13 of the best titanium watches to solve your lightweight needs
Buffy AcaciaJust two generations ago, our choices of wristwatch material were pretty much limited to chrome or nickel-plated brass, or precious metals. Get to the ‘50s, and stainless steel is finally a viable, widespread option. Not only do we now have a huge amount of case materials to choose from, but different alloys or composites of those materials can be specified. Of all of them, titanium has a particular allure for the ever-popular sports and tool watch markets thanks to its lightweight properties, strength, and its smoky grey lustre. Here are 14 of the best titanium watches which exemplify its use in watchmaking.
RZE Urbanist
RZE specialises in rugged watches made from titanium, embodying an adventurous spirit which begs to be put through its paces. The RZE Urbanist is its most affordable watch yet, but it’s still packed with as much value as it can squeeze in. The grade 2 titanium case is coated with UltraHex to give it a hardness of 1,200HV, ensuring its scratch resistance along with the sapphire crystal. It’s a moderate yet powerful 36mm due to its 12-sided bezel and flowing lugs, while the intensely textured dials remain easy to read thanks to bold, luminous numerals. What’s more, the Miyota quartz movement is solar powered, so you never need to worry about battery life. Price: US$259
Boldr Venture Field Medic Lagoon Blue
As a retro-futuristic blend of 1940s doctor’s chronographs, 1970s case design, and 1980s sci-fi aesthetics, I’d file the Boldr Venture Field Medic Lagoon Blue under “things which shouldn’t go together, but do”. The pulsations and respirations gauges are replacements for a standard chronograph’s tachymetre, allowing you to measure both heart and breathing rates. They were mainly used by field medics during WWII, but have made a comeback among smaller brands that want to offer something interesting. Placed in a blocky, 38mm titanium case, the dial is sparsely adorned with luminous dots and even-blockier subdial hands. The Lagoon Blue colour scheme is particularly striking, with a dark grey case and dial punctuated by an electric shade of baby blue. Price: US$299 from the Time+Tide Shop
Hamilton Khaki Field Titanium 38
The Khaki Field has been one of Hamilton’s best-selling collections for years, thriving in its military revival aesthetic and practically defining the modern field watch. The 24-hour display is both compelling and legible, in a style that’s full of detail without feeling cluttered. The titanium case is water-resistant to 100m and available in 38mm or 42mm sizes, but it’s the 38mm version which feels a little bit truer to its vintage looks. There are also plenty of dial versions to choose from, but the reference in sage green is particularly attractive with its off-white printing and lume. Price: US$995 from the Time+Tide Shop
Citizen Attesa World Timer CB0215-18L
It’s a little-known fact that Citizen was the first brand to release a titanium watch. The material has played a big part in its catalogue ever since that 1970 release, with no fewer than 34 different models produced in the lightweight metal today. The Attesa World timer is packed with features, and one of the stand-out pieces out of the range, able to display 26 different time zones and a perpetual calendar. All this is crammed into a 42.5mm, DLC-coated titanium case, connected to an integrated leather strap. The watch also features a multitude of recycled materials, a hot trend in the industry. Price: US$1,025
echo/neutra Rivanera Grey
It wouldn’t be totally fair to call the echo/neutra Rivanera Grey a pure dress watch, as its drab and slab case made from sandblasted grade 5 titanium heavily aligns its design with the recent rise of brutalist aesthetics. The blocky, harsh lugs are stepped to create more intrigue, and then there’s the delectably minimalist dial. Despite being simple, the rectangular layout has been given just the right amount of curvature for contrast and balance, while the small seconds subdial ticks away thanks to the manually-wound Peseux 7001 calibre. The hour markers are also subtly raised from the dial, playing with depth despite the case’s ultra-slim 5.9mm presence. Price: US$1,490 exclusively in-store at the Time+Tide Shop
Nivada Grenchen F77 Titanium Meteorite
Nivada Grenchen specialises in vintage reissues, and thank god it does considering its wealth of gorgeous references over the years. The F77 is one of its latest efforts to bring back a 1970s sports watch, with obvious octagonal inspirations. Titanium is not a prominent metal found in iron-nickel meteorites, but the silvery shards of the crystalline Widmanstätten pattern stand out from their dull grey surrounds, perfectly accompanying the grade 5 titanium case. At 37mm in diameter and only 86 grams on the full bracelet, it’s an eminently wearable watch. The movement is the Soprod P024, which is a well-regarded clone of the ETA 2824-1 with a ±12 second per day accuracy, 38-hour power reserve, and 4Hz beat rate. Price: US$1,500 from the Time+Tide Shop
Seiko Astron GPS Solar SSJ013
The Seiko GPS Astron isn’t just highly accurate, but it uses GPS signals to determine the correct time and date for your location without any adjustment needed, ever. The solar-powered movement will maintain that accuracy in perpetuity as long as it’s not kept in the dark, and you can even check whether or not the watch can get an accurate GPS signal. Assuming you needed to, you could even use this feature to find your way out of isolated areas. The 41.2mm titanium case uses Seiko’s super-hard coating for scratch resistance, and looks incredibly futuristic alongside the blue brick-pattern dial. Price: US$2,000
Tudor Pelagos FXD
Tudor introduced titanium to its catalogue in 2012 with the arrival of the Pelagos 25500TN – the prodigal grandson to the Submariner. The Pelagos had brought a fresh take on modern dive watches, while staying aware of Tudor’s rich diver history. The brand introduced the award-winning FXD almost a decade later, presenting it as a collaboration piece created through the relationship with the French Navy, denoted by the MN (Marine Nationale) inscription on the caseback. Overall, it stands as one of the more unique pieces in the range, with the titanium case featuring sculpted, integrated strap bars that are surprisingly challenging to manufacture in this material. This, combined with the blue ceramic bezel insert and legible dark blue dial, is a recipe for one of the best dive watches on the market – a claim strengthened by the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, which awarded the Pelagos FXD the Best Diver’s Watch award in 2022. Price: US$3,900
Longines Spirit Zulu Time Titanium
The Longines Spirit is difficult to look past in any category it occupies, as every tiny detail seems to be laid out with perfection. From the gold and cream tones on the black dial allowing its red highlights to pop, to the diamond indices and golden ring around the dial’s perimeter, and the black and grey bicolour ceramic bezel, there isn’t anything on display which isn’t incredibly satisfying as a whole picture. The 39mm case with no crown guards oozes vintage style, and the titanium construction and bracelet keep it feeling lightweight on the wrist and industrial in tone. The GMT complication is courtesy of an ETA A31.411, and the 100m water resistance marks its capability as a total package sports watch. Price: US$4,275
Rolex Yacht-Master 42 RLX Titanium
Today’s Rolex is a reasonably conservative company not known for jumping on trends, but despite the titanium Yacht-Master being far from the world’s first titanium watch, it’s just done so well – kind of like when Apple finally jumps on a feature Android phones have had for years. This marked a huge leap forward for the company, which despite its innovative history is known these days for taking glacially incremental steps in progressing models forward. Like a Submariner on steroids, the Yacht-Master features a 42mm case and Oyster bracelet machined from the proprietary RLX Titanium. Also note the reintroduction of bevelled lugs and a fully brushed finish. On the inside, you’ll find the 3235 movement, with -/+2 seconds daily accuracy, and 70-hour power reserve. Price: US$14,050
IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40 Titanium
In the 1970s, IWC commissioned legendary designer Gérald Genta to design a luxury tool watch with an integrated bracelet, encompassing the brand’s ability to create something strong and durable, yet sleek and aesthetically pleasing. The result was the Ingenieur SL, a watch now engrained in IWC’s heritage. One of the biggest launches at Watches and Wonders 2023 was IWC’s reimagined 40mm Ingenieur, and while the coloured dials of the stainless-steel pieces stole the show, the titanium variant is there for the true tool watch enthusiast. Chiselled from grade 5 titanium, the Ingenieur features a sandwich-design case, bezel, and caseback, all clamping the watch together for a very wearable 10.7mm thickness. That’s thinner than a Datejust, yet managing to squeeze in a five-day power reserve from the 3211 movement, as well as 100 metres of water resistance. US$14,600
Bulgari Octo Finissimo
Most pieces in this list are relatively bulky, and while the titanium Bulgari Octo Finissimo isn’t a particularly small watch at 40mm in diameter, it has a trump card up its sleeve – it’s a grand total of 5.15mm thin. Bulgari, while originally a luxury jewellery brand, has made a name for itself in watchmaking circles with the Octo’s unique visual, being so much more than a fashion watch. Inside lies the 2.23mm-thick BVL 138, decorated with côtes de Genève, chamfering, and perlage, all on display through a sapphire caseback. Bulgari became so enamoured with chasing the thinnest design possible, it even went one step further with the Octo Finissimo Ultra, which deserves an honourable mention in this list of titanium specials, managing to flatten down even further to a bonkers 1.8mm. The case of the normal-flavour Octo Finissimo itself is multifaceted and angular, but not too masculine, with a sandblasted finish to the finely machined titanium. Coupled with an integrated, flat-link titanium bracelet, the watch looks and wears like the most comfortable cuff on all manner of wrist sizes. Price: US$16,100
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon Titanium
It shouldn’t be a shock to acknowledge that titanium is far from being a precious metal, but that hasn’t stopped it appearing in some of the loftiest catalogues in watchmaking. As one of Switzerland’s Holy Trinity of watchmaking Vacheron Constantin has been experiencing an all-time high in brand appreciation lately. The Overseas collection is a contemporary evolution of the legendary 222, and this time-and-tourbillon reference is a stunning blend between luxury and utility. The Grade 5 titanium is finished to the same impeccable standard as its gold watches, and the Calibre 2160 is gorgeous opposite the lavish blue sunburst dial. Price: US129,000
Time+Tide Timeless Pick: F.P. Journe Centigraphe
The F.P. Journe’s Centigraphe collection is often overlooked in favour of some of the eccentric watchmaker’s more iconic models. However, the Centigraphe still has plenty to offer. It was originally designed at the behest of Formula 1 legend Jean Todt, and is a completely mechanical chronograph capable of measuring 1/100th of a second, up to 10 minutes. Only some references are made from titanium, but they range from the drop-dead gorgeous Souverain Anniversaire limited edition for the Hong Kong Boutique, to the Centigraphe Sport with an exhilarating integrated titanium bracelet. Prices vary wildly across various auction sites due to the sporadic nature of the different references and editions, but you can expect to pay anywhere between US$100k-200k.