THE FREEDOM TO RESHAPE Swiss manufacturer Laufen is the only company in the world to produce SaphirKeramik, a new patent pending ceramic material. Laufen revolutionised bathrooms in 2013 with this unique material perfected after five years’ intensive research and development. Strong and malleable, SaphirKeramik permits the creation of waferthin yet robust 3–5mm walls and tightedge radii of just 1–2mm. Its slender profile not only allows for a more pre cise design language but also has functional and ecological advantages. For example, its slim walls create more functional space. This revolutionary, ceramic material reaches its ex ceptional hardness blended with corundum, a colourless miner al found in sapphires. Rigorous testing has revealed that its flexural strength is equal to that of steel. In 2015 Laufen’s cutting-edge engineering has once again stretched the innovative material’s limits by increasing its maximum size – its 120 cm long washbasin in SaphirKeramik is its largest to date. Laufen has also applied its impressively efficient, high-pressure cast ing technology to other, hig h- volume pieces in SaphirKeramik. Moreover, as a brand new ceramic medium, SaphirKeramik gives designers almost limitless freedom to experiment and innovate.