Fratello Talks: Watch Case Materials

Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Fratello Talks. I'm your host Nacho and today I'm joined by RJ and Lex. And we are going to be talking about different materials used in watches, primarily in cases I guess. But yeah, before we get into it, let's do a little bit of rest check. Lex, what is on your wrist today? A new Amiga in black ceramic. A dark side of the moon. This is the hand-wound model with a very prominent... chronograph uh hand uh second hand in red yes

It has a shorter lug-to-lug length, right? It's still quite a substantial case, but they shortened... the lungs yeah the lux to luck is almost similar to the moon watch yeah um so it wears quite comfortable i would say but the diameter is still 44.25 but it uh i think it wears very well and i think the case shape especially the

The hand wound is really nice. Slimmer than a moon watch. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. There you go. Very nice. And RJ, what about you? What is on your wrist? Well, I'm double wristing today. Yes. Yes, you are. For this podcast. So on the left. i am wearing the new dark side of the moon uh the classic version so the version based on the one they introduced in 2013 but now with a step dial

And with the new movement that is Master Chronomie certified. So it's not a new movement. It's the caliber 9900, which was already there, but not on this watch. On the right hand, I'm wearing something in tri-metal because that's what the... topic is about for this podcast. I thought it would be nice to wear something with three different materials. So it's titanium, tantalum and rose gold. Very nice. You definitely don't see this every day.

Not three metals or this watch specifically. It was introduced in 94, so one year after the introduction of the 300M. It looks like 94. Did you say what it is? No, I didn't. But it's for the listeners and not viewers. It's a Seamaster 300. 22960.80, I think. Top of my head. Could be. Not sure, but I think it is. So it's the 300M chronograph from 94.

that was a bit of the i think the flagship of of this model at in that day because it has three different materials and i think this was the one they used for a test dove into the Geneva Lake oh and the diver had this watch on his wrist I think there's a image of that which perhaps we can pull up in this podcast as well for the video but

yeah it's quite a heavy watch because it's titanium but due to the tantalum and perhaps the extremely heavy and the gold pieces of gold it's uh it becomes more heavy has the blue dial tritium uh our markers and so on yeah it's a cool watch i think i bought it very 1994. it's very 1994. yeah yeah it was an expensive watch back in the day yeah yeah But not anymore. Yeah, these days those can be had for a decent price, right? I think I...

I bought it seven, eight years ago, and I think it was three, three and a half K, something like that. So perhaps a bit more expensive now, but yes, fun watch. It has a movement inside. But yeah, it's a cool piece. Yeah, very nice. Very nice. And you? Yeah, speaking of materials, I've gone with titanium. So this is my Breitling Aerospace, reference F65362 from the early 2000s. And yeah, this used to be...

Two-tone, as we've told the story. I've told the story many, many times already, but it used to be two-tone and it's now, well, still kind of two-tone, but the Ryder tabs are one-tone. I don't know if they're steel or titanium, but yeah. Speaking of materials, I went with titanium because it's one that I particularly enjoy. And it's on the full, very scratched up titanium bracelet. But I think that that's how this watch should look. It should look a little bit beaten up.

That the bracelet on the titanium and perhaps also on gold. I don't know if he made a steel one. Laurent Ferrier. The sport watch. Oh, the sport auto. So similar, right? Yeah, true. The way that the bricks are shaped, the proportions a little bit, the smooth sort of chamfered edges. Yeah, I agree. It always reminds me of this one. Yeah, exactly. Maybe they fit.

You can interchange. He just bought some old stock. Well, I'm not sure. Maybe. He can keep his secrets. But yeah, let's talk about materials. So we've mentioned quite a few already, but what do you guys think? think is when you're shopping for a watch is the material something that that really matters to you or is that something super important yeah super important i agree okay yeah i agree yeah but

There are some materials that I immediately shy away from when I see a Damascus steel, for instance. You don't like it? Okay. Now that is one of the materials I really have a problem with. We don't like to look. oh it's really done sort of zebra striped yeah the the almost like the rings of a tree kind of uh no i that that's something no no i like it in knives though

Yeah, and that's where it originates from source, I think, from the Middle East, right? It's a bit busy for a watch. I think it's, yeah, so no, I don't. Wood. is also a material i really don't like in a watch but since tissot brought back the the rock watch yeah that did kind of it brought back some memory so i kind of like that but oh in general i i hey it's also a matter of what can you afford it's either uh it's either steel or titanium but lately i've been

Thinking about something more precious. Really? Tell us more. Yeah, well, there is this... I really, really like the Vachon 1921 in pink gold. Although I'm more of a yellow gold fan. i think it it's really uh really they made it in pink gold and in platinum there is also the platinum one

I don't think so. I don't think they did. We had the platinum in the office some years ago. That was amazing. That was nice with the strap with platinum stitching. The strap alone was like 3,000 or something. But there's also the thing, would you... buy you buy platinum because you want platinum yes right i think that is something

You don't buy steel because you want steel, or am I mistaken? I think some watches, they belong in steel. They make more sense in steel. You have the example of the deep sea. Seadweller that you didn't like in gold. That watch is then for you, it should belong in steel. Yeah, that's it. I don't care. I like it in gold, but it's a big block. yeah but some watches also for me they they need to be in gold yeah what what what is the

Like a Day-Date. It needs to be a yellow gold Day-Date. They made, I think, five versions steel, which were more or less, I think, prototypes. Yeah, they were protos. But yeah, I think a Day-Date is definitely gold or platinum. But Breguet is also for me the classic or the tradition or tradition. That's also a gold watch. I think in general, I think I prefer dress watches to be in gold.

Yeah, and then in a colored gold or a white gold platinum situation? I used to be more interested in white gold and platinum, but I think I'm more of a yellow gold guy now.

and rose gold i also don't mind for certain watches but uh yeah yellow gold is uh yeah there's there's quite a split right because you have sports watches and you have uh where like function is a little bit more important and therefore something like steel or titanium or a material that's a bit hard-wearing, non-corrosive, and scratch-resistant is preferable.

And then there's, you know, for a dress watch, then it's nice that it's a precious metal because it gives it that little bit more of a sort of a different feel, right? It gives more presence for me and a different feel. And often when a watch is platinum, for example, it's very heavy. So if you have a dress watch on a leather strap, which in the case is platinum, that's an amazing feel. Yeah, that's true. And then there's the third alternative, right? Which is taking...

Well, there's two more, right? So there's when you take a dress watch and you make it steel, which in the case of like certain Pateks, it can make them very valuable, especially when you look at vintage steel Pateks, they're very valuable. Or something like Nautilus and things like this, that's maybe not... a dress watch uh not at all actually uh but but when you look at sports watches in precious metal then you get into what i feel is like a really fun

It can be a very fun territory, right? That's where you get to the Gulf of Mariners. Exactly. And it also depends on what you are going to do with it because I think a lot of sports watchers will never see sports. And I think it's fine to have them in precious metal. Yeah. um a diving watch in gold actually makes a little bit of sense because it will not corrode basically yeah you need to have a

Bowls of steel. That's it. That's it. Well, and look at your gold speedy, right? Yeah, well, let's swim with it. But I think that's, in the end, that's also kind of a sports watch. And for me, that... The gold version is nice because it refers to the limited edition of 1969. But gold Speedmaster works for me, but I also know that for a lot of people, gold is like a... a no-go area especially with sports watches but and that for me was also the case for a long time but it's at some point I

I start to be less of a purist, I guess. Yeah. Because I also like a GMT Master in full gold or Submariner in full gold or Daytona in full gold. It's just, for me, the precious metal is a nice... Okay, so let's say these watches, you don't need a watch or watches per definition, a luxury item these days. Right. Yes. But you see many of them, right? You see a lot of mechanical luxury watches. So then if you have a mechanical watch in gold, it underlines the exclusiveness of a mechanical watch.

But there are now so many different shades of gold. yes that's also uh something that is uh uh that strikes me and and then for instance already in in pink gold you have all these different hues yeah then there is honey gold there is lime gold There is beige gold. King gold. King gold. Which is also a bit greenish. Sand gold. No, that's the one. Is there any...

Does it add anything to the... Well, I have to say that... So I have a yellow gold Day-Date. Then I have the gold Speedmaster, which is then Moonshine gold, which is more pale. Yeah. And I think it suits my skin tone better than the yellow gold. The yellow gold is quite harsh. Right. And the palish moonshine gold is a bit more softer on the eyes, I feel.

right also has to do with the type of finishing which is brushed and the day-date has some some polished uh surfaces right and then i have a rose gold watch that that yeah it's yeah it's also a bit more contrasting i would say there was this oh in the past i don't know if it's still the case but that the the iwc uh they had the was it 5n uh red gold it was really yeah there's a bit of reddish yeah it's really red i find red gold is best when it's a little bit more under

when it's a bit more subtle, because sometimes it can be when it's very, very pink. And I've seen some Rolexes that are also very, very pink. Very pink. It's a bit over the top. You know, it's a bit much. I like the Omega pink gold, like 7 gold. I think that's quite a nice version of it. And how do you guys feel about gold that doesn't look like gold or white gold?

White gold is a little bit more under the radar. Well, our colleague Dan has a white gold Breguet bracket. A classic. and i think that looks very good because the the advantage is i have the brigade in yellow gold and it limits your choices for a leather strap in my opinion yeah and the white gold like steel you can

Combine it with much more different colors. And that is a very cool feature of having a white gold watch. And like I said, it's a dress watch. It has a leather strap and it has quite some heft to it.

you don't you need that of it you need that even when it's smaller because it's like a 35 millimeter watch or something like that so then it gives it that sort of heft which is which is quite nice it all depends on the watch so I would not mind like a For example, a white gold day date can be very nice, but it also can appear like it's a day just.

The difference is, of course, the bracelet, you have the precedent bracelet, and the Datejust has an oyster or, what is it, a Jubilee bracelet. But on first glance, you can see, oh, that's a... they just but it is a day date what about something like the gmt master or or you know where it would usually be a or or even like a like a well you have to sub and i think the sub you have the the steel ones you have the gold ones the gold steel and the

white gold one and the white gold one then has a blue blue bezel yeah or yeah or you can get a right dial with it yes and that makes it then a little bit different As long as you, I think you can distinguish whether it's steel or white gold.

By the colors of the dial or the bezel, I think it's nice. But what about more exotic materials? Like cheese. The Moser cheese watch. I was more thinking about sapphire or ceramic or carbon fiber. Just thinking about cheese and a little peggish. Yeah. Do these materials appeal to you or not at all? Well, I like ceramic on these dark sides we have here. Yeah.

But I've also seen watches made of ceramic with like a ceramic bracelet. Then I kind of disconnect because then it all feels a little bit too... not plasticky but too yeah i get it shiny it's different from steel or gold yeah yeah so i don't mind a ceramic case because this is is this is the same look as a uh well you you now we have dlc but before that it was a steel pv

And I can't remember the brand that introduced something like, because when you have PVD, it would age. You get that look, which is actually kind of cool. Yeah, and then one of the brands already pre-aged it for us. Oh, that was Casio. I think they did a pre-aged, steel-ish G-Shock. Yeah.

yeah that was uh that was so in in a sense i i always feel that this is the better version of a black steel pvd if you're after a watch that will not change and how it appears then i think ceramic is perfect choice but if you like the look of those old porsche designs

It has this vintage look with some scratches. It looks kind of nice. And PVD is quite strong. It's just how you treat it. It's years of wear, right? Years and years of wear. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hardware. It's like aged denim. The DLC is stronger.

it also perhaps has a little bit of a different look to it yeah I know some people you they DLC'd their steel watches and they were Rolexes and also a guy had a Speedmaster Snoopy the first one from 2003 he had a DLC'd I think it was like 500 bucks to have the watch DLC'd yeah it's not super expensive it's not that expensive and it's a chemical process which means that you can reverse it.

So if you use the inverse process or something, you can just take it off, and obviously you have to disassemble the watch and do it just in case. Put it in a glass of Coca-Cola for a night. Exactly, and then it's good as new. No, but it's an interesting thing. Some people do that with their FXDs, their Pelagos FXDs. And it looks pretty nice. And knowing that it's reversible is also quite interesting. That's a good thing. How do you guys feel about carbon? Because carbon is a...

Carbon's a bit of a tricky one, I feel. Because you don't often have... It's often more like a metal shell with a carbon... sort of structure around it. Yeah, also because the carbon is porous, so water or liquids will get through. I never warmed up to them. to be honest. Whether it's a cheap version or an expensive watch. The Tudor, the Cycling Edition Chrono is still on my list, as in... It's nice. Yeah. I like the idea that you have to rethink about the weight. So, yeah.

But it has to have a function because...

Just making something in carbon and then having it ultra light. Okay, but then what? I think there's some watches where it kind of suits it. It gives it a bit of a different look. I remember there was a Bulgari... finissimo in carbon that was incredibly impressive because there was not only thin it was also very uh very lightweight and it had this kind of flaky forged carbon that looked looked very interesting it almost looked like carbon fiber which was uh which was really nice uh and i

know that there's also... One of my favorites, which is the Doxa, the Doxa C300 Carbon. I think that that looks particularly nice, especially the limited edition version with a carbon dial that our friend, a friend of the show and former photographer Morgan is still trying to sell. Another little shout out. I think at this point, you could send him a DM and he'll cut you a good deal. No, but I think that there it looks good. I think that sometimes where it's a little bit dull...

It can fall a bit flat, right? And then the problem is it also... feels a little bit like plastic in a way. So where I wasn't a big fan of it was at the Red Bull Olingi Tudors. I found that there it was a little bit like, if this had been DLC... titanium, it could be nice. And I thought the same thing about, it wasn't carbon, it was ceramic, but the new Ingenieur, the IWC Ingenieur that came out earlier this year in ceramic, the black one. Fantastic. I like the look of it.

I really like the look. You don't like how it feels? I like the gold one. But I'd rather it be either DLC titanium or I don't know, something else. Ceramic. I worry about dropping a ceramic watch and then it shatters. Oh yeah, but how often do you drop a watch? Yeah, that's true. Well, knock on wood, if I could reach the table, I'd knock on it. But it hasn't happened in many, many years.

Yeah, that's the problem also with ceramic. If you drop it in the bathroom on the tiles, then it's shut. So you need a new case and so on. Yeah, that's a bit of a problem, of course. But the everyday wear, the scratches and everything, then it's extremely resistant. But I also like the fact that you can see that the watch has been worn.

I like that aspect and I know that some people want to have their watches like new always and they're very careful with it and sometimes they don't even wear it all the time because they want to keep it like as new.

and that's why i think if you have a ceramic watch that's that yeah that's that's one way to fix the boxes basically yeah how do you guys how do you guys then feel about uh titanium because titanium is uh is it has the the lightness which Obviously, it's not everybody's cup of tea. No, well, the tantalum and the gold are kind of making up for it, right? That's what I don't like about titanium is that it's so light. And I know it's one of the properties of titanium. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I like the look, especially with the Grade 2, because it has this utilitarian... Dark, brushed and so on. The Grade 5 is an alloy, but then you can have it polished, so you can... And they do now look. I like to look, but I don't like to light weight because sometimes if you have the watch that I'm wearing, I used to have it in full titanium. Right. And then I traded that one for this one.

and the full titanium one is a big watch it's a it's a it's very thick and it's a 41.5 i believe millimeters and it has a bracelet so you expect if you pick it up you expect a certain feel or heft yeah it does And then you pick it up and it's super light. And that gives a bit of a... There is a huge difference, I think, between titanium watches from 20 years ago to titanium watches that are being produced now. If you look, I've always been a fan, so I had a titanium.

Yeah, true. Cool watch. Also a big watch. Big watch, but I... i absolutely hated the titanium bracelet no i never pulled the antenna i need didn't need to so i put it on a uh a rubber strap which made it look i think just better because i'm just i think it's more or less that's the perfect professional strap that says Breitling with big letters on it. Yeah, exactly. Just so you know.

I like that. I like that. Yeah, I also like that. Yeah, I also think it's a good look. And I have a Fortis B42, what is it? A Cosmonaut. With a Lamania 5100. it's uh it's time only it's a time only and uh it's also a titanium but they are very that's all also still it's very grayish it scratches yeah But now when you look at what Grand Psycho does to Titanium, the look of that... and i don't mind the the the lightness also because in the old days um if you pick up if you handle that uh bracelet

creating a uh a solid i'm not even solid but like a solid feeling yeah the solid feeling of a of a titanium bracelet is super difficult to achieve but now they can yeah look at the yacht master I mean, the Yachtmaster in Titanium, that's great. But yeah, but my favorite GMT, the Grand Seiko, the Mist Flake. I mean, it feels solid, but it looks amazing.

That it does. I like how it looks. And it feels good. And the lightweight, you don't notice it anymore because it feels so solid and it looks so well finished. I agree with all of that. I just don't like the lightweight of a watch because I like to feel that the watch is there.

Yeah. It can be a plus. For me, though, with Grand Seiko, the issue that I take is that they're very elegant watches. They're very... uh they're they're they're they look good and it might as well just be steel because you would have to have yeah you'd have to look but for me that's something about the lightweight there and the way that because they use titanium how one might use steel but for me when you

go to something like either a Breitling or something that's a bit more functional. First of all, it needs to look titanium. And then second of all, I like the fact that bigger watches, where titanium is used to make a bigger watch lighter. So for example, the Panerai used to have the PAM55. That was really nice because it was still a big watch. It had a big sapphire crystal on it. So it still had heft to it, but it was just less heft. Or my Avenger chronograph as well.

That's a 44 millimeter watch. It's a lot of titanium, but at the same time, it makes it more comfortable to wear. And then another example would be the Singer. The dive track, right? That's also got a titanium case. And there you go. Cool. Okay, it has the utilitarian sort of like appeal. Yeah, that's it. But they also did... I don't dislike titanium.

for how it looks. So I liked the Seamaster No Time to Die. I think that was a very nice example of titanium watch. I think the Yachtmasters really well done. The Pro Prof did it in titanium for a few years. What I didn't like was the bracelet. The titanium bridge that had a very strange sound to it, if you move it. It makes a dull sound. When you close the clasp on this Seamaster before, I could hear it. It's this...

it's this slightly more... Yeah, it's different. It doesn't have the ping that steel has. It's not crisp. It does not have the Dupont lighter ping. No, it definitely doesn't. And another funny thing is, right, like people say that, or well, titanium is...

technically more scratch resistant than steel because it's a harder metal, but it shows more scratches because there's an oxidation layer. That's what makes it a little bit darker. Like fresh titanium is apparently a bit brighter and then it gets this oxidation.

layer, which shows scratches quite prominently. Yeah, you need a coating. You need a super hard coating. But if you guys could pick, say, something like a watch that's available both in steel and titanium, you would probably go... would go for steel yeah okay you would go with titanium yeah it depends on the on the watch because i'm also thinking about the new uh titanium cartier santos oh yeah which is

in in a way i think it's uh it's pretty cool to have a watch that started life as a pilot's watch more or less right and then to have it uh evolve into something titanium it Kind of makes sense. But at the same time, it is... For me, that was a typical watch that should not be in titanium. It is fun. I also have a hard time wrapping my brain around that watch. But at the same... Well, what Rolex did with the Yacht-Master...

I would be very curious to see a Titanium GMT Master 2, for instance. Yeah, don't do it. Or an Explorer 2. I know, I know. I know that people... Or maybe... Cidwella could be also something. Yeah, or... Why not? Or something completely new. Bring back the Milgauss and then do it in titanium. Yeah, that could be nice. Because they... And you experiment a little bit more. That old handset, those like... like bar kind of baton hens that are a little bit, they sort of taper towards the tip.

It could be nice. Titanium always has a functional kind of instrumental vibe. If I see, we had a Grand Seiko in, I think, a few weeks ago, which was also in Titanium, I believe. Yeah, was it the UFA? I think so. UFA with the purple dial. Yeah. If that one would be in steel and in titanium, I would always pick the steel version. Because I think the finishing could be the same.

in terms of how it appears with the polished elements. Yeah, okay, I get it. That's the exception for me as well. Yeah, that would pick definitely steel. But if it's like... An emergency, for example, a tool watch. Yeah, the titanium might be very interesting. I think the titanium also suits a more like techy kind of watch, like the emergency, the aerospace, the X33, I think is also really great in titanium. Oh yeah, also that one, of course.

That's a good one. Are there any other materials that we are missing here, maybe? We've covered gold. I think it's an interesting material. I think I once saw AP Royal Oak in tantalum, full tantalum. There was also, what was this? Very heavy. What was this brand that had the tennis sponsorship that came out like last year or the year before?

They also made a full tantalum case. Fleming. Fleming, yes, that's it. They also had a tantalum watch. Mont Blanc had one in the past. But for me, tantalum feels like it's a material that brands use just to show they can use the material. Of course. It's no... The properties...

they don't add something to the table. It's not lightweight like titanium. It's not scratch-free like ceramics. It's not precious like gold. The bluish hue is kind of... quite nice because you really see it here where it's contrasting with other things i wonder if in a full tantalum no then you don't see it here that's the good thing because this is a white sweater banger man Yeah, that's it. Shout out to the guys at Man of the Tate.

Yeah, I think it stands out here because you can compare it to other metals. We didn't touch upon sapphire. Sapphire is what I wanted to say. I think you went as well. At some point, there's this manufacturer that... Rishamil used, or he still uses, it's called ProTech. They made the Sapphire cases. I've also seen them, I've seen the Sapphire cases made in... They also made Sapphire cases.

i think it's interesting but for me it's a no i'm going to mention a brand that people love and people hate i had a session at artia not not that long ago and they do a lot of sapphire and they do And they do it in color shifting and what have you. It also kind of makes me... I don't know, enthusiastic about the material. It is kind of cool. It can be fun. I just feel that a lot of the time it tends to be so expensive that you go...

And of course, you're spending that much money. It's a little bit like, I don't know if the English were vitrine. Vitrine, I guess. Like a showcase. You have like a glass showcase on your wrist. Yeah, I know. That's why I'm also, I'm not the biggest fan of clear sapphire, but if it has a color, then I kind of like it. of course who blow does with yeah colorful yeah and if it's color it's nice so yeah it i don't i know i never contemplated buying something uh like that and the rock watch so

Granite, I guess, from the mountain. From the Jungfrau, yeah. I like it because it's granite from the mountain. I like this story. But the first series from the 80s are not just granite from different mountains. But there I think it's like having like a piece of bathroom tile on your wrist.

They did jade and they did different colors back then that were quite interesting. There was even, I think, some that was almost like fossilized, it was like almost fossils or something like this, fossilized coral or something. And it looked really interesting. It's a nice way to play with textures and colors and that kind of thing. But I do get it that it's a little bit odd. I wonder how they sort of...

wear in overtime. Do they pick up a bit of a polish from the sleeve? You can buy the old ones on eBay cheap. Yeah. But they're very small. So you need to take that out of account. They're tiny. It looks kind of cool and they look like...

They are new. Yeah. But I do like the new one. The new one is cool. Yeah. I have to say. And I think at first I thought it's a pity that they didn't use the McDonald's hands, the red and the yellow. Yeah. But it doesn't suit today's... no time or ever yeah i think it's a good choice to have it more neutral and um yeah but it's a fun watch i think it's a thousand euros a little bit more

And I think they're only 1,000 pieces. Limited edition. They will sell, especially if you're a tourist visiting the Jungfrau Joch. They have a retailer. Oh, up in the mountain. The highest retailer in the world. Yeah. Nice. Where you can buy them. So I think it's a cool. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Cool. yeah but we see we see brands still today continue to to to offer a variety of materials we didn't even mention i could have worn my bronze uh yeah bronze of course you know the bronze bronze it's you like it is disappearing a little It's disappearing. A little bit. It's disappearing. It was like one of those early ones from Genta, the Jeffica. Yeah. For me, that's still the bronze watch to have. Yeah. I can't remember if that's a pure Genta or a Bulgari.

It was the same manufacturer I think at the time. Yeah, I think they were all... ready also together with daniel roth but it was gentle on the dial yeah yeah yeah i think uh bulgari just brought out their their aluminium chronograph but in in bronze aluminium they also have aluminum watch yeah yeah Aluminum. I remember the Chanel G2 Superleggera was in aluminum. Oh, and the Gerard Perigo. It looks kind of cool. The Ferrari chronicle. It looks kind of cool, but if... Yeah.

Exactly. Didn't we? We met a guy where... Yeah, it was like two or three years ago. That was nice because that's really light. Yeah. Like if you think titanium is light... And it sounds really awful. Yeah. Like a Coke can. Yeah, I'm always... I have to... This Bulgari, Bulgari, Bulgari, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. In aluminum, aluminum. I always have the same fear I have with my rims on my car. If you scratch it, it would be such a nasty...

Mark. Yeah, and aluminum is really not a good material for bezels, but not for... For bezel inserts, yeah, they're kind of tucked away and they're secure in there. I like to look whitish and it's nice. like a wider yeah and it also has a very specific grain yeah yeah yeah true yeah

Did we miss any other material? Yeah, with steel, you have the different grades, but that's not really a difference. You don't really see that. But it is interesting that bronze kind of faded away. Yeah, it had a COVID peak. Yeah, people were experimenting. They were putting it in a bag with some stuff to make it patina and then bringing it back with vinegar. Oh, yeah. Just to keep the color and the material. The bronze gold.

It's interesting. But I think steel, ultimately, it's ubiquitous for a reason, right? It's the perfect mix of where it can be machined easily. It takes a finish well. Yeah, you could argue that steel is... Maybe the ultimate material for a watch. Or gold. Oh, and silver. My mom has a silver watch. From the Bauwede. No, Robert Leighton.

Does that ring a bell with you? No. No? I think it was late 90s and Robert Leighton was a designer of watches and it looked a bit like later on the Rolf Lauren watches and it had a silver cushion shaped case. Okay. I think we can pull up a picture for the video. Yeah, we'll find it. Do you remember the Van der Bell Way? Yeah, of course. They were a bit... Frank Muller-ish. A bit Frank Muller-ish. And some of them also had these bars, right? Yeah. To protect. Correct. Yeah.

It's not a good material for a watch. No, no. I do like the Ralph Lauren ones that are like hand engraved and they look kind of cool. But the Tudor Black Bay 925. oh yeah no offense to uh mike stockton uh who i believe But I really like that one. That's a nice one, I have to say. Yeah. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. It will never patina. It will never patina, but after two days. When it's fresh, I really like it, but it gets this almost like yellowish. Yeah.

patina to it which i don't really i don't really love so you can use the silver boots yeah exactly yeah it's also a bit of a hype watch right and there there are some materials that uh that's also what i feel with the weirdish Mont Blanc's lime gold. It's just to do something new. I think it's just to create a tension, right? It's a marketing spiel. You need to have the constant push.

So you come up with different stuff, but it doesn't always make proper sense. Hey, and then speaking of rock that we were talking about before, there was that Bulgari made of Marvel, right? yeah there is a there is a there is a marble cased octo uh thingy finissimo i i i liked the yellow gold with the the marble dial but the full marble was uh yeah it was you have to be out of your marbles

Cool. Should we head to the comment of the week and wrap up? Yeah, let's do it. Perfect. So this is a comment from Salvador Freire, who says... Oh. Oh. Oh. Wake up! Wake up! Wake up, Salvador! No, but it's funny. I think he probably won't be hearing this part because he'll be long. But hey, I'm glad that we're helping people, not just...

Here to help, man. But also to ease them into a restful slumber. Perfect. All right, guys. Well, thanks for chatting about materials. And yeah, let's wrap it up here. So thanks again. Thank you for tuning in. Let us know your thoughts. favorite watch case materials in the comments down below. And as always, tune in next week for another episode of Fratello Talks. See you then.