Titanium finishing detail

Just a little observation on the finishing of a titanium watch case. The Portuguese Yacht Club edition Volvo Ocean Race has some interesting finishing details. The titanium is bead-blasted over most of the case, giving it a soft, satin look. The sides, however, are brushed and reveal intriguing patterns in the grain. I have tried to capture the details in photos but they are best seen as you turn the watch. The grain of titanium is different than steel and appears larger or more defined. One interesting detail is what looks like layers in the metal, similar to a cross-section of rock with different layers of tones or colors. The layers continue throughout the watch case, but are only visible on the brushed sides:

Titanium offers an amazing finished aspect.
Despite being incredibly sensitive (case back threads) and hard to polish, it's a pretty unique metal.

I had to add a full frontal of this beauty. Amazingly, the crystal is as clean as day one, although fine scratches around the bezel reveal a well worn watch:

Well, that Titan finishing is not uncommon and has a long tradition for IWC watches.

The first were some titanium Mark XII special models of the 90s.

The SAAB was one of those models.

Hello HEBE; the satin finish of the SAAB model is the titanium finish I am more familiar with. What is interesting about this Yacht Club is the integration of the brushed sides. Great photo, by the way. It really shows off the different colors so well, including the grey SAAB dial. Very cool trio!

That's cool Ben. I don't have any titanium IWC's - will have to check that out next time I handle one.

I will say the brushed sides look like the platinum aquatimer's.

Regards,
Thang

Thanks and yes, IWC was creative at that time.

But another type of titanium finishing.

Some early models of the Ocean 2000 have been sand blasted !

Not many, very soon they used ball blasting.

This is one of those early sand blasted Oceans.

Great pic of that brushed finish. The layering is very obvious and creates such a wonderful effect. I remember polishing titanium cases when I used to work watch repair. It is tough to work, but what I remember most was how the metal would heat up. Steel lets u know it's getting hot. Titanium just sort of sneaks up on you.

Hello Omar - that is quite interesting about the titanium heating up. Does it suddenly turn color? Also - do you now polish or touch-up your own watches?