Sands of Time: The Richness and Warmth of Brown Watch Dials

Jeremy Freed October 7, 2024

From mocha to chestnut, copper and sepia, a richly hued brown dial makes for a distinctive addition to your watch lineup. Browse through ten of the finest brown-dialled watches to find your favourite.

Longines Conquest

Whether you’re wearing it to the office or on the weekend, it’s hard to match the versatility of a stainless-steel sports watch like the Longines Conquest. With a 41 mm stainless-steel case and a sunray-brushed dial in a delicate tobacco hue, it’s understated enough to complement a navy suit and sporty enough to look just right with jeans and a polo. ($2,800)

Seiko King Seiko SPB285

Between its fascinating backstory (it was a contender for the lofty position currently occupied by Grand Seiko) and its gloriously angular 1960s-inspired design, the recently reintroduced King Seiko line has had no problem attracting fans. As such, this version with a walnut-coloured sunray dial and a vintage-style box sapphire crystal is hard to resist. ($2,195)

Vacheron Constantin Fiftysix

Despite being inspired by an archival design from the 1950s, the Fiftysix is a thoroughly modern watch, with a slim 9.6 mm case and hands and hour-markers highlighted with blue SuperLumiNova. While it’s available in complication versions including a tourbillon and complete calendar, the 18K pink gold and a sepia sunray dial on this time-and-date model make it a particularly sophisticated choice. ($34,300)

Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope

The Omega Speedmaster is one of the world’s most iconic watches, but the Speedy family doesn’t end with the Moonwatch. The underrated Chronoscope, a 1940s-inspired two-register chronograph with a hypnosis-inducing “snailed” dial, featuring tachymeter, pulsometer, and telemeter scales, looks all the more striking in bronze gold with a simple brown calfskin strap. ($22,600)

Frederique Constant Highlife Worldtimer Manufacture

The Highlife, which has become one of Frederique Constant’s most popular designs, takes inspiration from the pioneering integrated bracelet sports watches of the 1970s. This model proves that brown — one of that decade’s most-beloved colours — looks just as good in the 2020s, with a sueded alligator strap and a rubber strap to match its globe-engraved dial. ($6,495)

Bulova Marine Star

The combination of a rose gold–tone stainless steel case and a milk chocolate–hued dial is always a winning one, and this sporty Bulova ups the ante further with the addition of a jet-black ceramic bezel and a dial engraved with an undulating wave motif. Water-resistant to 200 m and featuring a high-frequency quartz movement, it is durable and highly accurate, too. ($995)

Grand Seiko SBGW293

In addition to its rich, mocha-hued sunray dial, this manual-wind dress watch brings a host of refined features to the table including razor-sharp, polished hour markers and elegantly slim, tapered hands. Its 36.5 mm case size and 11.6 mm thickness make it equally suited for formal or casual occasions. ($6,800)

Citizen Calendrier

With its 24-city world time display, 12- and 24-hour indicators, and day-and-date functions, there’s plenty to see within the Calendrier’s 44 mm case. Thanks to some skilful dial design, however, with contrasting engraved accents and different shades of brown to designate day from night, it never overwhelms the eye. ($525)

Rado Anatom Automatic

First introduced in 1983, the recently revived Anatom brings one of Rado’s most distinctive designs into the 21st century with several notable modern upgrades including a new Rado calibre R766 movement. In addition to its unmistakable ergonomic case shape, featuring a convex sapphire crystal, a chestnut gradient dial gives the new Anatom an outsized presence on the wrist. ($4,500)

Breitling Super Chronomat B01

The aviation-inspired Chronomat has quietly become one of Breitling’s hottest watches over the past few years, and this stunning 18K red gold version is no exception. In addition to an eye-catching colour scheme that extends to the ceramic bezel inserts and Rouleaux-inspired rubber strap, fine details like snailed counters, protruding bezel screws, and a red-tipped seconds hand make it all the more of a standout. ($33,100)