Answers.com defines Ceramic as “Any of various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing a nonmetallic mineral, such as clay, at a high temperature”. Ceramic materials have been used in many applications including pottery, bricks, ballistic protection, knife blades, automotive braking systems and even watchmaking.
Obviously, we are most concerned with the watchmaking application where ceramic is favoured because it is lighter, stronger and more scratch resistant than most steels. Very few watches feature ceramic cases as the application requires a fair amount of research and development and the fabrication is more involved than producing stainless steel cases. IWC has produced a couple ceramic cased watches but while beautiful the price range for an IWC Da Vinci Ceramic Chronograph is north of $16,000.
Don’t worry if that seems a little too expensive as OCEAN7 recently launched the second generation of their ceramic watch, the LM-4. We just received the LM-4 V2 so our review wont be out for a few more days but we can safely say the ceramic case is exceptional and surprisingly different from stainless steel. The OCEAN7 LM-4 V2’s ceramic case is smooth, beautifully finished and very comfortable. The black ceramic is warm to the touch and has a very stealthy matte black finish. More information can be found in our preview of OCEAN7′s new models and our review of this unique sport watch will be ready soon.
