The Materials For Watch Glass, Sapphire And More - Custom Watches Factory

The glass for watches is a fundamental part of a watch, to which we do not usually give importance. We usually focus on the machinery, the design of the dial or the material of the strap, however, a crystal to match is necessary for a luxury watch to remain as new for decades.

As you know, traditional glass can suffer all kinds of damage, from scratches to complete breakage if, for example, it suffers a forceful blow, the watch industry has developed solutions to protect the dial with increasingly solid and safe materials.

This week we take a look at what watch crystal looks like, from traditional solutions to new materials being developed by the Watch Manufacturing Industry.

What is the function of crystal for watches

Watch crystal has two main functions:

Protect the face and the visible part of the watch, for example, the hands and the outside of the dial. Improve the visibility of the sphere, even in extremely adverse conditions. A watch crystal can be made from different materials, it can come in different shapes and sizes, but all of them must be strong enough to protect the dial and improve visibility.

Sapphire crystal for luxury watches

Sapphire crystal is the most used for luxury watches, in fact almost 100% of high-end watches have a crystal made of this mineral.

What we call sapphire crystal is actually a synthetic crystal with the same chemical composition as natural sapphire, thus achieving the same hardness (sapphire is the second hardest mineral after diamond).

Another characteristic of this glass is its high colorless transparency.

Its strength and intense transparency mean that synthetic sapphire has been used in the jewelry industry, mobile phones and, for decades, luxury watchmaking.

The history of the sapphire crystal

This material has a complex history that we are going to summarize in its main milestones.

Its origin dates back to 1902, when a French chemist, Auguste Verneuil, developed a process to produce synthetic crystals using alumina, aluminum oxide.