Cartier has introduced the most recent concept watch, the IDTwo and like it predecessor, the IDOne Cartier continue to innovate in directions that few other watch companies have the knowledge or commitment to research. Like the ID One, this is a watch designed for the long run, with no expense of thoughts and mechanical genius spared.
To appreciate the innovations present in the IDTwo, one must first look at its own predecessor. The IDOne hunted to resolve one of watchmaking’s oldest issues – the need to lubricate mechanisms with petroleum for that absolutely running timepiece. Obviously Cartier watches triumphed with the novel solution of a watch that includes a’virtually’ eternal working lifetime and service-free watch. Currently half the manufacturing time of a mechanical watch is dedicated to adjustments so the upside for the production stage is obvious. And for the client, the IDOne might spell the end of dull after-sales servicing that is about as attractive as a visit to the dentist.

Additionally, protection from the aggressions which unnerve the delicate equilibrium of this whirring center of the watch are made to the very components and case of this watch. Shocks, lubricant instability, temperature changes and magnetism are no more enemies of their mechanical watch. The first innovation to notice is the balance wheel that is formed out of a mono-block of transparent carbon crystal. Carbon crystal is close diamond in its own hardness and has a low friction co-efficient, is conducive to thermal variations and anti-magnetic. Such is the production process and character of this new substance that the component can be manufactured to inside a precision of 1 micron. Similarly the escapement wheel and the anchor are made out of the exact same silicon-based material. The IDOne’s hairspring is created from Zérodur®, a zero-expansion optical glass used in gigantic telescope lenses such as the Xinglong Observatory in China and is naturally thermo-compensated and four times lighter than the metallic hairspring in addition to resistant to the draw of magnetism. The IDOne can also be completely oil-free at some of the typically 65 points of lubrication thanks to the low friction coefficient of the carbon crystal parts and also the Amorphous Diamond Like Carbon (ADLC) coating on the rest of the metal components which, unlike DLC, elevates the hardness of diamonds with the’slide’ factor of graphite to render lubrication unnecessary. The team have waved goodbye to the ruby now redundant in the marriage of ADLC and carbon crystal. To prevent impact damage all of the new components of the escapement are put in a carbon crystal cage mounted on”Silent block” polymer rings. The entire cage acts as a shock absorber and polymer has been selected over elastomere as it does not dry out or split.

The watchcase is made of an ultra-light alloy of Niobium and titanium, a metal more commonly utilized in the aerospace industry and also for hip replacements as accepted by the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration). The elastic nature of the alloy means that shocks are invisibly to a gentle curve and so this alloy was chosen over ceramic that does not have any shock absorption qualities. And anticipate sustainability issues to be more prominent later on. All of this materials science and re-engineering ends in a more precise, easier to assemble, maintenance free watch. In accordance with Cartier, when analyzed in a dial up place, is next only to quartz with a precision of +/- 3.5 seconds every day.
The IDTwo does so much more though. It also uses two times less energy, has a mighty thirty-two day power reserve and stores 30 percent more energy. With the elimination of the demand for petroleum using the ID One, another step was naturally the elimination of the next source of friction: the air . Short of creating a watch that could just be worn at the vacuum of space, Cartier have gone one better and created a vacuum within the watch itself. The opinion is vacuum-housed within a case derived from a single block of Ceramyst. The same ID escapement is coupled with breathtakingly black fibreglass springs that you can view through the watch face itself.
If this sounds like hot atmosphere it should be considered exactly how much energy in watches is wasted through friction and air resistance: 75%. With this in mind where can you get one of these horological beauties? They wouldn’t be concept watches if they weren’t one-of-a-kind and therefore are very literally priceless. Nevertheless, one watch that’s available for us mortals has grown out of the of creative complications of the ID One. The Astrotourbillon Carbon Crystal uses exactly the exact same niobium-titanium circumstance, carbon crystal parts, and of course the adjustment-free and lubrication-free pallet and escapement wheel.
With these three watches we see how even the many high-minded innovations may result in technology readily available to each and everyone of us. Too often do concepts remain just that- fantastical thoughts that rarely leave the webpage. Here though we view accurate leaps in the execution of these dreams and how they can be brought to spectacular life.