The titanium image: Ascending to new heights

Abstract

Image is what it is all about; this applies equally to the latest and greatest soap flakes as well as golf clubs. As Marc Antony said, “so let it be with Caesar” (or, with apologies to Shakespeare, titanium). In the past few years, we have seen the titanium image ascend to new heights. Here are a few examples: • An expensive wine, 100 Château Margaux 1995 ($200–290 per bottle) is described as “absolutely stunning, with masses of raspberry and violet aromas and flavors and a titanium girdle of tannis.” • ARTnews describes the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao as the “Art of the Century,” a masterpiece by Frank Gehry consisting of titanium and stone. • Tactical Knives describes the new titanium mission knives as “taking the legendary combat-proven multipurpose knife to new levels of excellence.” • To some, the ultimate accolade— the name of a men’s club in Honolulu, Hawaii (dutifully visited last summer), was changed from Totally Gold to Totally Titanium. So, titanium is no longer an exotic aerospace material to which the general public cannot relate. Even cartoons in the newspaper use titanium as something of a standard. For example, in the Sally Forth cartoon, Sally refer to the ultimate in husbands as a “titanium husband” (while he is working below the sink to get the garbage disposal working—happy memories!). Forget steel, aluminum, and magnesium—the titan metal is up there with the gods of gold, silver, and platinum (the name of a gentlemen’s club in San Diego). While titanium has expanded into many new markets, the traditional aerospace market has attained new levels in the commercial segment, with a recent hiccup of cutbacks in Boeing orders due to the economic problems in Asia. We have even touched the “holy grail” of getting titanium into the family automobile; albeit outside the United States. Due to the excellent work of Takashi Saito of Toyota Research and DevelopThe Titanium Image: Ascending to New Heights