Like All Things in 2021, Rolex (and Your Other Favorite Watch Brands) Is Getting a Little Weird

This year, the Watches & Wonders Geneva trade show is once again an online event — only this time, it includes brands such as Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe and more. Check back here often for our coverage of this horological mega-show to see all the latest watches.

Ok. Now that the breathless race to debut 800 new watches simultaneously is over, we can take a bit of a breather and analyze what we have on hand. And what do we have on hand? Well, it seems like a we have a ton of watches with funky-ass dials, that’s what. Like, pistachio-colored stuff, and salmon-colored stuff, and this jungle-looking thing from Rolex that’s perfect for either A) practitioners of guerrilla warfare or B) people who smoke a TON of weed. (It’s kind of pot leafy-looking, isn’t it? No, just me? Whatever. To be fair, perhaps it’s more fern-like.)

It’s interesting to note that green dials are still going strong. This is a trend that began a few years ago — also, seemingly, at Watches & Wonders/SIHH — and that has continued apace. Green isn’t exactly the easiest color to pair with whatever you happen to be wearing that day, but after decades of white and black and silver dials, it’s just downright fun to have a colorful alternative available from multiple brands. We’ll have to track how this green thing proceeds.

Anyway. Here are some of the best of this year’s colorful/funky dials. Some of them simply represent interesting uses of color, and some of them are totalllyyyy out there. Which is dope.

Breitling Premier Heritage B09 Chronograph 40

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Just look at this thing in all its pistachio-colored glory. The B09 40mm chronograph would be cool enough with its 1940s-inspired step case and classic design elements, but the weird green dial just pushes right into some alternate horological universe. We have to wonder: What other funky colors does Breitling have waiting up its sleeve for the Premier line?

Price: $8,400

Cartier Tank Must Blue Lacquered Dial

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It’s safe to say that with the larger upmarket trends present throughout the greater watch world lately, we definitely didn’t see a revival of Cartier’s Must de Cartier line coming. The catalog now includes three versions with colored lacquered dials and matching alligator leather straps, including this striking blue iteration.

Price: ~$2,730

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H. Moser & Cie. Pioneer Centre Seconds Mega Cool

H. Moser & Cie.

We’ll give it to them — this watch is super cool. And it’s mainly because of that gorgeous dial. Making use of the brand’s signature sunbrushed fumé look, the Pioneer Centre Seconds Mega Cool looks at first like it carries no branding, but look again: the Moser dial is actually present in transparent lacquer at 12 o’clock.

Price: $15,300

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Hublot Big Bang Unico Yellow Magic

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Yellow ain’t exactly an easy color to execute in ceramic, and this entire Big Bang Unico is made entirely of it. Limited to 250 pieces and housed in a 42mm case, the Unico not only gives you a yellow-accented dial, but an entirely yellow case and matching strap. Also visible is the movement powering the watch, the Unico cal. HUB 120.

Price: $26,200

IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Edition “Mojave Desert”

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Alright, we’re cheating a bit on this one: The dial is cool and all, what with its sand-colored indices and lume, but it’s really the sand-colored ceramic case that steals the show. IWC has slowly been applying its Mojave Desert-themed ceramic across different models in its Pilot’s collection, and though a perpetual calendar also got the treatment this year, we’d argue the Big Pilot wears it best.

Price: $14,800

Nomos Club Campus Orange Future

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We somehow knew this watch was coming — we saw it in the horological Palantir. Available in both 38mm and 36mm versions, the colorful new Club Campus models join a line aimed at young graduates receiving or buying their first mechanical watches. (To that end, they’re priced rather affordably and feature ample space for engravings on the back.)

Price: $1,500-$1,650

Oris Divers Sixty-Five “Cotton Candy” 38mm

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It’s called a “Cotton Candy” watch. Doesn’t that sort of say it all? Bright blue, green and pink dials on a bronze case. SO cool. Best of all, these Divers Sixty-Five measure a perfect 38mm across, making them great for men and women alike. (And if you really dig the bronze thing, you can get one on a matching bronze bracelet.)

Price: ~$2,335-$2,650

Rolex Datejust 36 with Palm Motif

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The Crown is, of course, no stranger to interesting dials, having produced many a reference with a striking face over the decades. But this thing is pretty out there — and pretty damn cool. In addition to the jungle-esque motif, you’ve got white gold indices and a date complication. I don’t know who the target audience is exactly, but does it matter?

Price: $7,050

Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight 18K

Tudor

There’s more than just a simple green dial going on here, of course — it’s paired to a satin-finished 18k gold case. Green has been a hot choice for watch dials for the past few years (this year especially), but somehow the green-yellow pairing from Tudor makes it even more special.

Price: $16,800

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