The beauty of sapphire crystal cases is their ability to provide a 360o window of the mechanics within. The precursor for today’s sapphire crystal watches can be traced back to Corum’s famous Golden Bridge timepiece that was designed by Vincent Calabrese in 1980. Calabrese housed his baguette-style movement in an all-sapphire case, bringing maximum visibility to his revolutionary movement and starting a trend that is still advancing today, forty years on.
Sapphire crystal technology has come on leaps and bounds since Corum’s Golden Bridge, pushed by the creativity of the watch brands that never stop trying new things in order to showcase their mechanical marvels. The latest chapter in the story of sapphire crystal in watchmaking is dedicated to colour, and the technology has created some jaw-dropping results.
ArtyA Purity Tourbillon Chameleon
By far the most spectacular and mind-blowing innovation of recent years has to go to ArtyA for its world première colour-changing nano-sapphire technology that transforms in the light. You really have to see this to believe it, as we did at WorldTempus during the last edition of Geneva Watch Days.
We were like kids in a toy shop when we were shown how it works. The dark blue sapphire crystal of the ArtyA Purity Tourbillon Chameleon turns into a translucent green colour when held under a light. The green model becomes yellow, the blue version becomes purple, the pink becomes green, the yellow becomes orange, and so forth. If you like playing with Super-LumiNova on your watch, this is a whole new level of fun!
Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Neon Yellow
Debuting now at LVMH Watch Week is the brand-new Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Neon Yellow. Hublot has been leading the charge in the field of coloured sapphire for several years now and has presented a whole palette of fun colours to adorn its watches. This latest innovation is an exploration of its SAXEM technology which stands for Sapphire Aluminium oXide and rare Earth Mineral and has a brilliance that the brand says exceeds that of sapphire. We can’t wait to get our hands on it to discover it for ourselves.
Purnell Escape II Absolute Sapphire Aurora Green
Another brand that loves to experiment with different materials and colours is Purnell. One of its latest models, the Escape II Absolute Sapphire Aurora Green, comes with a case made of a deep green sapphire crystal that was inspired by the colours of the Northern Lights. The case allows Purnell’s signature Double Spherion movement to take pride of place inside the watch. The green sapphire is further illuminated by 304 brilliant-cut tsavorites on the two tourbillons’ outer cages and 12 baguette-cut tsavorites for the hour markers on the dial.
Jacob & Co. Bugatti Chiron Red Sapphire Crystal
JAcob & Co. offers an array of coloured sapphire crystal for its Bugatti Chiron collection with a choice of blue, pink, yellow, amber, and green, cases that dress this hypercar for the wrist. It took the brand several months of research and development to produce the case, which also includes sapphire crystal pushers at six o’clock. Every facet of the case is hand-polished to create a stunning frame for the miniature engine and its 578 hand-decorated and hand-assembled components within.
Century Bolero Mégalithe
We cannot talk about coloured sapphire crystal timepieces without talking about Century. The Biel-based brand has been working with sapphire crystal since its inception in 1966. Century developed a groundbreaking technology that created a vacuum inside the watch case and allowed two discs of sapphire to be fused together to form the case. Called the Megalith, this invention has been at the heart of the brand’s DNA ever since. Century has also a huge savoir-faire in working with sapphires. The purple sapphire crystal version photographed here has 43 hand-cut facets that showcase the magic of this incredible colourful material that is definitely here to stay.
