high temperatures. It is also less hard
than grade 2 titanium.” The black bezel is
made from zirconium oxide which
is commonly referred to as ceramic.
“I wanted the bezel to be black, but didn’t
want to use a coating such as PVD or
DLC,” states Granito. “These coatings
are not scratchproof at all – in fact are
so thin that even a slight scratch reveals
what’s underneath. Since the bezel is the
part of the watch that is most likely to be
exposed to scratches, the best option
for the Element was to use ceramic. With
its hardness of about 1200 Vickers, it’s
virtually unscratchable.”
One of the challenges when using
ceramic, however, is that, rather than
bending, the material tends to break
under structural stress. “So, to attach the
bezel to the container, we constructed
it around a titanium ring, to which it is
glued with a special compound. This ring
gives it a lot of structural strength and
the bezel passed the shock tests with
ying colours. The complexity of producing
watch parts in ceramics usually limits the
use to timepieces that cost many times
the price of the Element.
“Our experience with these materials
and the fact that we sell our watches
d2c direct to the customer, allows for
rather competitive pricing.” The hex screw
design was taken from the older Formex
models, as the company wanted to
establish the brand’s design DNA, which
is also inuenced by the patented case
suspension system. “The hex screws on
top are the axis for the springs of this
system,” explains Granito. “On the facets
and bevels of the top plate, you can
nd a complex mix of different nishing.
I wanted the wearer to discover new
aspects and angles of his watch long after
rst putting it on his wrist.”
When looked at from the side, the case
reveals an almost industrial design look,
due to the pistons of the case suspension
that are revealed. The interplay between
Formex CEO Raphael Granito
takes to the skies to put the
Element Swiss watch through
its paces.
ELEMENTAL LIFESTYLE
DRAWING ON INSPIRATION
The founders of Formex took to the drawing
boards in 1998 and, by the end of the
following year, the rst FORMEX watch
was born and opened the door for a new
generation of timepieces, inspired by
the engineering and mechanics of highperformance
racing cars and bikes.
The watches feature the brand’s signaturepatented
Case Suspension System. This
cushion concept protects the watch
movement from strong impacts or vibrations
and considerably adds to your comfort by
adapting to your wrist motion, states Formex.
The brand name is a combination of the
two French words ‘forme extrème’ (extreme
shape). In the following decade, Formex
launched various collections of modern
timepieces, with sports acionados very
much in mind.
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