The London Standard launches a new luxury Watch of the Week franchise with a special watches edition. It marks the publication's refreshed focus on all things horological, and will see news, the latest models and trends covered in a new weekly section. Every Thursday, one watch will be photographed in-house and spotlighted from a coterie of favourite watchmakers — led by Cartier's Ballon Bleu de Cartier in the November 7 issue, through Rolex , Tiffany , Swatch, Boss and so on.
As for today? We are lucky enough to have a postcard from the Swiss town of Boncourt, where expert Shane C Kurup has travelled to report from the frontlines of ceramic watchmaking; the hottest and most robust material for timepieces right now. It is where Rado, a Swiss watchmaker who has been keeping tabs on the hours since 1917, has its cutting-edge ceramic production facility, Comadur SA. Technical ceramic was first used by Rado for its Integral model in 1986 and has since become a brand signature.
It is not, Kurup explains, the standard china you’ll find on your dining table. High-tech ceramic, as Rado calls it, is made from zirconium oxide — a metal powder also used to make dental implants — and forms a material that is tough, non-porous, non-corrosive and ultra-scratch-resistant. In fact, it ranks so highly on the Vickers hardness scale, only diamond can scuff it.
It’s an advantage for anyone frustrated with the nicks and scrapes gathered by their softer gold or steel watch. Anyone who wa.
