Results for Panda / Reverse Panda Dial

Bovet 1822 Aventurine and Meteorite dials

When the Bovet brothers founded the Maison in 1822, the timepieces they manufactured instantly became undisputed references in the watchmaking decorative ar

How do they make it: Grand Feu enamel dials from Donzé Cadrans

Donzé Cadrans probably make the most exquisite grand feu enamel dials in the industry. We visit and bring you the secrets of how they are made.

Baselworld 2016: Patek Philippe Ref. 5396 Annual Calendar with new dials featuring Breguet numerals

Patek Philippe introduces two new dials featuring Breguet numerals for the Ref 5396 to mark the 20th anniversary of the their first annual calendar.

Tropical Storm: Part 2 - The Making of Colored Dials

Coloured Dials! The World Between Black & White.

SIHH 2014: Jaeger LeCoultre Grand Feu - the return of the enamel dials

The house of Jaeger LeCoultre is one of those who we keep in close watch here at Deployant. They are one of the most innovative in movement development, and design, but also in creating beautiful timepieces which will stand the test of time. This year’s SIHH crop is no different. Elsewhere we touched briefly onRead More

Blue Period: Blue Dials Were Everywhere At BaselWorld 2013

 Laurent Ferrier Gallet Micro-Rotor Traveller We usually hate calling trends, especially at an event as heterogenous as BaselWorld, but we did feel like we saw an awful lot of blue dials this year.  Not that we’re complaining.  It’s a great change from the gamut of neutrals that usually dominate watch dials, and the extra splash […]

Jaeger LeCoultre Platinum 2

Back to regular programming…today’s post is on my personal watch…the Jaeger LeCoultre Platinum 2. A stealthy watch, if there ever was one. To the unintiated, this watch looks like a regular Reverso, with a beautiful grey dial, and power reserve. To the knowledgable, this is a sample of 500 piece limited edition, the movement isRead More

Golden Obsidian for Gérald Genta’s Minute Repeater

One of the most striking watches to debut at Geneva Watch Days is a new variant of Gérald Genta’s Minute Repeater featuring a dial made of Golden Obsidian. In variation from last year’s debut, it’s forgone the glossy black onyx dial in favour of naturally formed volcanic glass. Initial thoughts Beyond the dial the only change is the strap, still with its signature centre-lug though now in a brown calfskin which nicely dresses down the overall package. It’s a perfect example of the brand’s ethos as they expand the collection: methodical, deliberate and measured. Small changes that stack up and give buyers more choice, and the addition of the Golden Obsidian alongside the Onyx shows how one small change can take a watch from classical and serious to relaxed and charming — having both options in the lineup should help satisfy still-healthy demand for stone dials perfectly compliment each other and goes far to round out a healthily expanding lineup for Gérald Genta. Obsidian dial Golden obsidian is a variant of the jet-black volcanic obsidian you’re likely familiar with. It forms naturally when lava cools rapidly and traps microscopic pockets of iron, air and gas bubbles forming organic striations and graining through the glass. These imperfections give golden obsidian its warmth and shimmer, changing dramatically as light hits it from different angles. What it does share with stone is its unique formation, so no two Golden Obsidian dials will be alike. Like wi...

Daniel Roth’s Gilty Pleasure

Daniel Roth has unveiled the Extra Plat Rose Gold Gilt, a new variant of the brand’s elegant time-only model featuring a gilt black dial. Unlike many contemporary watches that misappropriate the term, this is a true gilt dial by definition, where the gold seen on the dial is in fact the dial plate shining through where the dial finish hasn’t been applied. Initial thoughts Daniel Roth is keeping up its momentum at a thoughtful pace; the latest Extra Plat is quintessential Daniel Roth in style, though it stands in stark contrast to earlier versions of the model. Though the new Extra Plat is unchanged in form and movement, it has a strikingly different feel, akin to a dress watch with a bit more flair. Daniel Roth’s line-up, then and now, was dominated by pale-coloured dials. Though the brand made watches with black dials in its original incarnation back in the 1990s, they were uncommon, making the “Rose Gold Gilt” dial both historically correct and novel. Dial aside, the rest of the watch is familiar. The compact dimensions are spot-on for an old-school dress watch, but unconventional in form thanks to the double-ellipse case. And the movement is simple but finely executed, and decidedly superior to the workmanlike Frederic Piguet calibre in the 1990s original that inspired this. A true gilt dial Creating the dial finish is a multi-stage process. Daniel Roth start with the solid 5N rose gold dial plate and apply a pinstriped guilloché, executed by hand on a straig...

The Louis Vuitton Monterey Ceramic Returns

Having remade – and refined – its first-ever wristwatch, Louis Vuitton now does the same for the second. The Monterey Ceramic is a reimagining of the LV II of 1988, preserving the Gae Aulenti-designed case and dial but in modern, high-end materials and execution. As with the earlier Monterey in 18k gold, the new model in ceramic does away with the quartz movement of the 1988 original and replaces it with an in-house automatic calibre. The case has been scaled up a little to accommodate the calibre, but retains the proportions and quirky form of the original. But unlike last year’s model, the Monterey Ceramic is regular production. Initial thoughts The Monterey Ceramic is basically a more affordable iteration of last year’s limited edition in 18k gold. It retains the same design, movement, but replaces gold with ceramic (and steel), and the fired enamel dial with a lacquered one. Even with these changes, the Monterey Ceramic is still a far more sophisticated watch than its 1988 inspiration. I like the styling of the 1988 originals, and the modern-day reissues both manage to capture the look and feel of the originals. The Monterey Ceramic in particular sticks to the case diameter of the original, albeit a little thicker, but sticks closely enough to the proportions of the LV II. The Monterey Ceramic is priced like a modern-day luxury watch, but it has the intrinsic features to justify the price. The Monterey Ceramic costs €19,000 before taxes, which is less than a ...

Daniel Roth makes old new again with new gilt dialed Extra Plat Rose Gold Gilt

Daniel Roth unveils the Extra Plat Rose Gold Gilt, pairing a true black gilt dial with a rose gold case and hand-wound DR002 movement.

Striking a chord: The L.Leroy Vox Temporis swaps a minute hand for a minute repeater

L.Leroy introduces the Vox Temporis, an exclusive minute repeater and flying tourbillon. It features an unconventional single fixed hand with a rotating dial, inspired by a historic 1810 tact watch. Produced in titanium, red gold, and platinum, the watch is limited to just 15 pieces across all three case materials. For modern collectors, the appeal … Continued

The Doxa Sub 300 Ti5 In Grade 5 Titanium Joins The Brand’s Regular Collection

Doxa is expanding its standard-production Sub 300 collection with the new Sub 300 Ti5. This introduction marks the permanent return of Grade 5 titanium to the range and comes in five of the brand’s signature colorways. Among the lineup is even a fully luminescent Whitepearl dial. The Sub 300 dates back to 1967, when Doxa […] Visit The Doxa Sub 300 Ti5 In Grade 5 Titanium Joins The Brand’s Regular Collection to read the full article.

First Look - The New Frederique Constant Highlife Moonphase Date Manufacture (Incl. Video)

Founded in 1988, Frederique Constant can now boast an impressive lineup of 35 in-house calibres powering the brand’s top-tier Manufacture pieces.  Redesigned and relaunched in 2020, the Highlife collection is Frederique Constant’s vision of a versatile luxury sports watch with a barrel-shaped case, an interchangeable integrated bracelet and a textured dial. Last year, the brand […]

Introducing: Gérald Genta Geneva Minute Repeater Golden Obsidian

What We Know Today, at Geneva Watch Days, Gérald Genta has announced the latest version of its Geneva Minute Repeater. This new version of the watch, which was originally released around this time last year, swaps the black Onyx dial of that release for a novel dial in Golden Obsidian. Other details are largely unchanged, continuing the trend of the revived Gérald Genta expanding its lineup with caution and deliberation. As with last year's Gérald Genta Geneva Minute Repeater, the Golden Obsidian uses the 40mm-wide, 9.6mm-thick yellow-gold version of the cushion-shaped Geneva case (as opposed to the 38mm version introduced earlier this year in the time-only models, which you can read about here). The protruding single-lug design, found on a handful of Genta watches from the later stages of his career (including the Credor Locomotive), means this watch wears pretty close to 40mm lug-to-lug. Inside the Geneva Minute Repeater is the in-house GG-002 movement, developed by La Fabrique du Temps. It's a 3 Hz movement with 80 hours of power reserve and an impressively loud minute repeater. It's a nice bit of watchmaking, and — as Mark intimated when he went hands-on with the Onyx-dialed version of this watch last year — it fits nicely into the lineage of Genta-designed minute repeaters. The big talking point with this year's Geneva Minute Repeater is the Golden Obsidian dial. Golden Obsidian — a material I had not encountered before this watch — is a volcanic glass that...

Live from GWD26: Gerald Charles Masterlink Atelier Edition

Gerald Charles extends their highly sought after Masterlink Collection with the Atelier Edition featuring hand hammered Maillechort dial.

The VOXEL Meridion VX01-E brings digital timekeeping logic to a mechanical jumping hour

The new Meridion VX01-E from VOXEL showcases a trio of textured dial finishes with an inventive jump hour display

De Bethune Revives the Digitale in Style

One of De Bethune’s earliest models was a jumping hours wristwatch and now the brand has returned to concept with the DB25 Digitale. While largely similar to the earlier version in terms of function, the latest Digitale is presented in a new format. This is the third iteration of the Digitale – the second was introduced some 12 years ago – and the most elaborate yet in decorative terms. The case is in the wearable DB25 style, but the dial is decorated with the brand’s hallmark techniques, wavy guilloche and star-studded heat-blued titanium. Initial thoughts The DB25 Digitale revives one of De Bethune’s initial concepts, the “digital” time display, but now presented in the De Bethune greatest-hits livery of expansive blued titanium decorated with both the sea and the stars. With its striking, high-contrast colours, the new Digitale looks more current than its predecessor that carried something of an Art Deco pocket watch aesthetic. Admittedly, the DB25 Digitale is a cosmetic makeover and doesn’t add much novelty in technical terms. But it is still very much up to date in technical terms, illustrating the remarkable technical innovation, driven by Denis Flageollet, which continues to serve as De Bethune’s foundations. The DB2144V3 movement remains a sophisticated calibre even though it’s over two decades old. In fact, it arguably boasts substantially more technical content that “new” movements recently debuted by startup independent watchmakers. At CH...

Chopard's L.U.C 1963 Heritage Chronograph Returns in Prussian Blue, Limited to 25 Pieces

The beloved vintage-inspired chronograph gets a new dial color, and it's a serious upgrade from the forest green original.

Introducing: Vacheron Constantin Métiers d'Art Tribute To The Animal Kingdom

What We Know Last week, Vacheron Constantin presented the latest in their Métiers d'Art collection, the Métiers d'Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom. The impressive collection, which is based on Vacheron's four-aperture display Métiers d'Art watch, is made up of six watches, each featuring a facsimile of an animal made out of an unexpected blend of materials and construction. Notably, each dial in the series was created not by a watchmaker, but rather by an independent artist. This last part is key to the Métiers d'Art idea, which offers watches as a platform for artistry of all sorts, resulting in a collection unlike any other I can think of. The six watches that make up this collection are the: Feathersnake, which features a snake made of several hundred pieces of Lophophore and Goose feather; Glassoctopus, which features a hand-melted and shaped glass octopus set on a hand-guilloched gold-base coated in dark blue; Oraygami, which sets a fever of origami paper rays again against a hand-guilloched gold-base finished in blue; Tigerbroidery, which renders a tiger through an embroidered silk dial using yellow and white gold wire, black ceramic–coated wire, and British and Japanese silk; Papercroc, which uses paper sculpture to evoke a crocodile; and Woodenwings, which features a marquetry dial rendition of a flacon. To go into the process behind each of these dials would take up far more time and space than is available here (maybe something to go into if ever I get to ...

Introducing: Chopard L.U.C. 1963 Heritage Regulator And L.U.C 1963 Heritage Chronograph Limited Editions

What We Know While not a part of Geneva Watch Days (which starts this week), Chopard is preempting the show a bit with two new 25-piece limited editions in their L.U.C. line—the brand's in-house haute horlogerie division. The first up (and more expensive of the two) is the L.U.C. 1963 Heritage Regulator, a 40mm by 10.3mm watch in 18k ethical white gold with 30m water resistance. The dial—which conveys hours (in a subdial), regulator-style minutes, GMT, power reserve, running seconds, and date—is a sunburst-finished silver tone with blue-transferred numbers. The caseback showcases the manually wound, four-barrel (in series) L.U.C 98.02-L movement layout that delivers a massive 9 days of power (part of the Chopard Quattro technology). This kind of high-power-reserve movement has become pretty normalized for Chopard and, because of that, I don't think it gets the appreciation it deserves. The movement, running at 4Hz, is also fantastically finished and features a Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark, plus COSC accuracy certification. As mentioned, the L.U.C. 1963 Heritage Regulator is limited to 25 pieces and is now available, retailing for $50,900. On the sportier end of things is the 42mm by 11.48mm 1963 Heritage Chronograph cased in Lucent Steel. It features a deep blue sunburst-polished, galvanic-treated dial, an eggshell-colored printed dial, and Rhodium-plated white gold hands for the hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph, and 30-minute and 12-hour counters. The wa...

Introducing - New Versions of the Bremont Terra Nova Jumping Hour, Including a New 35mm Size

Marking a pronounced design shift for the British watchmaker, Bremont released the bold Terra Nova Jumping Hour model in 2025. A field watch inspired by early 20th-century military pocket watches and World War I trench watches, the Jumping Hour comes with two different displays: a 38mm montre à guichet-style watch with a covered dial and […]

The Tudor Northflag Returns Sharper and Stronger

A decade after it first debuted, Tudor has revived the Northflag. Originally a 1970s-inspired sports watch to showcase Tudor’s first-ever in-house movement, the Northflag has been upgraded inside and out. The rebooted Northflag gains a GMT function plus refinements all round, ranging from superior detailing on the case to lume blocks on the dial. And the movement is now a Master Chronometer, while the price stays true to Tudor’s value-oriented focus at just over US$5,500. Initial thoughts The original North Flag was a bit quirky with its power reserve indicator, and also probably ahead of its time; a Tudor with an in-house movement seemed like an odd concept back then. I liked it then, but the North Flag wasn’t a commercial success, so it is surprising that Tudor has revived the model. But the new Northflag is an immediately appealing watch, reflecting Tudor’s advancements in design, manufacturing, and branding. In fact, the Northflag is one of the most interesting watches in the current Tudor catalogue, alongside the equally recent Monarch. Although practically everything Tudor makes is well priced and an easy recommendation, almost all of Tudor’s best watches are variations of the Oyster case and Black Bay diver. The Northflag, on the other hand, is something else entirely. The angular, 1970s-style case is different, as is the dial. But all the elements are harmonious, and the design works. This is one of my strongest recommendations in the Tudor line-up today,...

Striking Resemblance: The Piaget Polo Minute Repeater

More than a decade after unveiling its first in-house minute repeater, Piaget has revived the once-record-setting calibre in a familiar-looking guise. The new Polo Minute Repeater pairs the ultra-thin, micro-rotor cal. 1209P with the modern Polo case and a striking, partially open-worked guilloche dial. Initial thoughts The Polo Minute Repeater is a new watch, but it bears a striking resemblance to the Emperador Coussin of 2013. This isn’t that surprising, since the contemporary Polo — refreshed in 2016 — borrows significantly from the Emperador’s case design. But in this case the similarity is more than skin deep, since the Polo Minute Repeater shares the same movement as its predecessor: the cal. 1209P. This ultra-thin calibre was once the world’s thinnest minute repeater — a title it maintained for three years before the launch of the Bulgari BVL 362, based on a 1980s Gerald Genta calibre. The Polo is big but flat, measuring 48 mm wide but just 9.3 mm thick. The size is partly due to the movement construction, which spreads out the major component groups into two slim planes with the escapement, micro-rotor, and twin minute repeater hammers on on one level, and the racks and centripetal governor on top. This 2010s-era sizing is arguably out of step with current fads where small watches are all the rage, but the watch is elegant and evokes 1970s “jumbo” watches with its wide-but-flat profile. In any case, wearability is probably a moot point considering t...

Miroir Image: Berneron Inverts the Mirage

Berneron is following the release of its most complicated model with its simplest: the Mirage Miroir. An inverted variant of the popular Mirage 38, the Miroir flips the script to put the golden calibre on display in lieu of a traditional dial. Initial thoughts I’ve been looking forward to the launch of the Miroir since seeing the 3D-printed plastic prototype earlier this year. The inverted format is not especially new, but the Miroir is probably hitting the trend in stride. Beyond the popularity of the mirrored concept itself, Berneron’s house style for movement finishing suits being put on display. Unfortunately, the inverted format precludes a dial. This isn’t a critique of the Miroir as much as it is a weakness shared across the category. Of course, watches like this exist because for many collectors, the opportunity to see the movement — which in this case offers a rich palette of materials and textures — is preferable to looking at a dial. Rather than expose the relatively uninteresting dial side of the main plate, Berneron has opted for a closed case back, similar to the Montblanc “Unveiled Secret”. This choice gives the compact watch surprising heft and a low-profile feel on the wrist. The Miroir also introduces the brand’s first bracelet, which embodies the same detail-oriented approach to construction that Berneron puts into its watches. I tried on an early example of the bracelet back in April, and even then the quality was obvious — the alterna...

First Look - The Chopard L.U.C 1963 Heritage Chronograph, now in Prussian Blue

A new version of the L.U.C 1963 Heritage Chronograph joins Chopard’s high-end collection, created as a numbered limited edition of 25 pieces. While the model retains the classical proportions and specifications of the green 2023 model, this new reference is distinguished by a rich Prussian Blue dial, retaining the L.U.C 03.07-L calibre with exceptional finishing […]

First Look - The Hamilton Khaki Field Murph 38mm Gets a Textured Blue Makeover

Hamilton’s Murph watch got its popularity almost entirely from its role in Christopher Nolan’s 2014 film Interstellar. The watch created for the film returned as a production model in 2019, first in 42mm, before Hamilton introduced a smaller 38mm version in 2022. This 38mm model has carried different styles, from the original black dial to […]

Introducing: Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Skeleton 'Milano Blue' in Rose Gold

What We Know This morning, just ahead of Geneva Watch Days, Parmigiani Fleurier has unveiled a new limited-edition take on its Tonda PF Skeleton. This new watch does something so many Parmigiani watches do so well, blending several existing elements to create something just a little bit new. In this instance, Parmigiani Fleurier has taken its Milano Blue skeletonized Tonda PF dial and movement—which had previously been available only in platinum—and fitted them to a rose gold Tonda PF case (and bracelet). The Tonda PF case is one of the key arguments in favor of modern Parmigiani Fleurier. At 40mm across and just 8.5mm thick, it's well-sized and thin without feeling slight. Still, for as good as the Tonda PF is, the star of the show here is the movement. The PF777 (which you can read a bit more about here) is an automatic winding caliber developed in-house by Parmigiani Fleurier. Unlike many movements that find their way into skeletonized watches, the PF777 was purpose-built and designed from first principles with skeletonization in mind. The result of this — and of Parmigiani's willingness to not take skeletonization to the absolute extreme, but rather to implement the concept with some modicum of consideration — is a movement that balances aesthetic concerns with practical ones and is all the better for it. A blend of polished, satin-finished, and sandblasted surfaces keeps the PF777 feeling contemporary, and the ground-up design means the watch avoids many of th...

Hands-On With Longines Master Collection Chrono Moonphase: A Complicated Classic, Refined

I’ve had the chance to take the newly redesigned Longines Master Collection Chrono Moonphase for review to see how the subtle refinements elevate this complicated favourite! What We Love Refined, less cluttered dial design Exceptional complications for the price Beautifully matched blue leather strap What We Don’t Limited 30m water resistance Substantial thickness for smaller wrists Busy display may not be to everyone’s liking. Overall Rating: 8.9 / 10 Value For Money: 9/10 Design: 9/10 Wearability: 9/10 Build Quality: 8.5/10 There are few watches that bring together Longines’ classical design language and mechanical expertise as completely as the Master Collection Chrono Moonphase. This is one of my favourite Longines models, and I have finally had the opportunity to review the latest evolution of one of the brand’s most iconic timepieces. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Watch Advice (@watchadvice) Longines first introduced the Master Collection in 2005 to showcase its traditional watchmaking expertise through an entirely mechanical collection. It was created as a meeting point between the brand’s classical elegance and its ability to produce increasingly complicated mechanical timepieces. This distinguished the Master Collection from Longines’ sportier models through its more traditional dial designs, decorative finishing, and mechanical complications. The 1911 Longines pocket watch serves as the inspiration behind the aesthetics of the Chr...