Titanium has become a popular material for watch cases due to its unique properties. It was first introduced by Citizen in the 1970s, a pioneering move that opened the door for its use in both luxury and entry-level watches. Since then, many watchmakers have adopted titanium as an alternative to traditional materials like stainless steel.
One of titanium's key advantages is its excellent
strength-to-weight ratio. It’s about 45% lighter than steel while being just as
strong, making it comfortable to wear for extended periods. Titanium is also
highly resistant to corrosion, which is particularly beneficial for those who
wear their watches in harsh environments, such as saltwater or humid
conditions.
In terms of hardness, titanium is generally softer than stainless steel,
which makes it more prone to scratching. However, newer technologies like
surface-hardening treatments have addressed this issue by making titanium
surfaces much more durable.
From a manufacturing standpoint, titanium presents unique challenges
compared to steel. While it has a lower surface hardness, meaning it can
scratch more easily than steel, titanium is actually tougher in terms of
resistance to bending and deformation. This toughness makes it more difficult
to machine, cut, or mold into shape. Its lower malleability means that
specialized tools and techniques are required to work with it, especially when
forming intricate designs or achieving precise finishes.
Polishing titanium is also more complex, as the material’s natural
dullness doesn’t easily achieve the same level of shine as steel. However, the
unique matte or brushed finish that titanium often has is part of its appeal,
giving watches a modern, understated look.
Despite the challenges in manufacturing, the combination of lightweight
comfort, durability, and a sleek aesthetic makes titanium a popular choice in
watchmaking. Following in Citizen's footsteps, the major Japanese watch brands
adopted titanium for their cases, Seiko and Orient included. Let’s explore some
notable examples of Orient watches that feature titanium cases.
The earliest Orient to use titanium as the base material for its case
and bracelet was the first generation M-Force,
the EX00 model introduced in 1997. That was already a very special design, and
producing it in unpolished, grey, almost gunmetal-looking titanium must have
added much to its uniqueness.
From that point on, titanium models would continue to pop up among
Orient's releases, albeit in a fairly random manner and not in prevailing in
any long-going lineage. For example, there was the occasional titanium M-Force,
despite most M-Force models getting steel cases.
These included the relatively well-known titanium beast, reference
WV0011DV (or WV0021DV with the yellow minute track), introduced in 2013. But
there was also the much less known, almost mysterious M-Force ref. CFD04001/2 –
one of those releases that made me think that some Orients actually got their
"M-Force" badge by mistake…
Some other sports models besides the M-Force also received their
titanium cases. For instance, there was a whole range of titanium watches that
emerged in the late 1990s (and featured a very distinct "nineties"
look). And later came the Orient "Slide-rule" design – a pretty nice
model actually.
Of course, it wasn't just M-Force, or sports models in general. Orient
did introduce a number of dressy titanium models too.
Take a look at these two watches, for instance. I'm not sure of their price point at the time of production — probably a step or two above the entry-level models, with a textured dial and sapphire glass. It is odd, though, that a titanium watch was offered on a leather strap — I might be wrong, but every
other titanium Orient I came across had a metal bracelet.
Titanium usage on Orient Stars was (and still is) rare, possibly as
achieving the high-end sub-brand's shiny finish is harder with this metal. But
there are exceptions.
The first exception was the 2015 Orient Star Titanium, which was
presented in 5 versions - ref. WZ0011AF
(with a grey dial), WZ0021AF (blue), WZ0031AF (white), WZ0041AF (special
edition of white dial and gold markers), and WZ0051AF (black dial).
It is interesting to note that this titanium model got a movement unique
to it—caliber F6N42. This movement is similar to F6N43 (which is used in the current Outdoor and Basic Date models) but has only 40 hours of power reserve instead
of 50 in the newer movement.
We'll conclude this review with the 1964
diver, the latest Orient watch to get a titanium case. Notably, it's also
the only Orient model that has ever been offered in both steel and titanium,
for the consumer to choose.
This allows us to compare the weights of both versions easily: according to the manufacturer, the steel model weighs 175g, while the titanium watch only weighs 113g. And here's a simple math question for you: How much does the part of the watch that doesn't change (movement, sapphire, etc.) weigh?
The
pictures of the EX00 M-Force that appear in this post are copyright of the blog.
Other pictures that appear in this post were taken from old Orient catalogs and
sale ads.
