Ceramic Watches

The advantage is that it does not scratch in normal wear. A ceramic bezel holds its polish and its printing for the life of the watch, where an aluminium insert fades and marks within a couple of years. It is lighter than steel, does not corrode, and sits closer to skin temperature.

The trade-off is brittleness. Ceramic resists scratches but not impact, so a sharp knock against stone can chip a bezel that would only have marked in steel, and it cannot be polished out afterwards.

Rado has done more with the material than anyone — the DiaStar of 1962 was the first scratchproof watch — and the brand appears throughout this section. The cost of a ceramic case lies largely in machining a material that resists being machined.

Ceramic Watches holds 98 models across 15 brands, from £129 to £114,400. Half cost less than £3,625, and a quarter less than £2,118. 70 of 98 are automatic. 63 are stocked by more than one retailer, giving 180 offers in total. Chanel lists more references here than any other brand. Prices are checked nightly against the retailers’ own feeds.