, Richard Mille and other watchmakers want to create watches that are designed for extreme environments such as outer space or racetracks. Gregory Bruttin, Product Strategy Director of Roger Dubuis confessed to us that he is inspired by new technologies from outside traditional watchmaking; if you look at the brand’s watches, this is hardly newsworthy.
Roger Dubuis, and their Excalibur Twofold, are part of this exclusive segment. We initially pursued the Roger Dubuis manufacture to find out if the ultra-white Twofold — it reminds us of bone china or perhaps Meissen china — was some type of advanced ceramic. The Twofold turned out to actually be a composite. The case, crown and bezel are crafted in Mineral Composite Fiber (MCF), a term new to us; nevertheless, the word “composite” drew our attention. Though perceptions may differ, the facts do not. The manufacture informed us that this material is made up of 99.95% silica. This is a completely new material in watchmaking, and it was the first time in its history. Its world premiere in 2020 confirmed our suspicions. The answer to the question of the art aspect can be found by looking at the movement and parts in the dark. Even the strap glows. This was the first time – to our knowledge – where strap, dial elements (some of which are also in MCF) and movement all glow in the dark.
We have already seen that Panerai is also experimenting with new materials. Think about the Luminor Marina Fibratech models (PAM1663) and Luminor Marina DMLS models (PAM1662) as well as the Luminor Marina Fibratech model (PAM1119). We also want to try out a few other BMG (bulk metal glass) watches.
The watch that we’re looking at is the PAM1119. It has a case made of a brand-new material that mixes basalt with minerals. These minerals are woven into fibres that are then layered and combined using heat and pressure. The case is constructed in layers just like Carbotech; the description is identical, but here, we have basalt, other minerals, and not just carbon.
Bound for Space
Carbon fibre was patented in 1961. Composite materials have made their mark in the aviation, automobile and construction industries. There are no records that confirm the exact date of the introduction of the first carbon fiber watch case, but it is likely to have been in the 1990s. Audemars-Piguet was the pioneer. As far as forged carbon is concerned — also a composite — it is certain that Audemars Piguet did it first in 2007 with the Royal Oak Offshore Alinghi Team watch. In the 1970s the automotive industry (excluding cement and concrete) was the largest user of composite materials. This is still the case today. Comparatively, composite materials in watchmaking have not been as successful.
In the 2010s, 3D printing brought manufacturing to homes and small business. Users could create any object they wanted with a CAD software. Composites companies have jumped into the 3D printing field, creating items that are reinforced with fibres. In 3D printing, plastics are reinforced with discontinuous strands made of carbon fiber or fiberglass. This is true for all market sectors, such as automotive, aerospace and tooling. These reinforcements provide the strength of composites in less time with less material. They can be designed, prototyped and manufactured from a single computer. In 2014, MarkForged announced the world’s first carbon fibre 3D printer.
Above is a shortened version of composite material’s history in the world. It is worth an article to look at the rapid development of carbon composites. SpaceX built its massive fuel tank, for the proposed Mars mission, entirely using 3D printed carbon fibre. SpaceX tested this 14 metre high and 12 metre long tank in 2016 to much acclaim, but has since shown that its carbon composite tanks have ongoing problems. It is not meant to be a criticism of the company or technology, but to show that carbon composite structures have a very limited range of applications. Head over to Part 3 for the full story.
This article appeared first in World of Watches Issue #69.
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