The word ‘sapphire’ reminds most people images of beautiful gem stones in different colors particularly blue of sea and sky. However, when it is taken into consideration in terms of watchmaking, the sapphire without any impurity should be considered. Due its characteristic features, sapphires can make a wonderful optical window material since it is transparent throughout the entire visible range.
French chemist Auguste Verneuil can be accepted as the inventor of sapphire crystals. Verneuil was able to produce sapphire-like material which is identical to the natural gemstone. Sapphire crystal has an incredible melting temperature at 2040 degrees, and it is pretty resistant to scratching. Thus, sapphire started to be used in watchmaking.
“Change is the only constant” says Greek philosopher Heraclitus. This very old saying is definitely true for watchmaking as well. One distinguishing fact of watchmaking is that there is always zest for more. Watch brands always have to attract the potential buyers with new inventions and developments. Yet one another way to achieve this is through the surprise element. People are highly influenced by surprises.
One such surprise came from Vincent Calabrese who designed The Corum Bridge 1980.
Calabrese designed the case of the watch with sapphire which allows the beauty of the mechanism to be seen. Studies on watch movements have more than 200 years of history but showing the mechanism through the sapphire case was actually a breakthrough. The brand continued productions in other models as well.
Richard Mille produced its first watch in 2001: RM 001. 12 years after this timepiece, the brand introduced RM 56. This was the first sapphire case manufactured by Richard Mille. Then, the brand introduced Sapphire Crystal Tourbillon in 2013. That was another breakthrough for the brand since they started to build bridges and baseplate as well to display the high-end movements.
Later on, the brand also released RM 56-02. There are two revolutionary innovations for RM 56-02: use of sapphire to to create transparent components and the system that suspends the movement in the sapphire case. Using sapphire components for the movement opened a new path to building movements.
Richard Mille introduced other sapphire case models. However, one of the most distinguished ones among them is RM 56 Blue Sapphire Tourbillon. We saw it on Jay-Z’s wrist in 2019 and that time it was around $2,5m. The beauty of blue sapphire is just amazing.
Jacob and Co. which has very stylistically designed watches is into shaping sapphire cases for its unique design. The brand introduced Astronomia with full sapphire case. This model rapidly became one of the signature models of the brand. Since then, the brand has produced different versions of Astronomia.
One year after Jacob & Co and three years after RM, Hublot also joined the sapphire adventure. The brand can be accepted among the contributors to sapphire cases to be more widespread. In order to create a unique line, Hublot ventured into what seemed to impossible and decided to use Unico Sapphire for its sapphire cases. Unico Sapphire was cut from sapphire without taking anything away from sapphire’s uniqueness and rareness.
After months of hard work, the first sapphire case was used on the Hublot MP05 Laferrari Sapphire introduced in 2016. Inspired by the engine of Ferrari, it is very pleasant to see the movement of Hublot through sapphire.
Hublot’s CEO, Ricardo Guadalupe made a statement at Basel Fair in 2016 saying that that the rationale for using the material was to show off its in-house calibres – and that would also determine the choice of models that would be given sapphire cases. Determined to develop their sapphire cases, Hublot has released more than 10 other sapphire case models.
Bell & Ross, famous for its iconic watch designs, introduced BR-X1 Chronograph Tourbillon Sapphire. This 45mm sapphire case was cut from six blocks of sapphire to make middle case, backcase, bezel, crystal, and bumpers. The timepiece comes with a strap made of translucent rubber and metallic kevlar.
Girard-Perregaux is one of the oldest fine watchmaking manufactures still in operation in Switzerland today. Besides its contributions to watchmaking, Girard-Perregaux has given rise to genuine innovations from the three Bridges of Constant Girard-Perregaux, to the iconic Constant Escapement L.M. The brand also joined the sapphire case fashion and produced unique timepieces. The first sapphire case produced by the brand is the Quasar model. The intricate inner structure of the new Neo-Tourbillon with three bridges movement are fully visible through a case entirely made of sapphire crystal.
Girard-Perregaux also introduced Laureato Absolute Light in 2019. Limited to 88 pieces, this specific model successfully combines sapphire and titanium in its design. The octogonal bezel structure leave a neat effect on the viewer.
Finally, MB & F, founded by Maximilian Büsser in 2005, is in his own words a rebellion to the corporate watchmaking. MB&F is an artistic concept laboratory based around a simple idea: to assemble collectives of independent watchmaking professionals to develop radical watches – Horological or Legacy Machines. The brand has literally changed aspects of sapphire case concept.
One of the first timepieces of the brand for sapphire concept is Horological Machine No.2. The model is distinguished with its rectangular shape, flying buttresses, dual portholes and modular construction.
Since then, the brand has released various sapphire case watches. The latest model named Horological Machine No.9 was released a few days ago. Inspired by the dynamic profiles of automotive and aviation mid-century design, HM9 Flow treads the path opened by the HM4 Thunderbolt and HM6 Space Pirate, with a geometrically complex combination of sapphire crystal, titanium and gold case elements.
This is the sapphire adventure of the watchmaking, and as it seems we will most likely to see new sapphire case watches. There is no definite answer to this question in the Horology World: What is next?
