Well, upon consideration of the facts you present, I suppose I have to admit to being a bit of a titaniumophile, and buying into the material's mystique. It sounds like you agree that its corrosion resistance is superb, and for a watch that's designed for deep ocean conditions that makes it a definite plus. In three years I'll be living on a boat in the Caribbean most of the time, so my watch is going to get its fair share of seawater on a dialy basis. Its light weight is also a plus, as I had a 2296.80 for three weeks, and while it was a knockout as far as appearance, it WAS a heavy watch. Full size Seamaster's are neither light nor small, and having a titanium one makes a perceptible difference in wearing comfort. I once tried on the Corum sailor's watch with not only the moon phases but also the tides, and the thing was UNGODLY heavy. The complications of that model with the use of SS (or even worse, the gold model) made it unwearable, and I'm 6'3" and weigh 250 lbs.
In two other areas titanium has very real utility in the watch world, and one is exclusivity. Even Rolex doesn't have any titanium models, and there are probably less than 10 manufacturers in the world that offer a watch in this metal. With that exclusivity comes a certain reverse bling factor which is unique to titanium, which is useful in both very bad and very good neighborhoods. Unless you know what you're looking at, a titanium watch is so low key that practically anything else made out of SS or gold looks like a more appealing target for theft. Go to an exclusive shopping area with lots of high end watches, and it's exactly the opposite. Vulturelike watch salesmen who will hit you up in a second to buy a gold Rolex can spot that telltale gray color 10 feet away, and generally leave you completely alone because they know somebody with a titanium watch isn't going to fall for a BS sales pitch.
In conclusion, I think the metallurgical properties of titanium of lightness, corrosion resistance, and strength, coupled with its exclusivity, stealthy appearance to normal people, and instant recognizability to informed people, make it a superior metal for marine watches.
