Overlooked is your weekly horological treasure hunt — where we dig through the vaults of European Watch Company to spotlight a few quietly brilliant pieces hiding in plain sight. It’s the sleeper hit, the underdog, the “wait, how is this still available?” watch you didn’t know you needed… until now.

Titanium is a lightweight yet strong material that has been increasingly used for watch cases. It has many pros: a high strength-to-density ratio, offering a very strong material while being lightweight; high resistance to corrosion; and a contemporary matte-gray appearance that fits well with modern watch designs. It also abounds in other contexts, such as my Marriott Bonvoy status and the hit song Titanium by David Guetta featuring Sia, which we highly recommend you listen to while you read this story.

De Bethune DB22 Titanium 

There are a lot of things to love about De Bethune - their distinctive design language, their technical proficiency, and their attention to detail. This model, the DB22TIS5, is no exception. The 48mm case sounds big but wears a little smaller due to its short, architectural lugs, and is incredibly lightweight. But what’s inside is more impressive: the brand’s in-house caliber DB2024-130, which has twin self-regulating barrels and a 6-day power reserve. This piece also features De Bethune’s signature triple pare-chute shock absorbing system, which protects the movement from shock damage. With a visible power reserve indicator on the silver microlight dial, the wearer will surely feel bulletproof.

Panerai PAM00309 Radiomir Minerva Caliber Titanium

Panerai watches are easily recognizable to the initiated, with their cushion cases and characteristic typefaces. This Radiomir PAM00309 showcases all of those design characteristics in a 47mm titanium case contrasted with an incredibly legible matte black dial. What truly makes this piece stand out is the manually-wound movement that was built upon a historic Minerva base caliber, which boasts a number of different finishing techniques, visible through the exhibition caseback. It is absolutely pitch perfect.

Urwerk UR-105 TA Knight Black DLC Titanium

Urwerk is known for its avant-garde take on timekeeping. They often feature timekeeping displays that throw everything we think we know about hour and minute hands out the window. This piece, the UR-105 TA Knight, takes all of that to the stealth level in black DLC titanium. The case takes its inspiration from medieval armor and brings it all the way to the space-age future, with a satellite wandering hours display that you might imagine Robocop incorporating into his titanium alloy shell. Its in-house calibre 5.02 UR has a 48-hour power reserve and a cool factor that is undeniable.

Blancpain 5000-1230-B52A Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Titanium

Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms is arguably one of the most iconic dive watches on the market today. It’s widely considered to be the first modern diving watch, and its name is inspired by Ariel’s song from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and who can resist a nod to The Bard when selecting a tool watch? This model, a Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe in titanium, is the perfect combination of lightweight and robust. The 43mm case envelops the in-house caliber 1315 automatic movement, which boasts an impressive 120-hour power reserve and a silicon balance spring, protecting against magnetic fields to ensure accuracy. Its clear, legible black dial with white hands and indices make it easy to read in or out of the water. And at 300m of water resistance, this timepiece can easily handle any environment.

It’s hard to beat titanium as a robust yet lightweight material in watches, and these four options span a huge range of aesthetics and function. These four pieces range from the practical dive watch to the avant-garde conversation starter, but they all have one thing in common: THEY ARE TITANIUM!