Ceramic is the new gold in horology. Ceramic specialist Kyocera, of Japan, reports a growth in demand for ceramic products, including watch cases.

Traditionally, pocket watches and wristwatches often had ceramic dials or chapter rings, but ceramic watch cases were uncommon due to the poor shock-resistance of the material. However, ceramic technology has benefitted from advances in mobile phones, medical equipment and kitchen utensils.

Kyocera’s Jens Huber says that for a watch case Kyocera “mainly utilises zirconium dioxide with an extremely high grade of purity,” which offers hardness and stress resistance. Rather than pumping in additives and binders, the ceramic powder is formed under high pressure, resulting in a material harder than steel and resistant to scratching.

Chopard has a Happy Watch in ceramic, while Italian diving watch leader Officine Panerai’s Swiss-made Radiomir Black Seal Ceramic (€5,000 pictured) is this year’s must-have.

There may be another reason why ceramic is the next gold: the latter’s soaring price. Huber says the extra cost of engineering and testing more than makes up for the discounted cost of ceramic to gold, but concedes that watch grade ceramic is comparable in value to gold plate rather than gold. Expect to see more ceramic watches as the recession bites and watchmakers seek to reduce costs while projecting Puritan chic.