How diamond dust unfolds its splendid brilliance

We added an unprecedented dimension to manufacture dials by coating them with diamond dust. With a refined process, the precious dust is bonded in such a way that incident light performs a scintillating ballet. In this post, I will explain how diamond dust can generate the same sparkling effect that is normally attributed only to brilliant-cut diamonds.

by Walter Hess

Diamond formation deep beneath the earth’s mantle

There is no harder natural substance on earth than a diamond. Deep beneath our planet’s mantle, millions of years ago, carbon was transformed into precious stones as a result of enormous pressure and searing heat.

Brilliant cut with 57 facets

Noble diamonds owe their popularity as decorative gems to their exceptionally captivating refraction and magnificent brilliance. Careful grinding of the individual facets at defined angles optimizes light reflection and endows the diamond with its uniquely brilliant choreography of light. The cuts must be executed precisely to reflect as much of the incident light as possible back to the observer. This feat is accomplished best by the vastly popular brilliant cut with 57 facets.

Brilliant reflections with diamond dust

Diamond fragments reflect incident light almost like brilliant-cut diamonds. The filigreed splinters have the same properties as diamonds but they cannot be ground due to their size. Nonetheless, their dimensions are ideal for transforming them into diamond dust for the manufacture dials of HESS watches.

The video below will show you how majestically diamond dust unfolds its dazzling effect:

 

Bond force and reflection, perfectly united

Due to the angle of their natural fracture behavior, diamond dust particles reflect light in almost the same way as cut brilliants. The coating method is the key to maximizing the reflection on the dial. But the diamond dust must not “drown” in a lacquer or similar type of adhesive, because this would reduce its reflectivity. After countless tests, we succeeded in developing a bonding method that combines bond integrity with perfected reflection. It works for black and white diamond dust. With white diamond dust, the dials will sparkle in black, gray, and champagne, depending on the color of the substrate. So how did we accomplish that? It’s our little secret.

> Learn more about the story of our Diamond Dust collection
> The Diamond Dust models