Driver8 wrote:
nickzac wrote:
I would have to say that Grade 2 is not well suited for usage in a watch, at least with a screw crown, where as Grade 5 is probably one of the best materials. I've also read people say the ti Breitlings ding about as easily as its steel counterparts...if they made a watch out of 6Al-4V, then that would be an entirely different story as 6Al is tough.
A lot of high-end watch manufacturers do use Grade 5 (or 6Al-4V) and they have much better performance in terms of both ding and scratch resistance. I used to always shy away from ti in the past as my only experience was with a Breitling M1, but I'd have no problems buying a grade 5 ti watch.
As jkwelsh noted, grade 5 is an titanium alloy as opposed to pure ti - about 90% titanium and 10% other metals if I recall. And as we see in most cases, alloys usually perform considerably better than their pure primary constituent - hence why they are made.
If Breitling made a Grade 5 titanium watch, we could drop it down a flight of stairs that are made of concrete and (at worst) have a few light scratches. I've found that 6Al-4V will dent most other objects prior to taking a dent itself.