Thread: Hublot assists in the development of unscratchable gold

Unscratchable gold is harder than steel - Technology & science - Science - DiscoveryNews.com - msnbc.com

Interesting read, here are a few tidbits:

Others have been able to make hard gold in the past but they haven't been able to achieve the level of hardness required to meet the 18-karat standard, separating real gold from impure gold. Hublot filed for a patent on the new gold composite, Mortensen said. He called Hublot an adventurous company when it comes to designing with new materials.
To make the new gold, the EPFL team used boron carbide, a ceramic that’s one of the hardest materials in the world, along with diamonds. This material has numerous applications, including as a component in bulletproof vests.

First the ceramic was heated in an oven to more than 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit, producing a three-dimensional network almost like a scaffold, with just the right amount of pores. That network was then infiltrated with liquid gold, meaning the scientists pushed gold into the pores. Finally, the combination was solidified to form the composite material.

pretty amazing, they are trying to grow their roster of products that go above and beyond others and they certainly are getting bigger and bigger.

wow very interesting

I always love when watch manufacturers are the first to create new materials. History would tell otherwise, but it just seems like the unlikeliest of places for new metals to be created. With all the possible places for new materials to be created, (Defense contractors, auto manufacturers, aeronautical engineers, etc) where innovation in materials can literally be the difference between life and death, its an application motivated purely by aesthetics that continues to push the boundary of what is possible. Amazing.