Feature: You Won't Believe What These Watches Are Made Of

Since it sunk on that fateful night of April 15, 1912, the Titanic has basically served as a giant aquatic playground for the sea-life of the North Atlantic Ocean. Just a few curious squid floating around its disintegrating decks, crabs scuttling around the ballroom and barnacles encrusting the bow—the setting of one of the corniest movie scenes ever when Leo and Kate embraced to the sound of Celine Dion’s interminable warbling.

Raising it has been mooted a few times over the years. But many people believe the ship—and everything inside it—should be respectfully left alone, the final resting place for those who perished in the disaster.

So the idea of walking around with a tiny piece of the Titanic’s actual hull embedded in your watch dial might sound, well, plain wrong to some of you. A frivolous novelty to commemorate what remains one of the most poignant events of the twentieth century. But that’s what Romain Jerome did with one of its most controversial creations.

Romain Jerome's controversial Titanic watch

Having purchased a 1.5kg piece of steel salvaged from the ship in 1991, the watchmaker used it to make its limited-edition Titanic DNA Steampunk Auto, a model with a stabilised rusted steel bezel that really does look like it’s spent a century languishing on the sea bed. And it is, if you’ll forgive the expression, just the tip of the iceberg…

A Block Off The Old Ship

Numerous other watchmakers have taken the concept of incorporating a physical piece of history into their watch, albeit with better taste.

Most notably there’s British brand Bremont’s HMS Victory Watch, the ultimate timepiece for any patriotic fan of British naval history.

Its movement, viewed through its transparent caseback, is ringed by oak wood from Nelson’s famous battleship—the oldest of its kind still in commission—while its inner case barrel incorporates small amounts of the copper nails that once held the ship together.

Bremont's Victory watch contains actual pieces of Nelson's ship

It’s a beautifully designed chronograph with a strong maritime aesthetic. But, best of all, part of the proceeds of the sales were donated towards a major refit to preserve the ship for future generations.

Sticking to the concept, Bremont have also released a watch containing a fragment of muslin that was used in the famous Wright Flyer, the world’s first successful motor-operated airplane. And if you’ve zero interest in aviation or nautical matters, there’s the Bremont Stephen Hawking Limited Edition Collection—a tribute to the late physicist—which contains tiny pieces of the wooden desk at which he formulated many of his theories. Be honest, you thought we were going to say ‘Tiny pieces of his wheelchair’, didn’t you?

Lunar Ticks?

Admittedly we questioned whether Romain Jerome’s previously mentioned ‘Titanic’ watch was in good taste, but its Moon Dust DNA watch is a little less tainted by controversy.

This model featured real moon dust on the crater-effect dial, fragments from the Apollo XI spacecraft on the bezel, fibres from an ISS spacesuit woven into the strap, plus hands that resemble satellite solar panels.

You could say it even out-Moons the Omega Speedmaster in its sheer…. well, Moonness.

Grog Amongst The Cogs

For any raging dipsomaniacs out there who are terrified of being stranded without access to alcohol, there are two high-end timepieces that come with a hermetically sealed booze-filled capsule set within the dial.

A Speake-Marin ‘Velsheda’ watch contains a tiny droplet of the world’s oldest rum, twelve bottles of which were found in the dusty cellar of an old estate in Leeds, England, in 2011.

Speake-Marin's 'Velsheda' watch containing a droplet of the world's oldest rum

And avant-garde brand Armin Strom has made a watch featuring a droplet from the world’s oldest authenticated bottle of cognac, the amber liquid echoing the rich gold hue of the escape wheel and pallets visible on the skeletonised dial. Novelty or not, it’s nicely done.

But it’s not only high-end brands that make these kind of ‘living history’ timepieces. If you’re looking for something far more affordable, there’s a brand called Rec who use salvaged cars to make their watches. You can have a watch fashioned from the bits of a Porsche 911, a Ford Mustang or a classic Mini Cooper. Cars not your thing? They also make one out of retired Spitfire fighterplanes.

Rafa’s Armpit Sweat?

Of course, it raises the question: what will watchmakers think of embedding in a dial next? The possibilities are seemingly endless.

How about an Omega Seamaster dial fashioned from the tyre spokes of James Bond’s iconic Aston Martin DB5? Or if capsules of liquid are such a popular thing, maybe Richard Mille could incorporate a droplet of the armpit sweat produced by its ambassador Rafa Nadal during his next Grand Slam final.

Rec's watch made out of a salvaged Mini Cooper

Fibres from the robes of the Dalai Lama? Ink extracted from the typewriter of Ernest Hemingway? David Beckham’s toenail clippings?

Remember, folks, you heard it here first.