We have brought together the watches equipped with the most advanced systems for impact resistance in today’s world of watchmaking.
Impacts: one of the biggest enemies of mechanical watches. Manufacturers have been working for many years to protect sensitive mechanical parts from deadly impacts. In addition to the shock protection systems developed for the impact resistance of the balance system, the part of the watch movement that can be most affected by impacts, top manufacturers are also working on special designs that can protect the calibers as a whole.
Richard Mille is undoubtedly the first brand that comes to mind when it comes to shock protection. Richard Mille RM27-04, the latest addition to the series specially developed for Rafael Nadal, has a 12.000 G impact resistance.
Simple physics will suffice to express what this value means. G, standing for gravitational acceleration, comes from the acceleration of gravity on earth. Every mass on Earth is being pulled towards the earth with an acceleration of 9.80665 m/s². You can think of acceleration as the pressure you feel on your body while the vehicle you are in is accelerating. The harder a vehicle accelerates (or decelerates as well), the greater the acceleration you feel. When this term is used for deceleration, it will be negative acceleration. As you can understand from the words acceleration or deceleration, a change in speed is necessary for acceleration to occur. So, no matter how fast you are going, if your velocity is constant your acceleration is zero. With the same logic, if a watch suddenly starts to move as a result of a sudden impact, or if it hits something quickly and its speed is reset, a great acceleration load and stress will be placed on all parts of the watch. You can all guess how much damage this stress level can cause.
So, what does the 12,000 G acceleration mentioned by Richard Mille mean? Today, high-end sports cars can reflect acceleration, deceleration, and lateral acceleration values slightly exceeding 1G in the appropriate tire/appropriate asphalt combination to their users. Warplanes can accelerate up to 10G on their pilots during maneuvering. Unfortunately, much less than this value is high enough to knock out a normal person, so pilots both undergo special training and wear equipment that will enable them to withstand extreme conditions. How can a Richard Mille withstand 12,000 times the standard value, when even a fighter jet can accelerate 10 times the gravity?
Keyword: Damping. Richard Mille RM27-04 can absorb high impacts just like the net of a tennis racket, thanks to the dial net knitted and stretched with a special form. Movement parts positioned in this network structure do not accelerate suddenly in the face of shocks, they accelerate or slow down gradually.
Another watch produced with a similar logic is the IWC Big Pilot's Watch Shock Absorber XPL. The impact resistance level of the watch with a 44mm diameter Ceratanium case is 30,000G. If your wrist is subjected to such an acceleration, there is no doubt that your bones will crumble, but no harm will come to your IWC. In this special model, IWC has benefited from a special housing geometry surrounding the automatic Caliber 32115. IWC engineers, who are aware that even micrometer-level stretches are of vital importance in shock damping, wanted to push the limits of science with their system that can absorb impacts in a short time without reflecting them on the movement.
Today, the impact resistance level of many watches is guaranteed by certain certificates. One of the leading names in this trend is METAS. Omega is a brand that can earn this certificate for almost all of its models. METAS, Master Chronometer certified watches can offer up to 5000 times gravity, that is, impact resistance of 5000G. Thanks to this value, you can enjoy the comfort of protecting your watch from almost all the negative effects you may encounter in daily life. Before forgetting, it is worth remembering that this superior certificate has also been used by Tudor in special models.
It is not possible to make a list of shock-resistant watches without mentioning the Casio G-Shock series. Although they are more protected from impacts with their battery-operated movements compared to mechanical calibers, they can produce indestructible watches thanks to the unique cushion-like damping system used in G-Shock models. G-Shock models can offer up to 15G of gravity acceleration and up to 20G of vibration protection.
I cannot help but mention the B.R.M. V6-44 models, which are equipped with a highly detailed suspension system in terms of design and functionality. Thanks to the fact that the movement and dial pair of the watch are attached to the case with 3 suspensions, the impacts on the case can be damped without transferring them to the movement, and irreversible damage can be prevented.
