Watches with Bronze Case

In recent years, brands including IWC, Panerai, Zenith, Squale, U-Boat, Anonimo and Bulgari have introduced bronze watches. Most are divers’ watches or have a nautical theme; for them, bronze, used for centuries to make ship fittings and seafaring equipment, is a way to underline their maritime identity. In other watches, bronze is used simply for its appearance: the metal has a vintage-like matte patina, which differs from watch to watch and hence makes each watch unique. Here’s a look at this time-honored metal https://www.twatchclone.ru/.

Alloys that contain at least 60 percent copper can be called “bronze,” but the term usually refers to alloys that are made from a mixture of copper and tin. Pure copper is relatively soft and dents easily while tin is brittle and breaks. But when combined, the resulting alloy resists wear, retains its shape and is antimagnetic. And its most outstanding property is its ability to resist corrosion in seawater.

Bronze is somewhat more brittle than stainless steel and weighs about 10 percent more. It reacts with oxygen, which results in a distinctive patina. This coating, which is oxidized copper, protects the underlying material against corrosion but leaves all other characteristics unchanged.

Among the various mixtures of copper and tin, experts distinguish between wrought or worked alloys, which include as much as 9 percent tin, and cast alloys, which usually contain between 9 and 12 percent tin. Bronzes that contain 20 percent tin are called “bell bronze.”

But bronzes are seldom made of just copper and tin; adding other materials creates alloys with tailor-made properties. Phosphorus and zinc are usually added to alloys that are wrought; these two substances as well as lead, nickel and iron are added to cast alloys. These blends are known as “multi-alloy bronzes.” If alloys contain little or no tin, they’re called “special bronzes.” The copper-aluminum blend used by the watch brand Anonimo is in this category. When a material other than tin is added to copper, the resulting alloy is named for the additional substance, i.e., “aluminum bronze,” “lead bronze,” “phosphorus bronze,” etc. Manufacturers use different alloys to create each brand’s distinctive nuances of color.