A collector’s dream: Check out these exquisite watches featuring the most artistic dials

Schenelle Dsouza

Hermès has always been known to embrace the arts, whether it is artistic prints or crafty designs, the brand has always showcased some unique creations through its many collections.

Taking craftsmanship to the next level, Hermès has once again delved into artistry with its new limited edition Arceau The Three Graces Watch. Created with the method of marquetry, using 195 tiny pieces of wood, it is surrounded by a miniature painting over a background of aventurine glass. 

Reinterpreting the theme of the eponymous silk scarf designed by British artist, Alice Shirley in 2020, the watch features a white gold case encrusted with diamonds, an elegant giraffe design, inspired by Shirley’s journey in South Africa.

Just like Hermès, many designer watch brands have also created some beautifully artistic watches with unique dial designs and patterns. Take a look at our top favourite designs below.

1. Angular Momentum Negoro Takamakie

A steel case engraved with sapphire crystal, the Negoro Takamaki dial is crafted with 20 layers of black and red Urushi (Japanese lacquer), using the Japanese printing technique— Negoro Nuri, while the highlight of the watch, the sparrow, is engraved by hand and polished in the traditional Takamaki style.

2. Blancpain Villeret Métiers D’Art Ganesh Watch

A tribute to the Hindu Lord Ganesha, the Blancpain Villeret Métiers D’Art Ganesh watch combines fine engraving, damascening (the art of inlaying different metals into one another), and shakudō (an alloy of gold and copper) to create the exquisite timepiece. The black patina on the dial is achieved with the help of shakudō, while the hand-carved fine designs on the dial are a result of damascening.

3. Bvlgari Divas’ Dream Watch

A full 18k rose-gold bracelet with scalloped links, the dial features a miniature painted peacock. It also incorporates a gold smithing technique called champlevé— an enamelling technique wherein a metal substrate has depressions engraved which are then filled with vitreous enamel and fired.

4. Chanel Mademoiselle Privé 

Chanel’s Mademoiselle Privé collection features five unique watches made with 18K beige gold and 502 diamonds. Motifs like birds, flowers and branches are created using sculpted gold or glyptic (carving semi-precious gemstones) techniques creating either a raised or sunken design, adding depth and realism to the stunning collection.

5. Jacob & Co. Astronomia Art Dragon Baguette Meteorite

Crafted from 18K white gold, the case features four sapphire crystal windows showcasing the incredible Astronomia tourbillon. Inside the case is a 3-D 18K hand-engraved gold dragon with a 288-facet Jacob-cut diamond near its neck. Designed to look like shards of meteorites, the base dial is made with 117 triangle-cut white diamonds that are 5.53k each.

6. Jaquet Droz The Bird Minute Repeater Watch

Made with 18K gold and handmade black alligator leather, the Bird Repeater dial represents a pair of hand-engraved and hand-painted birds from the Jura region, watching over a nest of chicks and an unhatched egg. A mother-of-pearl detailed black onyx sub-dial representing time further add to the watch.

7. Louis Moinet 8 Marvels of the World

The Louis Moinet ‘8 Marvels of the World’ collection features eight different watches, all inspired by different wonders of the world— Great Wall of China, Chichén Itzá, Petra, Machu Picchu, Christ the Redeemer, Colosseum, and Taj Mahal. Each timepiece features a beautiful hand-engraved dial with precise details of each wonder, encased in an 18k gold case with an alligator leather strap.

8. Roger Dubuis Excalibur Knights of the Round Table III

Inspired by King Arthur and his magic Excalibur sword, the Excalibur Knights of the Round Table III, unlike its predecessors, features a 3-dimensional dial with 12 translucent blue enamel segments and 12 rose-gold segments. The 12 knights placed at the top of each gold section, are created in three-dimensional 18-karat pink-gold.

9. Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Imperial Tiger

Fixed in a white gold case with sapphire glass, the Les Cabinotiers Imperial Tiger watch features a hand-engraved 18K white gold tiger and pink gold tones on hand-crafted burgundy wood marquetry. The 18K gold dial is hand-painted with a Grand Feu translucent enamel to add depth and dimension.

10. Van Cleef & Arpels Poetic Wish Watch

Presented as a pair – Van Cleef & Arpels’ Poetic Wish Watch includes a Lady Arpels variant for her and a Midnight variant in blue for men. Both watches depict a Parisian love story wherein the men’s watch features a man standing on the Notre Dame cathedral with the Eiffel Tower in the background, while the other is a woman standing on the same Eiffel Tower with the Notre Dame in the background.

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