Teddy Baldassarre
12 Carbon Fiber Watches from Entry-Level to Luxury
Since its beginnings, the wristwatch industry has engaged in an ongoing quest for materials that are lightweight yet exceptionally tough - a quest that has led to the mainstreaming of once-experimental materials such as titanium and ceramics. Among the most recent and most high-tech substances adopted for watchmaking are carbon fiber compounds, pioneered by research scientists in the 1950s and ‘60s and first used in the manufacture of automotive and jet engine parts. The first wristwatch with carbon fiber in its case was an IWC Ingenieur in 1980; other watchmakers followed suit in the ensuing decades, some of them even developing new and more resilient substances by combining carbon fibers with other materials. While the watches on this list cover a vast range in terms of pricing, design, and technical complexity, all of them share the core attributes bestowed by carbon fiber and its various derivatives: exceptional lightness, durability, scratch- and corrosion-resistance, and an industrial-chic surface treatment that is sure to spark conversation among fellow watch aficionados. G-Shock Mudmaster GWG2000 Price: $800, Case Size: 61.2mm x 54.4mm, Thickness: 16.1mm, Crystal: Sapphire, Water Resistance: 200 meters, Movement: Casio Tough Solar Casio’s vast and diverse G-Shock collection offers some of its toughest multifunctional watches in the task-specific “Master of G” collection - like the Mudmaster, which as per its somewhat cartoonish name is aimed at wearers ...