Monochrome Watches
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ORLO Watches Launches the Ticonite Watch on Kickstarter, a Scratchproof Automatic Dive Watch

10 times more scratch-resistant than conventional steel...

| By Erik Slaven | 3 min read |
Orlo Ticonite Automatic Diver’s Watch wth Scratchproof titanium case

Smaller brands and newcomers can sometimes be surprising. Mainly due to the non-conventional way these brands work, they try where larger brands don’t. Latest example found on Kickstarter is named ORLO Watches, a Danish watchmaker, which has just launched a new automatic dive watch crafted in an exotic material named Ticonite, with a supposedly entirely scratchproof titanium case.Orlo Ticonite Automatic Diver’s Watch wth Scratchproof titanium case

Independent Danish watch company, ORLO Watches has partnered with the Technical University of Denmark to create a hardened, scratchproof titanium case for its new dive watch, now launching on Kickstarter. The ORLO Ticonite, named after the patented, hardened titanium (Ticonite), has a surface hardness of 1200HV, which is three to five times harder than conventional titanium (and conventional 316L steel has a 140HV hardness). The case is also almost 50% lighter than a comparable stainless steel case. Despite being a modified material, which uses heat and certain gasses in a controlled environment to produce, Ticonite still looks and feels like regular titanium. If you worry about your watch getting knocked around, this could be a good fit.

The dial is available in three colours – black, blue and green – with applied indices filled with a sand-coloured Super-Luminova. The matte silver hour and minute hands are also filled with sand-coloured Super-Luminova, while the matte silver seconds hand sports a red tip with no lume. The dial is made in Germany and the hands are made in Switzerland. The black, polished Ticonite bezel also has sand-coloured Super-Luminova filled indices and completes a full rotation in 60 clicks. This piece is made in Denmark.

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Orlo Ticonite Automatic Diver’s Watch wth Scratchproof titanium case

The three-part polished Ticonite case with aluminium inlay, also made in Denmark, has a screw-down Ticonite crown with ORLO’s logo at the tip. It’s 42mm in diameter and 14mm in height but weighs only 70 grams. The domed crystal is sapphire with an anti-reflective coating and the case back is polished Ticonite with an embossed ORLO logo. The watch is water-resistant to 120 meters (12 ATM).

The heart of the ORLO Ticonite is a Japanese Miyota Caliber 9015. This 24-jewel automatic movement has a 42-hour power reserve, beats at 28,800bph, displays hours, minutes and central seconds with hacking function, and an accuracy rating of 10-30 seconds per day. Introduced in 2009, the Miyota 9015 is already considered a reliable movement, is easy to acquire and relatively inexpensive. ORLO’s previous watches have been quartz models, so this is the young brand’s first mechanical piece.

The lug width is 22mm and the watch comes with a natural black rubber strap that’s made in Switzerland. It features quick-release spring bars and a polished Ticonite buckle, which is made in Denmark. All of these components from Denmark, Switzerland, Japan and Germany are sent to Glashütte, Germany for final assembly.

Orlo Ticonite Automatic Diver’s Watch wth Scratchproof titanium case

The ORLO Ticonite is currently on Kickstarter with a price of USD 900 for Super Early Bird backers. This is 50% of the suggested retail price of USD 1,800. Not per se an affordable watch, however one that is made in an exotic material and assembled in a region well-known for creating great watches. If it reaches its goal, deliveries are expected in October. More details here.

https://monochrome.website-lab.nl/orlo-watches-ticonite-dive-watch-scratchproof-automatic-kickstarter-price/

4 responses

  1. Wow, if “Ticonite” lives up to its promise, this could be a market changer.

    Me like:
    – The case’s retro design and Pforzheim (I guess) provenance
    – The sleek, minimalist bezel
    – The choice of a Miyota 9015, an excellent movement
    – The blue/black dial
    – Hands design (not original to the watch but restrained and chic all the same)
    – 70g? Gosh, this is going to be a departure.

    Me like less:
    – The non luminous seconds hand (if you’re building a diver, you may as well follow ISO 6425 specs guidelines)
    – The surprising 120 meter water resistance. The specs would make you guess at a higher performance (or is it simply over-engineered?).
    – the rather pedestrian rubber strap, Swiss or otherwise.
    – Full price of 1800$ (even if the early bird catches a deal). Whoa, I have a few other ideas for that budget…

    Are one of the defining choices made here to not source any parts or components from “exotic materials” (though “Ticonite” sounds pretty exotic to me ) or in China? If so, too bad for a decent high quality metal bracelet at a competitive price (but it probably wouldn’t be made of “Ticonite”).

  2. After a doing a bit of late homework, I found that existing Super Titanium Duractect (notably used by Citizen watches) has a has a surface hardness of 1100HV, very close to “Ticonite”. Maybe not a market mover after all ?

  3. The green and blue dial colors are very attractive. The timepiece is ok at 900.00
    Overall, it deserves to become a success.

  4. @denisd7 Citizen is THE KING of Titanium with different grades of hardness.
    The best they make is Duratect Alpha that has 2500HV bringing it to Sapphire teritory.
    sadly the Alpha is reserved for only a few Japanese Domestic Models.
    Even their Duratect MRK is harder than this at 1500 but I still respect Orlo for doing things differently than others!!

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