10 years ago, Anonimo released a dive watch to commemorate the rediscovery and salvage of the wreck of the Polluce – a steamer ship that sank in 1841 in the Tyrrhenian Sea (just off the coast of Tuscany). The watch was called the “Polluce” after the wreck, and was produced in limited numbers using a variety of case materials. One of these case materials was a bronze alloy traditionally used in maritime construction.
Since the release of the Anonimo Polluce in 2006, watches with bronze cases have become quite popular, and have been produced by other manufacturers, both large and small. Anonimo released a second Polluce edition in 2008 (the photograph above shows my Polluce bronze second edition), and have produced a bronze edition of the Dino Zei, whilst Panerai released the 382 in 2011. Even IWC have got in on the act with the 2014 release of the Aquatimer “Expedition Charles Darwin”. As a result I am occasionally asked if I can source a bronze buckle for a customers watch strap.
Last year I decided I would try to find a supplier of bronze buckles but in doing so I came across a number of problems. Firstly, not all bronze is the same. “Bronze” is a term given to an alloy of primarily copper, mixed with other metals (usually tin, but sometimes with other elements such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminum, or silicon). Depending on which other metals are used (and the quantities of each) a different bronze alloy is produced with different characteristics. “Marine bronze” (i.e. UNI 5275 bronze alloy) is an alloy of copper and aluminium, with the addition of a small amount of nickel, and is commonly used for ships propellers because it resists impact and erosion very well, as well as being resistant to the corrosive effects of salt water. This is the bronze alloy used by Anonimo in the Polluce case, and so ideally this is what I was looking for.
Last year I spoke to many suppliers of “bronze” buckles to ask what alloy they used, only to find that either they weren’t sure, or the buckles were actually made of brass (brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, similar to bronze in appearance, but with very different characteristics and much cheaper to produce). I didn’t want to advertise something as being bronze without knowing precidely what it was made from, so I realised that the only option was to arrange to have them made myself. Eventually I made contact with a manufacturer who could make buckles for me using marine bronze, but when we started to talk about costs and minimum order quantities it was obvious this was not something I could entertain (they were far more expensive than I anticipated, and the minimum order quantity I was quoted was 2000 buckles – I expected to sell about 25 a year so I realised I’d need to live to be 130 to sell them all!)
There is another issue with bronze however, one that had made me wonder if a bronze buckle was actually a good idea in the first place. When bronze is in contact with the skin it can sometimes cause an allergic reaction because of the nickel content. Most bronze watches have a stainless steel case back for just this reason. A buckle will also be in contact with the skin of course, so the more I considered the project the less sure I was that producing a bronze buckle was the best idea I’d ever had.
Finally I came across a supplier who was producing stainless steel buckles with a bronze look pvd finish and I decided this was the best solution – a compromise admittedly, but it allows me to have available a quality buckle that looks like bronze, but without any of the issues associated with bronze (i.e. it won’t cost the earth or give you a rash!). These buckles are now in stock (in 24mm width) to buy individually, or for you to select when ordering a strap.
If anyone is interested in reading a slightly more in-depth blog post about the use of bronze as a material for watch cases this is an interesting read.