While it’s sometimes possible to dismiss the colour on a watch as an aesthetic affectation, the role of the colour orange in watchmaking history is more than purely a matter of taste. It actually has a practical application. Orange is widely considered the most legible colour a watch can be when viewed underwater or out at sea – following the same logic that sees most life rings, life vests and buoys in orange too. As such, you’ll find a large proportion of dive watches with orange as a signature colour for safety reasons. Though orange dress, field, pilot’s watches and beyond are not totally unheard of. Let’s take a look at some of the coolest orange dial watches available to buy right now (I’ve had to limit myself otherwise I could talk for hours about sold out orange watches like the Awake T-Rex or Bulova Devil Diver).
Doxa Sub 200 Steel Bezel
You can’t talk about orange dial watches without talking about Doxa. As the story goes, the Swiss dive watch specialists are almost solely responsible for the adoption of the colour in diving watches. During the 1960s they conducted a series of experiments in the depths of Lake Neuchatel to determine the most visible colour and orange came up the winner. They then slapped it on the dial of their SUB collection in 1967 and never looked back. Their most recent launch in the collection was an update to the SUB 200, introducing a steel bezel to the collection.
Price and Specs:
More details at Doxa.
Venezianico Nereide Corallo
Venezianico is a brand dedicated to the heritage and legacy of the great city of Venice, from the architecture to the culture and its people. The Nereide Corallo is a tribute to the city’s mercantile past, a gateway of all sorts of exotic goods from Mediterranean trade into Europe. Including coral jewellery. Its dial is made from a mosaic-like structure of red and orange coral, meaning no two watches are identical. The watch itself measures 42mm in diameter in steel with a 200m water resistance rating and houses the Sellita SW200-1 automatic movement.
Price and Specs:
More details at Venezianico.
Girard-Perregaux Deep Diver Legacy Edition
Modern Girard-Perregaux may be best known for the Laureato, but in bygone years they’ve explored the breadth of watchmaking design, including dive watches. This year they released a heritage inspired reimagining of those vintage dive watches in the form of the Deep Diver Legacy Edition. A 40mm steel dive watch with 200m water resistance and a super compressor style construction. The central disc of the dial, plus the lumed elements across the hands and hour markers, are orange. Though its not restricted to just the one colour with blue and white accents too.
Price and Specs:
More details at Girard-Perregaux.
H. Moser & Cie. Pioneer Tourbillon Spiced Aqua
Moser & Cie. occupy an almost unique position in the watch industry being a high end, haute horological manufacture that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Case in point the recent Spiced Aqua that were marketed in style of blockbuster films. Posters in the style of the Dune franchise suggest that the intense orange colour is the desert of Arrakis and the blue is the blue-eyed side effect of Spice Melange. Which is a weird way to talk about an in-house tourbillon watch that costs around £44k. Though certainly a strong way to open a conversation.
Price and Specs:
More details at H. Moser.
Baltic Hermétique Summer
One of the newest watches in this article is the Baltic Hermétique Summer orange. It’s part of Baltic’s first summer collection for their field watch, inspired loosely by the cool vibes of 1970s California. The orange contrasts nicely with the black railway minutes track that circles around the edge of the display. As part of the Hermétique range it features svelte proportions of 37mm x 10.8mm with the collection’s signature integrated crown. It’s powered by Miyota’s premium slim movement, the 9039.
Price and Specs:
More details at Baltic.
Beaucroft Element
Beaucroft are one of the stand out success stories of the British watch scene in the past year or two, rapidly rising up people’s list of significant brands. Collections like the Element, with its intense colours (including orange importantly) and practical 39.5mm steel case, have put the Cambridge brand on the horological map. The Sunset Orange in particular stands out for its rich tone that really emphasises the sunray brushed finishing in an attractive fashion. Inside, it houses the Miyota 9039 automatic, a classic calibre for slim watches.
Price and Specs:
More details at Beaucroft.
Christopher Ward C12 Loco
One of the major talking points from the start of 2025 was the launch of the C12 Loco by Christopher Ward, the spiritual successor to the seminal Bel Canto. It features an exposed balance wheel visible from the dial side of the watch, displaying the watch’s frenetic energy for all to see. They haven’t missed a trick because after a custom orange edition of the Bel Canto proved popular, the British brand added the colour to the launch range for the Loco. It’s presented in a sporty integrated strap case measuring 41mm.
Price and Specs:
More details at Christopher Ward.
Seiko 5 Sports SKX
The Seiko 5 Sports range has always been a refuge of classic sports and tool watch colourways so it’s unsurprising to find an orange dialled dive watch here. Specifically, it’s the Seiko 5 Sports SKX Redux in Daichi Orange. It has a bold, graphic style with oversize hour markers and exaggerated, arrow shaped hands to boost legibility. The orange is paired with a back diving bezel with dark beige markings that give the piece a hint of neo-vintage flair. Priced at £340, it’s super accessible, which is possible due to its Seiko 4R36 automatic movement with 41-hour power reserve and daily accuracy of +45/-35 seconds per day.
Price and Specs:
More details at Seiko Boutique.
Delma Blue Shark IV
Saturation divers are a niche unto themselves with water resistance ratings of 600m or above. The Delma Blue Shark IV goes much, much further with a rating of 5,000m, making it a true monster of the deeps. When you’re operating deep underwater where the sunlight gets dim (around 200m) all colour starts to fade from your watch and even an orange dial starts to look brown. However, under the beam of a torch, it’s still useful to locate your fellow divers. In order to resist such extreme water pressure, the Blue Shark IV is an underwater giant at 47mm diameter x 20mm thickness.
Price and Specs:
More details at Delma.
Certina DS Super PH500
Certina’s DS series is designed to offer a great mix of accessibility, durability, practicality and style. The DS Super PH500 ticks all four of those boxes. It measures 43mm in diameter (not surprising for a dive watch) with 500m water resistance. Its dial features a classic orange display with retro crosshair pattern and large, lumed markings. It has a characteristic mid-bezel with 14 sides, around the outside of which is the main uni-directional rotating bezel. It houses the Powermatic 80.611 calibre by ETA with 80-hour power reserve, making it more than weekend proof.
Price and Specs:
More details at Certina.
Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Shades Saffron
The Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra is an interesting hybrid between a dress watch and diver, hence the name Aqua Terra meaning both sea and land. With 150m water resistance, it’s no stranger to the water but it’s not the sort of active runabout piece you’d be willing to bash up on the beach. More of a champagne bar at the marina type watch. The Shades series introduces a wide range of colours to the collection including the Saffron orange which is a lovely shade that’s a touch paler than the full intensity seen on professional dive watches.
Price and Specs:
More details at Omega.
No mention of the perpetual calendar, quartz drive Seiko SBCM029, the coolest and probably the original orange diver? Oh well, it’s long out of production but at least I have one.
The Delma blue shark is outstanding! I am thinking it would look perfect on my wrist. Where and when can I get one?