Time in the Clear: 7 Watches with Sapphire Cases
Sapphire crystals are a common element in luxury watches, but entire cases made of sapphire have been and remain a rarity in the watch world due to the extreme difficulty in making them (and thus, not coincidentally, their prohibitively expensive price tags). However, recent years have seen several brands join the sapphire-case party, each in their own distinctive fashion. Here are six that have their made debuts in recent years.
1. Bell & Ross BR-X1 Tourbillon Sapphire
Bell & Ross BR-X1 Tourbillon Sapphire
The Bell & Ross BR-X1 Chronograph Tourbillon Sapphire boasts a skeletonized movement equipped with both a flying tourbillon and a monopusher chronograph. Its transparent case measures 45 mm in diameter and is cut from six blocks of sapphire, one each for the case middle, back, bezel, crystal, and bumpers. Sapphire is the second-hardest material on Earth ? only diamond is harder ? and almost entirely scratch-proof, and the process by which it is made into a finished watch case is extraordinarily difficult, involving many hours of machining and polishing. Elements of the manually winding movement that are visible through the open dial include the column wheel, which drives the chronograph, at 12 o?clock; a hand-type power reserve indicator at 9 o?clock; the monopusher rocker that controls the chronograph’s start, stop, and reset functions; and the large flying tourbillon cage, enhanced by Bell & Ross?s ampersand logoform, which occupies the spot at 6...
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