Sapphire is on all lips and has long been on everyone’s wrists. In its gem form, it is a precious stone. In its synthetic crystalline form, it is an indispensable ingredient in watchmaking, for which it provides transparent glasses and casebacks. In the past ten years, sapphire has resolutely entered the multicolor era. On the one hand, it has taken possession of the most desirable and joyous bezels with the Rainbow setting. On the other hand, transparent sapphire cases have spread rapidly, albeit on a relative scale, leaving scope for a next-level interpretation in the form of colored solid sapphire watches. In both instances, the intention is clearly an upscale move in terms of sophistication. This inventiveness is intended to transcend demure and traditional approaches symbolized by the white color of diamonds and the transparency of a crystal that is admittedly conspicuous by its visual absence. Colored sapphire is an expressive, exuberant and daring material that must be handled with care.
Variety
Within the watch industry, sapphire as a gem is interpreted in various ways. Its palette has become downright infinite, because it is possible to modify its color using ancestral techniques. By heating it and mixing it with chemical substances, the elements trapped in the corundum crystal react and give it the corresponding color. Rainbow setting owes its popularity to these alterations resulting in large quantities of stones of all colors. This range is so vast that it virtually covers an entire Pantone color chart. The ability to combine stones, along with their gradients and their regularity, as well as to maintain intensity between successive gems, are all essential factors. On a bezel, in the spotlight and under careful scrutiny, any flaws are easily detected. Rainbow setting is therefore far from being an agglomeration of stones, but instead an art form in its own right.
Demanding
Colored sapphire as used in watch components is also a demanding discipline, all the more so because of the constraints imposed by the technical nature of its production. This sapphire is not the result of a mixture such as color specialists may offer. It is born tinted in its very crystal structure. Its color is built up atom by atom and despite the huge progress made to date, the result remains random. Scrap rates are eye-wateringly high and largely responsible for the staggering cost of the components. Fragile structures, inclusions, breakage during cutting or polishing and natural defects are all phenomena that occur in the synthetic version – because, once produced, this crystal is machined to become a case, which is a 3D component. Finally, it is difficult to decide in advance where the result will fall on the chromatic spectrum. One must therefore persevere and, if necessary, play with this uncertainty. If one aims for a red and ends up with an amber orange, one must make the most of it and adapt one's creativity accordingly. One can even opt to coat the transparent sapphire with a layer of PVD in a bright shade. What ArtyA manages to do with its Tiny Purity Tourbillon whose two-tone nanosapphire case in two different concatenate hues, is even more impressive.
Exaltation
Sapphire is beautiful and bright. It brings joy and radiance. It is noble, it is hard, it is demanding. It has all the qualities and flaws that drive people crazy, stimulate designers and enchant those who wear it. Whether on a bezel with a perfect or creative gradient; or as an ingredient in fine watchmaking, it never ceases to amaze, to be renewed and – thanks be to the Earth – to spread.
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