Hodinkee
This Week In The Shop: Six Killer Grand Seiko Dials Not Named 'Snowflake'
Showing some love to some less hyped options from the brand with an affinity for nature-inspired dial designs.
4,653 articles · 520 videos found · page 54 of 173
Hodinkee
Showing some love to some less hyped options from the brand with an affinity for nature-inspired dial designs.
Monochrome
Audemars Piguet reveals new models that showcase the evolutionary design introduced on the first stainless steel Code 11.59 references in 2023. To update the more subdued and widely criticized design of previous dials, a unique “signature” embossed dial pattern has been specially created for this collection, together with different hands and markers, in collaboration between […]
SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet has just launched its “first semester collection” that’ll take us through the first half of the year. Most are variations of current models, with two of the most striking sharing the same dial in “smoked yellow gold”, namely the Royal Oak Frosted Gold Selfwinding 37 mm (ref. 15550BA) and the Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph 41 mm (ref. 26240BA). Both are fashioned in yellow gold and complemented by a striking dial with a gradient yellow gold finish, conceived to homage to the brand’s yellow gold Royal Oak models of the 1970s. Initial thoughts The smoked yellow gold finish was introduced on the Royal Oak “Jumbo” in 2022, so the new releases aren’t a surprise. Nonetheless, it is satisfying to see this dial finish on more compact models like the 37 mm ref. 15550. Between the two releases, the time-only ref. 15550 is the standout. The clean, radially brushed dial pairs perfectly with the finely grained texture of the frosted case. On the other hand, the dial finish is less punchy on the chronograph due to the traditional tapisserie guilloche. The chronograph, however, is an imposing watch overall due to its size and weight. The time-only model retails for CHF55,000, while the chronograph is priced at CHF63,000 – both sit in the current range for similar Royal Oak models. Neither is a value proposition, though both are appealing variants of the design. Smoked yellow gold dials Both new launches are variants of existing models, compact Royal ...
Fratello
Sometimes, adding a dial color can shine a new light on a watch. Both H. Moser & Cie. and MB&F; have done just that. That’s why we’ll unpack both releases in one article. The first is the much-praised H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Perpetual Calendar, and the second is the stunning MB&F; LM Perpetual Evo. […] Visit New Dials For The H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Perpetual Calendar And MB&F; LM Perpetual EVO to read the full article.
Time+Tide
With the trend of new dial colours seemingly slowing, might one of these be the next big thing in watch dials?The post What dials haven’t we seen yet? appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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Monochrome
Dials can come in all sorts of colours and decorative patterns, but one specific style that always seems to stand out more is the gradient dial. Also referred to as fumé or dégradé, the concept is fairly simple. You start with a certain colour in the middle and gradually darken it towards the edge. More often […]
Deployant
Armin Strom introduced the Tribute 1 in steel with new fumé dials and guilloché plates. Four dial colours, each limited to 10 pieces.
Worn & Wound
Seiko has been bringing the heat (quite literally) with sophisticated and labor-intensive dials to its mid-level lines like Presage. Last week we saw a slew of releases celebrating the 110th anniversary of the Laurel, Seiko’s first watch. The headliner was the Presage SPB401 and its enamel dial. Today we see enamel and lacquer make their way to the Presage collection in the form of three new references. The changes don’t stop there, though; there’s more to these watches than new dials. In a break from the current porcelain dials in the Craftsmanship Series, the new SPB403 features a white enamel dial courtesy of Mitsuru Yokasawa and Co. The dial layout on these references has been simplified with thin stick hour markers (as opposed to thin roman numerals). This results in a more versatile watch and allows the color and material to take center stage. In a nice touch, the chapter ring is further subdivided into sixths, corresponding to the movement’s 3Hz beat rate. Of the three, the SPB403 is the most classic-looking and comes on a five link bracelet with Seiko’s super-hard coating. The SPB405 (black dial) and SPB407 (green dial) incorporate the ancient art of lacquering into the Seiko Presage Craftsmanship Series. Made from the sap of the Urushi tree (Rhus verniciflua, found primarily in China and Japan), Japanese lacquer is notoriously expensive and highly prized. Master Usshu Tamura and his team at Seiko have developed a method that, unlike enamel, allows the la...
Worn & Wound
A watch, like any designed object, is the product of a series of decisions, and those decisions can define it. At some point, whoever is making the thing has to determine what type of watch it’s going to be, what sort of movement it will have, the size, the style of handset and indices, the dial colors, and so forth. The most successful watches, in my opinion, are those made by people who have come to tough but deliberate decisions. We’ve all seen watches that feel like they are just too much in one way or another, and they never tend to work. The new Geometry by Schwarz Etienne is literally the watch equivalent of a fully loaded luxury car: when it comes to dial finishes, it has every option. But instead of being too much, it works in a sort of psychedelic way. Whatever you think of it, I think it’s hard to argue that it’s the product of some serious decision making. The Geometry comes to us via designer Eric Giroud, who has previously worked with brands as diverse as Louis Erard, MB&F;, Mido, and many more. The dial is divided into four distinct quadrants, each incorporating different dial finishes and patterns. You can imagine any one of the single quadrants made as an entire dial, and the watch would probably look great. But broken into pieces, you get a sense of how these different patterns and finishes work with and against one another. The fact that it’s somewhat jarring to look at at first is a reminder of the difficulty of watch design in the first plac...
Quill & Pad
When Martin Green first got into watches in the late 1990s, Breguet was one of the brands that captivated him right from the beginning. And one Breguet stood out to Martin more than others: the Hora Mundi. Now he thinks that the new Hora Mundi 5557 is even better and with a complicated dial that is simply sensational.
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Time+Tide
Although the 2020s is a young decade so far, we’ve already been treated to a wealth of dial enrichment from textures, colours, and even shapes from plenty of big-name brands who traditionally don’t take risks. While that demonstrates a growing trend towards watch enthusiasts enjoying more characterful watches, that doesn’t mean that it’s anything new. … ContinuedThe post The most hypnotising telemeter dials you can buy now appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
Rolex is always the talk of Watches & Wonders, but this year the conversation focused on an unlikely watch: an Oyster Perpetual with a “Celebration Dial,” a colorful and playful creation that seems very, well, unlike Rolex? But is it, really? It garnered a lot of attention, was immediately memed, and generated some of the most fiery takes of the show. The Worn & Wound editorial team, as you’d expect, has thoughts, so we weigh in on the new Oyster Perpetual, and a similarly colorful and offbeat Day-Date, below. Zach Kazan No matter how hard brands try to prevent them, leaks of new releases are inevitable. It happened again this year with Rolex, the biggest brand of all. And while we only had hastily shared Google search results to go off of, and no actual specs or even basic information about the watches themselves, the shuttle ride to Palexpo on Day 1 was dominated by talk of gumballs. The so-called “Celebration Dial” Oyster Perpetuals, along with the spiritually related “Jigsaw” Day-Date, are as whimsical as we’ve seen Rolex in recent years. Lefty GMT aside, this isn’t a brand known for its sense of humor. So a dial filled with colorful circles (51 is the official tally) that correspond with the colors of the most recent Oyster Perpetual refresh from about 3 years ago is bound to generate the hottest of takes. What I want to know from the haters is this: who decided Rolex can’t have fun? I guess if your version of Rolex is “luxury tool watches”...
Worn & Wound
When you write about new watches everyday, it becomes harder and harder to be surprised. Most brands, for better or worse, design watches in an iterative way – new releases might be very, very nice, but truly fresh ideas are few and far between. But that just makes it even more gratifying when something genuinely different comes across the transom, as it did with this absolutely bonkers Louis Erard with a wood dial. To start with, let’s concede that wood dials themselves are nothing new. Luxury brands have been making dials out of different types of wood for decades, with the trend reaching a peak in the 1970s and 80s. But this Louis Erard Excellence Marqueterie is unlike any other wood dial I’ve ever seen. It continues the Louis Erard trend of combining rare and traditional handcrafts with their unique, contemporary sensibility. Up to now, my favorite example of this idea was their work in the art of guilloche dial making, which took a craft that is undeniably difficult and special, but sometimes aesthetically a bit old fashioned, and made it feel extremely modern. That first limited edition guilloche dial serves as design inspiration for this watch, made in the marquetry decorative tradition, which consists of inlaying many small pieces of precisely cut wood. Marquetry is most often used in furniture making – think table tops, the backs of chairs, and so forth. Here, miniature marquetry specialist Bastien Chevalier has produced a dial with an elaborate geomet...
Worn & Wound
In this episode of On-Wrist Reaction we take a look at 3 very different, and very exciting watches that aren’t afraid to have a little fun. Lume dials might be a little hit or miss, but when they hit, they really hit. Pair a lume dial with the amazing case of this Citizen Promaster Dive and you fall very much on the ‘hit’ side of that equation. We offer our initial impressions on this unexpectedly awesome diver, as well as a popular new release from Meraud, and a trail watch from up and coming brand Circula. Enjoy the full video below and hit the introductions and first looks at these watches after the break. Check out our hands-on look at the Meraud Antigua right here for more details on that watch, which launched last week. This is one of those rare hand-wound chronographs that walks a fine line between heritage inspiration and funky uniqueness and it works all around. If you have any questions or thoughts on these watches that you’d like to see addressed in our reviews, be sure to let us know in the comments. Furthermore, if you have a watch or a piece of gear you’d like to see us react to, please reach out to us at info@wornandwound.com. The post On-Wrist Reaction: Lume Dials and Colorful Hand Crankers appeared first on Worn & Wound.
Deployant
In today's article, we will be focusing on watch dials, with specficially six different timepieces that are fitted with an incredible dial.
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Hodinkee
Classicists will be into the fluted dial. But heading into summer, you can't beat the palm frond.
Time+Tide
Sapphire crystal, the once exclusive, high-end material replacing scratch-prone acrylic and normal glass to protect our watch dials, is now widely available,and employed in some of the best dial designs of this year’s Watches and Wonders. But how is pure sapphire crystal actually made? One of the best (succinct) answers to this comes from the … ContinuedThe post Let’s be transparent: Tinted and clear sapphire dials are a trend in 2021 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
I’ve said it many times, but I will say it again: blue was absolutely the colour of 2020. With such saturation of the dial colour, manufacturers really had to explore varying shades of blue to have their products stand out in the marketplace. Fast-forward to 2021 and the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Diamond Set … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: Audemars Piguet releases a trio of diamond set Royal Oak Jumbos including two icy blue dials appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
Me, I’m a dial man. Don’t get me wrong, I love a sharp bevelled case and intricate movements, but what gets me first is the face of the watch. Here we’ll look at 10 examples – over two stories, the second of which to follow in the coming days – of dial faces that could … ContinuedThe post The Best Dials of 2020 – Part 1 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
The dial truly is the make or break factor when it comes to a timepiece. Think about human beings in general – we’re largely simple creatures and we’re drawn to pretty things. I mean, just look at the state of the dating world: apps that make you judge a person quite literally on their face … ContinuedThe post Vitamin D for the wrist: 9 of the best sunburst dials money can buy appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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Revolution
In episode four of Ross Povey’s Zoom video interview series, “Desert Island Dials, where we ask some of our friends from the community what watch they would bring along with them, if they were on a desert island, we have the founder and creative director of Bulang and Sons, Bernhard Bulang himself. He tells us about this some über rare Rolex watches, including a 6265, a 5508 a maxi dial 5513 and much more.
SJX Watches
Regulators are all about their characteristic dial where the hour, minute and seconds hands are each located on separate axes – with the minute hand being the largest and longest – a layout originally designed for maximum legibility on clock faces in the mid-18th century. The Louis Erard Excellence Regulator revisits this classical design, but now with a fashionable smoked dial – and an eminently affordable price tag. Initial thoughts Regulator watches are simple, but are not common at this price point – the Excellence Regulator costs just 2490 Swiss francs, or about US$2600. Louis Erard, however, has made something of a specialty of affordable regulator watches, most notably with the whimsical Alain Silberstein Regulator launched last year that was styled by the eponymous watch designer for Louis Erard. The value proposition is good, though the dials are definitely reminiscent the fumé dials of H. Moser & Cie, which didn’t invent such graduated-colour dials, but have made them almost synonymous with the brand. Based on the photos, the graduated finish of the Excellence Regulator dials are not quite as not as complex or refined as that on Moser’s watches – understandable and acceptable given the substantively lower price. Smoked dials While the regulator layout is unusual, the smoked dials are the highlight. Offered in vibrant and saturated hues of grey, blue or green, the colour gradually tapers off in intensity, turning almost black towards the edges...
Revolution
In episode two of Ross Povey’s Zoom video interview series, “Desert Island Dials, where we ask some of our friends from the community what watch they would bring along with them, if they were on a desert island, we have the only and only Eric Ku (@fumanku) speaking with us today. He tells us about this his “Paul Newman” dial Daytona ref. 6241 and much more.
Hodinkee
Who knew what a blue dial could do?
Time+Tide
In their upcoming auction, Phillips is focusing their attention on the finest examples of highly coveted double-signed dials. A double-signed dial is where a brand has allowed the name of the retailer that will sell the watch to appear on the dial, alongside the brand’s name. Retailers that have had the opportunity to showcase their … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED WATCHING: René Beyer on Beyer double-signed dials appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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