Engineers from the University of Manchester have joined forces with watchmaker Richard Mille on the development of a graphene-based mechanical timepiece claimed to be the lightest of its kind on the world.
Unveiled at Geneva’s annual gathering of watchmakers, the Salon International De La Haute Horologie, the 40 gram RM 50-03 watch (which was produced in collaboration with Mclaren F1) features a graphene-based composite in the lightweight case which houses the watch’s mechanism. Graphene is also used in the device’s rubber strap.
Graphene is the world’s first two-dimensional material at just one-atom thick. It was first isolated at The University of Manchester in 2004 and is thought to have great potential across a variety of applications including high-performance composites for the automotive and aerospace industries, as well as flexible, bendable mobile phones and tablets and next-generation energy storage.
The graphene composite used in the watch – known as Graph TPT – is claimed to weigh less than similar lightweight materials previously used in watchmaking.
Commenting on the university’s involvement in the project, Robert Young Professor of Polymer Science and Technology at the University, said: “We evaluated the effect of including graphene in both the watch case and strap. We helped in the fabrication of the different components and analysed their microstructures using x-ray computed tomography and Raman spectroscopy, along with a detailed evaluation of their mechanical properties. We have shown that the incorporation of graphene into the watch case can have major implications for improved performance of the component in service and also enable further weight reduction in future designs.”
Nice. But not practical. It takes time to get the time off this watch. No date, no weekday. I wouldn’t buy it for £5.
You, sir, are not a man who appreciates, or has an understanding of a quality timepiece. Nor are you a fan of engineering. Come to think of it, you’re not even a fan of profit. You could purchase for 5 and then sell for 15000. So, if you get the opportunity to get one for 5, let me know. Thanks!
Why must you have day and date? No one looks at their watch to determine if today is that important meeting day, only time matters.
Some people just moan for the sake of it, thank God they are in a minority.
Making a constructive comment – it would be interesting to see this report that says adding the graphene has “major implications”. I am unsure what major benefits could accrue from replacing normal carbon with a relatively small amount of graphene. I would have hoped that The Engineer would have provided some more robust data than just the comment of an academic with a vested interest. How about a link to the research paper?
Ha Ha! Nick. You seem to have upset the mice!
I totally agree with you. In fact, I would not even pay for it at all.
Is this a worthwhile technology-demonstration masterpiece as a marketing stunt? Probably (it got attention here, didn’t it?). But I’m not a dilletante “watch-collector”, so it’s just a useless gimmick to me. A practical watch-face for actually checking the time off your wrist? Not! It is a terrible and impractical design that breaks every rule of good design for human factors.
FWIW, I own a Rolex GMT Master which I acquired when Rolex was at the top of it’s game (technology-wise). I bought the watch as my “working watch”. It wasn’t bought to impress impressionable fools (which seems to be the vain market for mechanical watches now), but to be used as a reliable, easy-to-read timepiece in a demanding sea-water working environment.
The reasons I bought a Rolex then (accuracy, reliability, robustness), are the very same reasons why I will NOT buy a Rolex now. Rolex, in common with many other Swiss mechanical-watchmakers, refused to embrace the new Japanese quartz technology, and are now just horological dinosaurs coasting on their past glory.
Today, the working watch on my wrist is an inexpensive Seiko derivative. It far exceeds the Rolex in every professional parameter that matters. The Rolex now sits in a drawer collecting dust (and value) for sale later to some impressionable fool.
G-Shock all the way. In my ‘other’ life I’m a volunteer beach lifeguard, and G-shocks are the watch of choice in that enivronment.
i’m an impressionable fool – how much for your GMT?!
If you are a serious collector, you may have found your rare treasure!
My watch is a “6542”- the famous “Pussy Galore” which was designed and made at the specific request of Pan-Am for their international cockpit crew.
Make me an offer I can’t refuse, and we may take it further.
I don’t even think its nice ! It’s clever exposing the workings , but they’ve been doing that since the 1700s . it’s a watch clearly for poseurs with more money than sense.