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Results for Aventurine Dial

4,680 articles · 528 videos found · page 85 of 174

Roger W. Smith Debuts the Series 6 SJX Watches
Roger W. Smith Sep 24, 2025

Roger W. Smith Debuts the Series 6

After several years with no additions to its line up, Roger W. Smith recently revealed the Series 6. Essentially a variation of the Series 4 triple calendar, the Series 6 is a time and date – hours, minutes, and seconds, plus the brand’s own “travelling date” that takes the form of a peripheral pointer under the main dial. Much of the watch is familiar, including the architecture of the movement and finishing, but the Series 6 does enjoy several upgrades over earlier watches, including the latest version of the single wheel co-axial escapement. Initial thoughts The Series 6 is quintessential Roger W. Smith in look, feel, and execution (and price). The aesthetic is familiar and certainly well loved, while the quality of execution is high. While its watches may not be hand “made,” they are certainly hand finished and the Series 6 illustrates that with its engine-turned dial, hand-made hands, and hand-engraved movement. The under-dial mechanism for the date and keyless works are especially beautiful, despite being concealed. I imagine this approach to the hidden parts is not merely a watchmaker’s vanity; I expect an open-dial version to come along in due time – if it has not already been ordered by a client. The Series 6 also demonstrates the advances made by the brand in terms of manufacturing. Equipped with modern equipment like CNC mills, Roger W. Smith watches today are far, far, far more refined than its earliest creations. Like the brand’s other watche...

Introducing: The Tissot PRX UFO Robot Grendizer 50th Anniversary Special Edition Fratello
Tissot PRX UFO Robot Grendizer Sep 23, 2025

Introducing: The Tissot PRX UFO Robot Grendizer 50th Anniversary Special Edition

Last year, Tissot surprised us with a special-edition PRX featuring a lumed Grendizer on its blue dial. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the anime icon, so Tissot is back with yet another watch paying tribute to UFO Robot Grendizer. This time, the PRX received an all-black PVD treatment. Also, the layered black dial […] Visit Introducing: The Tissot PRX UFO Robot Grendizer 50th Anniversary Special Edition to read the full article.

Watch Bezels: Every Type Explained Teddy Baldassarre
Sep 22, 2025

Watch Bezels: Every Type Explained

If you’re new to your appreciation of fine watches, you have undoubtedly read a lot of references to and heard a lot of opinions about watches’ bezels. It is somewhat of an esoteric term but it describes something very simple and essential. The bezel is the front part of the case (often but not always ring-shaped) that frames the dial and secures the crystal. Bezels can be made of the same material as the case middle and/or the caseback, but can also be made of a different material. Here we run down the various types of watch bezels you’re likely to encounter. Polygons and Exposed Screws Watch cases, of course, are not uniformly round, which means that bezels, the front-facing parts of those cases, can also be found in a variety of shapes - sharply squared or rectangular, like the Cartier Tank and Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso (above); softy cushion-shaped, like the Panerai Luminor and Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921; oval-shaped, like the Breguet Reine de Naples and other luxury ladies’ models; tonneau (“barrel”-shaped), like the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang and many Richard Mille models; and a host of others that combine elements of these and other polygonal shapes.  The shape that has proven to be the most popular and influential is the octagon: eight-sided bezels have proliferated ever since Audemars Piguet launched the Royal Oak (above) in 1972, and watchmakers have also dabbled in other unconventional shapes: the sharply faceted bezel of the Zeni...

Grand Seiko After Dark, “Moonlit Birch” SLGW007 SJX Watches
Grand Seiko After Dark “Moonlit Birch” Sep 22, 2025

Grand Seiko After Dark, “Moonlit Birch” SLGW007

Grand Seiko has been fairly quiet over the summer, but has just unveiled the latest addition to its Evolution 9 collection, the “Moonlit Birch” SLGW007. Effectively a new variant of the “Birch Bark” SLGW003 with a steel case and navy blue dial, the Moonlit Birch is a competent alternative to its titanium stablemate. In other words, it’s an attractive new livery for what was already a compelling watch, and retains its best characteristics including a nuanced and ergonomic case, gorgeous dial furniture, and the brand’s latest manually wound cal. 9SA4 movement. Initial thoughts The original “Birch Bark” launched last year and was one of the standout releases at Watches & Wonders due to its elegant case profile and impressive new movement. The Moonlit Birch is identical in most respects, but the case is stainless steel, rather than titanium, and the dial is finished in navy blue instead of bright white. Despite these modest differences, the Moonlit Birch is appealing in its own right. The dial texture is subtle, but it’s enough of a Grand Seiko calling card to prevent the watch from looking too generic; a common trap for time-only dress watches. The stainless steel case exhibits the brand’s Evolution 9 styling, which gives the Moonlit Birch a bold, angular presence. In answer to the demand for slimmer options from Grand Seiko, the dimensions are nearly ideal, 38.6 mm in diameter and just under 10 mm thick. The watch is powered by the cal. 9SA4, which is pa...

Rolex Daytona Rainbow: When An Icon Goes Colorfully Gem-Set Teddy Baldassarre
Rolex Sep 19, 2025

Rolex Daytona Rainbow: When An Icon Goes Colorfully Gem-Set

Aside from the watch that was made legendary by Paul Newman - and which would forever, unofficially, carry the famous actor’s name - there is probably no version of the Rolex Daytona that is more coveted than the “Rainbow” models that bring a meticulously designed and eye-catchingly beautiful assortment of colorful precious stones to the bezel, case, and dial of the motorsport-inspired luxury chronograph. Here is the story behind the Rolex Daytona “Rainbow” and why it has become yet another smash hit for the Crown in the 21st Century.  To start off, it’s worth answering the question, “Why is the Rolex Daytona so famous in the first place?” The model’s success story begins in 1962, when Rolex, hot on the heels of other genre-defining watch releases like the Explorer, GMT-Master, and Submariner several years earlier, became the official timekeeper of the “Great American Race,” the Daytona 500. In celebration of the partnership, the Swiss brand introduced its original “Cosmograph” racing-inspired chronograph watch the following year. The watch, notable for its tachymeter bezel and three-register dial design, adopted the name “Daytona” shortly thereafter and really took the enthusiast community by storm when actor, director, and part-time racecar driver Paul Newman began wearing one regularly. Newman became a big-screen icon in the 1970s, around the same time that auto racing took off in popularity as a spectator sport, and this confluence of...

Tissot Unearths the RockWatch SJX Watches
Tissot Unearths Sep 18, 2025

Tissot Unearths the RockWatch

Tissot reissues the iconic RockWatch of 1985, now in a larger case but once again made of granite sourced from the Swiss Alps. Although Tissot took a few liberties to suit modern tastes, such upsizing the case to 38 mm and adding monochromatic hands, the new RockWatch is impressive for its fidelity to the original, and retains all of the important details including its one-piece case and dial. Limited to 999 pieces, the RockWatch extends Tissot’s run of mining gems from its back catalogue. Initial thoughts Tissot has been digging through its archives for over a decade now. After excavating the enormously successful PRX in 2021, the colourful Sideral in 2023, and long-dormant Stylist last year, Tissot has finally hit bedrock. Watch cases carved from stone predate even the balance spring, but remained extremely niche and were often quite expensive until Tissot’s original 1985 RockWatch. While originally launched in Alpine marble, the line expanded to include numerous other materials. Historical RockWatches were produced in a variety of materials and featured red and yellow hands inspired by Alpine trail markers. As with most modern reissues, the 38 mm RockWatch is significantly larger than the originals, which were offered in 23 mm, 30 mm, and 33 mm sizes. In addition, modern AR-coated sapphire stands in for the tempered glass crystal of the original. Though larger, the construction is consistent with that of the original with its monobloc case and dial, which are milled...

Introducing – The New Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton 40mm in Empire Green Monochrome
Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton 40mm Sep 17, 2025

Introducing – The New Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton 40mm in Empire Green

The Jazzmaster collection, and specifically the Skeleton editions, has earned its place as one of Hamilton‘s distinctive designs, offering a view into the beating heart of a modern automatic movement. It’s a design that balances Hamilton’s classic dress-watch DNA with a contemporary twist. Over the years, the model has appeared in several dial colours, case […]

Introducing: The Awake Sơn Mài Silver Vignette Collection Fratello
Sep 16, 2025

Introducing: The Awake Sơn Mài Silver Vignette Collection

It was one year ago that Awake introduced the Sơn Mài collection, ushering in a significant change for the young French brand. The watches, with their Vietnamese handmade dials, found immediate success. A combination of laquer, pigment, and silver leaf results in inky-abyss-like levels of depth to each dial. Now, to celebrate a year since […] Visit Introducing: The Awake Sơn Mài Silver Vignette Collection to read the full article.

Introducing: The Alpina Seastrong Diver Extreme With A Retro Touch-Up Fratello
Alpina Seastrong Diver Extreme Sep 16, 2025

Introducing: The Alpina Seastrong Diver Extreme With A Retro Touch-Up

If you’re looking for an affordable, outspoken sports watch that can handle rough situations, the Alpina Seastrong Diver Extreme might be for you. However, the 39mm watch that debuted last year might be too boldly colored for your taste. Alpina fixed that by releasing two new versions - one with a black dial and another […] Visit Introducing: The Alpina Seastrong Diver Extreme With A Retro Touch-Up to read the full article.

Hands On: A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Tourbillon Black Enamel SJX Watches
Vacheron Constantin Sep 15, 2025

Hands On: A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Tourbillon Black Enamel

The most recent launch from A. Lange & Söhne was surprising, even while being familiar. The 1815 Tourbillon Black Enamel is, well, an 1815 Tourbillon with a black enamel dial. Nothing about the watch is unexpected, since all the elements have been employed elsewhere. But the watch is outstanding in quality, as is expected for a Lange, and strikingly and usually beautiful. Moreover, it is priced reasonably well, as such things go. Initial thoughts Cosmetic variations of an existing model are rarely great, but the new 1815 Tourbillon manages to be that. The original 1815 Tourbillon was fundamentally a good watch – well made and  functionally designed – but a little plain. The latest variation is outstanding. It’s just as well made, but the black enamel dial adds oomph. No risks were taken with the aesthetics; it is exactly the same in terms of design, but now in glossy black enamel. The tourbillon also hacks and includes a zero-reset seconds Perhaps most unexpected is the price. Many recent Lange releases often felt too expensive, this breaks the habit. At just under US$220,000, the 1815 Tourbillon is priced fairly, maybe even competitively, in its segment. In this respect, the 1815 Tourbillon reminds me of the Tribute to Celestial, an equally surprisingly well priced watch by Lange’s sister company Vacheron Constantin. And for the lucky, lucky few, Lange bestowed a baguette diamond bezel on a handful of these tourbillons, which raises the price by only about US$7...

New: Ulysse Nardin Freak X Crystalium Deployant
Ulysse Nardin Freak X Crystalium DEPLOYANT Sep 13, 2025

New: Ulysse Nardin Freak X Crystalium

Unveiled at Geneva Watch Days 2025, the Ulysse Nardin Freak X Crystalium marks a new chapter in the brand’s ongoing exploration of mechanical and material innovation. Limited to just 50 pieces, this 43mm timepiece features a ruthenium-based Crystalium hour disc-each one uniquely formed through a vapor-deposition crystallization process. Priced at CHF 40,000, the watch pairs its shimmering dial with a black DLC-coated titanium case and the automatic UN-230 flying carousel movement.

Berneron Complicates Things with the Quantième Annuel (Live Pics) Worn & Wound
Berneron Sep 12, 2025

Berneron Complicates Things with the Quantième Annuel (Live Pics)

The inaugural watch by haute Swiss independent Berneron, the Mirage 38, had a markedly poetic design. With a free-flowing case shape, twisting hands, and a distorted dial, it would be easy to consider it as a design of pure aesthetics. Looks deceived, however, as the form was driven by a movement concept that rejected the standard circular shape, allowing for a large barrel, and thus a 72-hour power reserve in a small and thin body. Nevertheless, the outcome was undoubtedly one of whimsy, where evocative design outweighed pure function, if there was a clever horological backing. Often, brands, especially young ones, stick to a theme to carve a niche for themselves within a crowded industry, but that’s not the approach of Berneron. For the brand’s second model, announced just before Geneva Watch Days, whimsy is nowhere in sight. Instead, the brand made a sharp turn into practicality and legibility, if through a decidedly haute lens. Titled the Quantième Annuel, it has a design that verges on the traditional, especially compared to the Mirage. The first model within their “quantième” collection, which will house their complicated pieces, the QA is an annual calendar jump hour with a design driven by logic in terms of how it is read, the movement architecture, and how it is set. The flow of the dial is meant to be top to bottom, left to right. Following that order, time is read hour, minute, second, and the day, date, and month. The hour is digital, as it is a jump ...

Grand Seiko Adds a New Dress Watch with the 9SA4 Caliber to the Collection, Plus a New Tentagraph Worn & Wound
Grand Seiko Adds Sep 11, 2025

Grand Seiko Adds a New Dress Watch with the 9SA4 Caliber to the Collection, Plus a New Tentagraph

Almost as soon as Grand Seiko released the SLGW002 and SLGW003 at Watches & Wonders 2024, we started to wonder what this new class of manually wound dress watch from one of our favorite brands might look like in different variants. This seemed like a natural platform for expansion, and we figured it was just a matter of time before we saw some alternative dial options and new metals. In the year and a half or so since Grand Seiko introduced these watches, and the 9SA4 caliber powering them, things have been quiet on the manually wound dress watch front. That is, until this week, when we finally got a peek at the new SLGW007, Grand Seiko’s first new launch with this case and movement since the big debut at Watches & Wonders last year.  While the most obvious update on the surface here is certainly the new dark blue dial, it’s actually the case itself that really has my interest. The SLGW003, you’ll recall, was crafted from Grand Seiko’s Brilliant Hard Titanium. This is a very cool material, for sure, but has a niche appeal in a classically styled dress watch like this thanks to its ultra light weight and the associations we all have with titanium and tool watches. The SLGW007 is in stainless steel, and I’m incredibly curious to see how this might change the character of the watch on the wrist. One would certainly expect it to be a bit heavier, but I imagine the finishing will also have a slightly different, perhaps more traditional look to it, at least in the con...

Breguet’s Finest World Time Yet to Celebrate 250 Years SJX Watches
Breguet s Finest World Time Sep 11, 2025

Breguet’s Finest World Time Yet to Celebrate 250 Years

Breguet’s quarter-millennial celebrations continue with the Marine Hora Mundi 5555, a reprise of the unique piece created for Only Watch two years ago. The world time wristwatch now returns with a phosphorescent enamel dial – that is notably grand feu on sapphire crystal – and a case in “Breguet Gold”. While the attire is new, the Hora Mundi 5555 still retains the clever movement that has a world time function that is instantaneously switchable between two pre-set time zones and unique amongst travel watches. Initial Thoughts Breguet facelifted the aging Marine line starting about eight years ago, but the integrated bracelet design language still feels fresh, though arguably remains unproven compared to long-established peers in the luxury sports watch segment. The Marine Équation Marchante 5887, which introduced the new look, leaned heavily on its excellent movement – it’s perhaps the best equation of time complication yet made – as a crutch supporting an experimental design. More practical and simpler models followed; the Marine Hora Mundi is certainly practical but not simple. The Marine Hora Mundi 5555 is likewise powered by an impressive movement, and one incorporating a complication apt for a sports watch, but the watch also has a metiers d’art distinction with its enamel dial. That is unusual for a sports watch, but the Marine is an unusual sports watch. The enamelling itself is even more unusual, done on sapphire using phosphorescent pigments, ...

Ressence and The Armoury Team Up for the TYPE 9 Scattering Sun (Live Pics) Worn & Wound
Ressence Sep 10, 2025

Ressence and The Armoury Team Up for the TYPE 9 Scattering Sun (Live Pics)

There’s something exciting about seeing two brands you admire collaborate, especially when those brands represent relatively different aesthetics, if shared sensibilities. So, when we heard that Ressence, the independent watch brand known for its unique ROCS dial displays and futuristic aesthetic, was teaming up with The Armoury, a traditional menswear retailer and tailor, our collective interest was piqued. And the result is, well, oddly exactly what one might expect: a more formal take on Ressence’s most wearable watch to date, the TYPE 9. Called the TYPE 9 Shattering Sun, it meets the two brands in the middle. The TYPE 9, which came out at the end of last year, is the smallest Ressence in diameter, and very thin at 39mm x 42.5mm x 11mm. Additionally, it’s one of the lightest at 39 grams for the head. Unlike other Ressences, it pushed the minute index from under the glass to an external bezel, which further compresses it visually. I reviewed that watch earlier this year and was taken with its wearability. It puts the unique aesthetic and dial display Ressence is known for into a form that would be easy to wear daily. Identifying this, the ever sartorially-savvy and horologically inclined Mark Cho, founder of The Armoury, took the TYPE 9 and remixed it to lean toward dress watch aesthetics, and, more importantly, work with a suit. The dial, originally in silver or teal, has been rendered in warm, copper-toned salmon with a subtle sandblast finish. The explorer-esque...

Introducing: The Breguet Marine Hora Mundi 5555 - Connecting Earth, Sky, And Sea In A Top-Notch Travel Watch Fratello
Breguet Marine Hora Mundi 5555 Sep 10, 2025

Introducing: The Breguet Marine Hora Mundi 5555 - Connecting Earth, Sky, And Sea In A Top-Notch Travel Watch

Breguet is on quite a streak in its 250th year of existence. The fifth release to celebrate the watchmaker is the Breguet Marine Hora Mundi 5555. This limited edition of 50 pieces debuts in an 18K Breguet Gold case and shows an entirely new two-layer dial. Its two superimposed layers - one guilloché, the other […] Visit Introducing: The Breguet Marine Hora Mundi 5555 - Connecting Earth, Sky, And Sea In A Top-Notch Travel Watch to read the full article.

Papar Introduces the Cenote, their First Dive Watch Worn & Wound
Sep 10, 2025

Papar Introduces the Cenote, their First Dive Watch

As the world of dive watches continues to grow, it’s easy to get stylistically complacent. We see similar colors, dial and case design, and construction techniques. So when a dive watch comes along that looks out of the norm, it’s an exciting prospect. Cue the Papar Cenote, a first in the dive category for the upstart brand. Like their first watch, the Anillo GMT, the Cenote is an aesthetic break from the norm that challenges the conventions of the diver category. As a reflection of the brand and its founder Josh Blank’s roots in both the US and Mexico, The Cenote draws visual inspiration and its nomenclature from the cenotes of Mexico’s Yucatán. The octagonal titanium case features sharp angles and a 40mm diameter, and measures in at 47mm lug-to-lug with a 10.9mm thickness. A ceramic bezel insert offers functionality, and a sailcloth strap with a matching titanium buckle adds a final touch of cohesiveness to the design.  The dial, though, holds the Cenote’s coolest feature. The indices appear as cutouts, a crescent moon with end tips pointing up marks the 12 o’clock position, and the hour and minute hands are sharp triangles. The wow factor is more than just cool design, though: the indices change color over the course of the month, giving the Cenote a continuously dynamic appearance.  Two colorways are available for the Cenote, in a limited run of 100 watches. The first option, Rose Gold Titanium, features a starkly appealing combo of rose gold PVD coating...