To cap off the year, Corum this month has released two new additions to its Lab 01 collection, which was first unveiled as an experimental series in the brand?s eclectic lineup. The two new models upon first glance seem very similar to their two predecessors (covered here), but are now distinguished by their use of Damascus steel ? a material very uncommon in watchmaking.

Damascus steel, for those unfamiliar, is a wavy-patterned, high-carbon steel which is exceptionally popular today among knife and sword markers for its beauty, hardness, and resistance to shattering. The use of this material, which dates back to as early as the 4th century, hearkens to an overarching ethos that Corum is working to establish in the Lab 01 collection, i.e. creating ?a dialogue between the past and the future? by melding traditional and contemporary mechanical watchmaking and, in the case of these newest watches, marrying ancient and modern materials.
Like the previous Lab 01 models, the two new editions use a 39.89 x 55-mm tonneau-shaped case with rubber inserts on its side as well as an integrated rubber bracelet. The case, as mentioned, uses a blackened, DLC-treated Damascus steel, and features a crown at 6 o?clock made of the same material. The skeletonized grey dial of the watch is available with either blue or green accents, featuring applied Arabic numerals at each 15-minute mark, an off-center Corum logo, and rhodium-coated, baton-style hour and minute hands. Powering the watch, and...