The modern arms race with watches isn’t about gears and pinions, but rather materials. It may appear that brands are hot on beating each others’ movements but they know that such a war would be a joke. The race for the most accurate movement slowed to almost a halt when quartz watches hit the scene, and there are almost no new viable complications to be invented. The secrecy and excitement in the world of high-end watches is all in discovering, creating, and exploiting the hottest new materials.