One of the most enchanting parts of a watch is its dial. From extravagant designs to extraordinary mechanics, a dial showcases the maison’s watchmaking and design expertise. Here is a list of the five most unique and out-of-the-world dials in the market right now:
MB&F Horological Machine N°10 ‘Bulldog’
The relationship between man and dog is often talked about, and the one between man and his watch is nuanced. Taking up on this theme, the MB&F Horological Machine N°10 ‘Bulldog’ brings together the two cherished relationships in the best possible way. Rounded and compact with a body of titanium, red gold or microblasted stainless steel with black PVD coating, the ‘Bulldog’ is a one-of-a-kind timepiece that has earned its spot on this list.
Drawing inspiration from the bulldog, the imaginative dial houses two prominent aluminium time-displays, referred to as ‘eyes’, a collar-studded with projections that allow you to wind the mainspring, a big heart beating steadily at 2.5Hz, hinged jaws that open and shut according to the amount of wind left in the mainspring and finally a massive power-reserve indication. The 45mm case structure with sprung strap attachment ‘legs’ gives the watch an outsized personality.
For more information, visit the company website here.
Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon Red Ruby Dragon
Completely out of this world is the newly launched Jacob & Co. masterpiece – the Astronomia Tourbillon Red Ruby Dragon. The watch brings with it the feeling of embarking on a journey of wonder, awe and amazement. It comes in a case made from 18K rose gold with a beautiful and intricate dial featuring a solid gold dragon defending the pearl of wisdom, which, as per Chinese legend, stands for spiritual energy, wisdom, prosperity, power, immortality, thunder, or the moon. The base of the dial holds baguette-cut rubies and a clear view of the brand’s visually-stunning manual winding movement, JCAM25.
The Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon Red Ruby Dragon comes in a black alligator strap with an 18K white gold folding clasp.
For more information, visit the website here.
Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier
Inspired by the floral concept imagined by Carl Von Linné in 1751 book Philosophia Botanica, the newly released Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier showcases a poetic expression of the passage of time. The timepiece is a reflection of the Maison’s Poetry of Time signature brought to life with flowers that seize the secret of time beneath its precious petals and their corollas blooming throughout the day. How was this executed? The watch runs on a special module that opens and closes the 12 corollas on the dial, thus reflecting the blossoming of the flowers every 60 minutes.
“When we work on watchmaking projects, our goal is to use mechanisms to capture the poetry of the passage of time. And what could be more poetic than measuring time with the opening and closing of flowers?” says Nicolas Bos, President and CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels. He adds, “The Heures Florales project was born out of the encounter between a very great botanist and a rather unusual watchmaker. The first of them, Carl von Linné – notably renowned for his classification of the animal and plant species – had a highly poetic idea: a garden that would be a clock. The second, Van Cleef & Arpels, is the distinctive watchmaker that took an interest in Linné’s marvellous watch concept, on the boundary of art and science.”
The spring-like tableau of the Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier holds blue butterflies that flutter between the pink and red corollas, in a striking relief effect.
For more information, check out the company website here.
H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept Lime Green
One of the simplest dials on this list is the H. Moser & Cie.’s Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept Lime Green. Representing the reinvention of its fumé dials that pay tribute to the art of enamelling that is imbued with age-old technique and modern sensibility, the new hammered textured Lime Green dial of the new H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept Lime is eye-catching in its own way.
Bringing a vibrancy to the timepiece is the 40mm steel case with an automatic movement and the unique Lime Green dial. The dial offers three colour pigments that are washed and finely crushed in a pattern engrained onto a gold base. This gives the dial an ombré effect that is unique for each piece. The finish is remarkable with a particularly striking texture and an intense hue that the Schaffhausen-based manufacture doesn’t mark with logo or indices.
For more information, visit the brand website here.
Image Courtesy: Respective brands
