How ceramic went from fringe to mainstream in watchmaking

Despite Rado’s head start, it took a while for the rest of the industry to catch on. One reason is simple: ceramic is difficult and expensive to produce. It’s made from powdered compounds like zirconium oxide, which are pressed into shape and sintered at extremely high temperatures, a process that can result in up to 30 per cent breakage during production.

And then there’s finishing. Unlike metals, ceramic can’t be machined in the same way and polishing it to a high shine requires entirely different tools and expertise. Every bevel, edge, and link takes more effort to get right. For brands used to working with steel or gold, the learning curve is steep.

But the payoff? Huge. Ceramic is lighter than steel, hypoallergenic, thermally neutral (no more cold shock when you put your watch on), and almost impossible to scratch. Once brands figured out how to work with it, it started popping up in sports watches, fashion watches, and eventually haute horlogerie.

See also: The Louis Vuitton Tambour Ceramic is understated with a modern edge

So why is ceramic having a moment? There are a few reasons.

First, technology has finally caught up. Once considered impossible, brightly coloured ceramic is now a reality thanks to advances in sintering and pigmentation techniques that keep colours from washing out or becoming uneven.

Hublot led the charge with its vivid Big Bangs in red, yellow, and now mint green and petrol blue, colours previously thought impossible to achieve in ceramic. These new shades, released in limited runs for 2025, are made possible through proprietary pigmentation and sintering processes developed by Hublot’s materials lab, which has been at the forefront of ceramic innovation for over a decade.

Chanel, typically restrained, took a more couture approach. The maison spent five years perfecting the J12 Bleu in a deep navy that is both matte and intensely saturated—a rare achievement in ceramic that avoids any purple or grey undertones. The new J12 Bleu retains all the sleekness of the original but with added depth and emotional resonance, underscoring how colour can shift the entire tone of a watch without altering its form.

Zenith, meanwhile, made blue the central theme of its 160th anniversary celebrations, releasing a coterie of timepieces in matching vibrant blue ceramic. Each model features tonal integration from case to dial to bracelet, creating a striking monochrome effect that feels both futuristic and deeply tied to Zenith’s cosmic brand identity. Not just commemorative editions, they are statements of intent that showcase how ceramic can serve as both design language and material advantage.

These aren’t just watches in colour, but watches of colour, and this is an important distinction to make. Ceramic doesn’t just hold pigment; it makes it richer, deeper, and permanent. Unlike painted or coated metals, the colour runs through the entire case. It won’t fade, scratch off, or dull. This permanence is part of the appeal for collectors and first-time buyers alike.

Read more: How the Omega Seamaster went from a dress watch to a James Bond classic

Ceramic also changes how a watch wears. Panerai’s Submersible QuarantaQuattro Luna Rossa uses a titanium-ceramic hybrid called Ti-Ceramitech, which has the look of ceramic but is dramatically lighter and more fracture-resistant. For a brand known for large cases, that’s a game-changer. A 44mm Panerai suddenly feels manageable, even elegant.

Piaget’s Polo Skeleton Ceramic is another example. It’s the first time the ultra-thin luxury sports watch has been rendered in ceramic, and the result is surprising. At just 7.9mm thick, it’s sleek, black, and impossibly light, with none of the weight you’d expect from a luxury watch. But it still carries the same high watchmaking inside.

Omega, never one to miss a materials story, expanded its ceramic offerings in the Aqua Terra and Planet Ocean lines. This year’s Aqua Terra features ceramic bezels in punchy tones, while the full ceramic Planet Ocean Worldtimer makes a hulking 45.5mm GMT dive watch feel far more wearable than its dimensions suggest.

Then there are the watches that use ceramic for stealth rather than show. IWC’s new all-black Ingenieur is a prime example. The brand, which first introduced a ceramic case back in 1986, has now returned to the material in one of its most iconic Genta-designed watches. The full ceramic case and bracelet make it tough, tactile, and quietly aggressive.

Ceramic won’t replace steel, and it’s not trying to. But it is asking brands to rethink how they design around a case, and not just what goes inside it. What was once seen as a difficult, niche material has become a canvas for expression. Some use it to cut weight, others to improve toughness, and many, simply, to make a watch beautiful.

At a time when materials are as much a part of the conversation as movements or complications, ceramic stands apart. It is expressive yet efficient, allowing familiar silhouettes to take on fresh identities without losing their essence.

In the end, it’s not just what ceramic is—it’s what it lets a watch become.

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