Battling Scratches, With Five Cool Ceramic Watches

I am sure that each and every one of us has experienced that heartbreaking moment when you scratch a watch for the first time. A table, a door, the wall or whatever it is, will leave a nasty memory in the experience you have of owning it. I still recall the exact moment I dinged my TAG Heuer Monaco, yet I have since embraced it as “added character”. Nevertheless, there is a solution to prevent this from happening: ceramics! The material, known for its durability, cannot get scratched by anything except other ceramic elements or materials that are even harder. And considering the fact it scores a 9 on the Mohs Scale of hardness, and diamond is a 10, you’re pretty safe during everyday life. With all that in mind, here’s a selection of five ceramic watches to discover. 

Earthen & Co Summit MKII

Ceramic is often associated with high-end watches, yet there are several more affordable options around. Take the new Summit MKII by Earthen & Co, for instance. This compact pilot’s watch continues in the footsteps of the debut Summit, now with Dune Devil (beige), Glade (forest green) or Après-Blue cases. The dial is clean and legible, with the Glade being fully luminous, and inside ticks a Miyota 9039 automatic. Earthen & Co delivers each of the three Summit MKIIs with two textured FKM rubber straps complementing the case and dial colours. Production is limited by capacity but not by number, and the price is set at USD 899.

For more information, please visit Earthen-Co.com.

Quick Facts – 38mm x 10mm – blue, green or beige ceramic case & bezel – brushed & polished – sapphire crystal – solid caseback – 100m water-resistant – screw-down crown with coloured ring – blue, brown or luminous green dial – printed numerals & hands with SLN – Miyota 9039, automatic – 28,800vph – 42h power reserve – hours, minutes, seconds (hacking) – two textured FKM rubber straps with pin buckle – production limited by capacity – USD 899 (excl. VAT)

Tudor Black Bay Ceramic

Although not the first ceramic Black Bay, this year’s Black Bay Ceramic is Tudor’s best yet, mainly thanks to the introduction of the three-link ceramic bracelet. The stealthy matte black look of the case and bracelet is only slightly ‘interrupted’ by the charcoal dial, which shimmers in the light ever so slightly. For the rest, it’s a Black Bay on all points. Legible, well-finished, decently sized and overall a very reliable companion. The solid caseback hides Tudor’s Calibre MT5602-U, which is METAS Master Chronometer certified, with 70 hours of power reserve. The price is set at EUR 7,400, which is substantial, but there are few alternatives for a full ceramic watch at this level.

For more information, please visit TudorWatch.com.

Quick Facts – 41mm x 13.55mm – matte black ceramic case – unidirectional diving bezel with ceramic insert – domed sapphire crystal – solid caseback – screw-down crown – 200m water-resistant – charcoal dial – applied markers & hands with SLN – calibre MT5602-U, in-house – automatic – 28,800vph – 70h power reserve – METAS Master Chronometer certified – three-link matte black ceramic bracelet with folding clasp – Ref. 7941A1ACNU – EUR 7,400

IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Le Petit Prince

IWC is one of the pioneers in ceramic watches, with this recent Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Le Petit Prince bearing a stark white zirconium dioxide ceramic case of 41mm in diameter. Being a Le Petit Prince edition, it naturally comes with a sunray brushed blue dial and the titular prince engraved onto the caseback. For the rest, it follows the familiar traits of a Pilot’s Watch Chronograph. The Calibre 69380 shows you the hours, minutes and seconds, along with chronograph timing and the day and date. Worn on an interchangeable white rubber strap, it is available through IWC boutiques and authorised dealers for a price of CHF 10,500.

For more information, please visit IWC.com.

Quick Facts – 41.9mm x 15.5mm – white zirconium oxide ceramic case – titanium crown, pushers & caseback – sapphire crystal – 100m water-resistant – sunray-brushed blue dial – white printed markers & hands with SLN – Calibre 69380, automatic chronograph with column wheel – 28,800vph – 46h power reserve – hours, minutes, small seconds, chronograph, day, date – interchangeable white rubber strap – available through IWC boutiques & authorised dealers – CHF 10,500

Zenith Defy Skyline Skeleton Black Ceramic & Gold

The Defy Skyline range by Zenith is home to quite a variety of ceramic watches, but this Skeleton Black Ceramic & Gold gives perhaps the biggest ‘POP’ on the wrist. The fully black ceramic is combined with the sharply skeletonised high-frequency El Primero 3620 SK movement with a gold-coloured finish, providing a deep view into the movement. Contrasting luminous inserts on the markers and hands keep legibility on par, with a black ring for the subdial. It comes on an integrated black ceramic three-link bracelet and an additional black rubber strap. Available through Zenith boutiques and retailers (on- and offline) for EUR 19,100.

For more information, please visit Zenith-Watches.com.

Quick Facts – 41mm x approx. 11mm – octagonal black ceramic case, brushed & polished – black ceramic bezel, crown & caseback – sapphire crystal front & back – 100m water-resistant – openworked gold-coloured dial – markers & hands with SLN – black small seconds subdial – El Primero 3620 SK, in-house automatic – 36,000vph – 55h power reserve – integrated black ceramic bracelet & black rubber strap with folding clasp – EUR 20,500

Urwerk UR-100V Lightspeed Ceramic

If you want something a bit more left-field, the Urwerk UR-100V Lightspeed Ceramic is a very cool one to consider. Featuring the brand’s signature wandering hours display for time, the case is made from an innovative ceramic composite material that uses silver fibreglass and carbon to improve impact resistance. The contrast against the black dial and movement is striking, to say the least. The UR-100V Lightspeed also comes with additional indications for the time it takes light to travel from the sun to our eight planets, which is always a fun conversational element. Delivered with a black and a white rubber strap, it is priced at CHF 67,000 before taxes.

For more information, please visit Urwerk.com.

Quick Facts – 43mm x 51.73mm x 14.55mm – white ceramic composite case – DLC-coated titanium caseback – sapphire crystal front & back – screw-down crown – 50m water-resistant – wandering hours display – sunlight timing indication for 8 planets – luminous indications – Calibre UR 12.02, automatic – Windfänger airscrew & in-house timing module – 28,800vph – 48h power reserve – black and white rubber straps with deployant clasp – CHF 67,000 excl. VAT