
The world's darkest material —
Vantablack has been used in various aesthetic applications including this luxury watch by Manufacture Contemporaine du Temps (MCT) in Switzerland.

The world's darkest material —
Fine jewelry company, Ore has applied Vantablack to their range of interactive rings. Made of 18-carat gold and olivine crystals, each ring is paired with a single star. As the star reaches its zenith position, LED lights glow through the crystals.

The world's darkest material —
British nanotech company Surrey NanoSystems first created Vantablack in 2014.

The world's darkest material —
It is so dark the human eye can't discern its shape and form, creating what has been called a black hole.

The world's darkest material —
Vantablack can make a three-dimensional object look like a two-dimensional cardboard cut out. Here, it's used on a container of Lynx deodorant.

The world's darkest material —
The material is made up of millions of carbon nanotubes, each measuring two or three nanometers -- or roughly one millionth of a millimeter.

The world's darkest material —
The nanotubes are "grown" at temperatures of 430 degrees Celsius or higher.

The world's darkest material —
It creates some surprising visual effects. Creases and bumps on this aluminum foil are easily picked up by the human eye ...

The world's darkest material —
... but once covered with Vantablack, all wrinkles and roughness seem to disappear, because the material absorbs 99.96% of all light.

The world's darkest material —
Vantablack's surreal effect on the eye is demonstrated on this bust. Coating the 3D bust with Vantablack makes it appear as a head-shaped black-hole when viewed from the front.

The world's darkest material —
Though the presenter's forehead, nose and mustache re-appear when viewed in profile.
The world's darkest material —
Even water refuses to interact with the material due to the super-hydrophobic surface.
The world's darkest material —
A new spray version of the coating can now be applied at a large scale to virtually any surface.