Bronze watches are back: Panerai and Tudor craft modern titans of time, while Bell & Ross add an avant-garde twist, as the historic heavy metal leads statement timepiece trends in 2o24
- The legendary Gérald Genta, who made the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Philippe Nautilus, later made the Gefica Kilimanjaro, one of the earliest bronze watches
- The Paneristi now have the new skeletonised Radiomir Tourbillon Bronzo to obsess over while Tudor have introduced a fully bronze Black Bay 58
If you’re looking for a statement watch to stand out in the crowd for all the right reasons, it’s time to consider a bronze case.
As one of the earliest metals known to man, bronze has a storied history stretching back several millennia. The earliest bronze items ever discovered date back to 3,300 BC, therefore considered the start of the Bronze Age, a period that lasted more than two millennia, during which the alloy was primarily used for making tools, weapons and armour.
Bronze has been used in the creation of watches since the late 19th century. Back then, bronze was commonly used to create watch cases, as containing around 12 per cent tin and 88 per cent copper in its purest form, it was known for its durability and resistance to corrosion.
The Gefica Kilimanjaro watch was one of the earliest examples of a luxury bronze timepiece. Introduced in 1988 by Gérald Genta – the man behind the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak (1970) and Patek Philippe Nautilus (1976) – the watch was clad entirely in bronze, chosen for its matt appearance and vintage-inspired aesthetic. Over time, however, watchmakers have experimented with other materials – stainless steel, ceramic, gold and even nano-tube carbon – causing bronze watches to dip in popularity.
Fast forward to today, however, and bronze timepieces are experiencing quite the renaissance as the world’s leading brands rediscover their appeal. And, as one of the hottest trends in watchmaking right now, there’s no shortage of options to choose from.
At Florentine watchmaker Panerai, bronze has long been used in the creation of one of its most emblematic models: the Bronzo. First released in 2011 in a limited run of 1,000, the model was an instant sensation with Panerai’s devoted fans – the Paneristi – who clamoured for the design’s chunky 47mm case, carved out of bronze with a unique weathered effect. Building on that success, two years later Panerai released another Bronzo, this time with a power-reserve indicator; and a further model followed in 2017, with a blue dial.
Now the brand’s latest Bronzo – the skeletonised Radiomir Tourbillon Bronzo – launched earlier this year in celebration of the brand’s new flagship boutique in New York and is arguably its most mechanically complex yet. Reworking one of Panerai’s most celebrated signatures, the classic 45mm Radiomir has been sculpted in bronze, set to a brushed finish and presented on a leather strap with creamy stitching and matching bronze trapezoidal pin buckle.
