Failure analysis of zirconia ceramic watch bracelet components

This paper presents the failure of one particular design of component used in the production of ceramic bracelets for watches. A ceramic bracelet is made up of many ceramic “links”. The ceramic link components are interconnected using a metal skeletal frame to produce the bracelet. However, in service a number of the ceramic link components experienced fracture and subsequently failure. A systematic failure analysis was performed to characterize the different types of failure mechanism and to determine the cause of the failures. Initial examination was followed by detailed characterization using optical and scanning electron microscopy. The size of the fracture origins which were found were then verified by calculations based on the Griffith equation. Failure analysis indicated that significantly large defects were introduced into the components during the injection moulding. The results, conclusions and recommendations of this study are presented.