Transitional Solutions: Six Watches with Gradient Dials

All of a sudden, they’re everywhere — watches with colorful gradient dials that transition from a pale hue in the center to a dark one at the periphery. In this excerpt from our upcoming WatchTime Design Issue 2020, on sale October 29, we offer you some highlights.

ORIS AQUIS DATE
Oris widens the Aquis model’s already diverse color palette with a variation that transitions from mint green to gray. This combines with the light gray inlays made of the heavy metal tungsten on the bezel to produce a fresh new look. Self-winding Sellita Caliber SW200 with Oris’s characteristic red rotor ticks inside the stainless-steel case. The case has a sapphire crystal and a solid back, and it remains water resistant to a depth of 300 meters. The new dial debuts in the smaller version of the Aquis, which is 39.5 mm in diameter and costs $2,050 as shown.

GIRARD-PERREGAUX LAUREATO ABSOLUTE CHRONOGRAPH
The dials in the new Laureato Absolute collection shimmer blue in the center and almost black at the rim. The color gradient looks especially handsome on the chronograph, which also has subdials with black centers. The 44-mm PVD-coated titanium case encloses self-winding manufacture Caliber GP03300-1058. Attached to a rubber wristband with decorative blue stitching, the new chronograph costs $12,900.

H. MOSER & CIE. ENDEAVOUR TOURBILLON
Moser is a pioneer for dials with color gradients, which this manufacture in Schaffhausen describes as fumé. The latest is the Endeavour Tourbillon in “Cosmic Green.” The dial’s design is particularly effective thanks to the total absence of indexes and numerals. The 42-mm white-gold case is the home of self-winding Caliber HMC 804 with a double hairspring and an ample 72-hour power reserve. Moser builds 50 pieces, each of which sells for $76,550.

GLASHÜTTE ORIGINAL SIXTIES
After an eye-catching green dial last year, the Glashütte brand – or more specifically its dial manufacturer in Pforzheim, Germany – now unveils the same tech-nique in orange. Red and black lacquers, applied by a very special technique to the irregularly embossed dial, create the unique dégradé effect. The 39-mm steel watch is powered by the manufacture’s self-winding Caliber 39-52. This version, which will be produced in 2019 only, costs $6,400.

TAG HEUER AUTAVIA ISOGRAPH
A technical specialty ticks behind this new model’s dial, which has a color gradient in blue, green, brown, dark gray or light gray. The brand replaced the conventional hairspring in ETA’s self-winding Caliber 2824 with TAG Heuer’s own “Isograph” balance spring. This high-tech spring is made of carbon graphene, which is sturdier and results in a more stable rate. The latter is confirmed by the official COSC chronometer testing authority. The stainless-steel Autavia Isograph with ceramic bezel and leather strap is 42 mm in diameter and retails for $3,600.

MONTBLANC 1858 GEOSPHERE
The color gradient of the new 1858 models is most clearly visible in the 1858 Geosphere, which displays a second time zone on a subdial at 9 and also shows the Earth’s 24 full-hour standard time zones for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The 42-mm case has a ceramic compass bezel and an engraved titanium back. The case houses Sellita’s self-winding Caliber SW300, which Montblanc has equipped with the brand’s own time-zone module. Only 1,858 pieces of this time-zone watch are available. Each costs $6,300.