Despite the winter weather, we’re already looking forward to the spring and the summer when bright sunshine will bring us hazy days of warmth and fun. Picture the scene of a sunny garden party with gorgeous lawns, a band playing quietly, fresh food on hand. To complete the scene, all you need is a wristwatch to match the atmosphere and there’s none that would suit better than the warm tones of a luxury brown dial watch, basking in the sun.
Patek Philippe Nautilus 5712/1R
While the iconic version of the Nautilus is the steel 5711 with blue dial, this 5712/1R in rose gold with a sunburst brown dial is simply gorgeous. It leans towards the luxe side of sports luxe with its precious metal case and beautifully decorated moonphase indicator, but maintains the signature porthole design and chunky bezel.
Case/dial: 40mm diameter rose gold case
Water resistance: 60m (6 bar)
Movement: Patek Philippe calibre 240 PS IRM C LU, automatic movement with 38-hour power reserve
Strap: Rose gold bracelet
Price: £66,670
IWC Top Gun Mojave
When it comes to brown dialled watches, it’s unsurprising that the desert is a popular theme. IWC have taken their desert timepiece in a military direction in the form of the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun Edition Mojave Desert. The khaki tone is inspired by desert fatigues and colours commonly used in camouflage. Although as a perpetual calendar it’s a lot less rough and tumble than most military inspired watches.
Case/dial: 46mm diameter ceramic case
Water resistance: 60m (6 bar)
Movement: IWC calibre 52110, automatic movement with 168-hour power reserve
Strap: Beige rubber strap with textile inlay
Price: £14,900
Tudor Black Bay Fifty Eight Bronze
The Black Bay Fifty Eight from Tudor is one of their classiest designs, riffing on their heritage designs to give it a retro appearance. That whole aesthetic is enhanced by the bronze case and matching brown dial, which make it look like a historic piece of diving equipment, especially when it develops a patina.
Case/dial: 39mm diameter bronze case
Water resistance: 200m (20 bar)
Movement: Tudor calibre MT5400 automatic movement, COSC-certified with 70-hour power reserve
Strap: Bronze bracelet with additional “brown-bronze” jacquard fabric strap
Price: £3,980
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Dimple Dial
Launched at the start of the year, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Dimple Dial came as a bit of a surprise, eschewing the model’s traditional Tapisserie pattern in favour of a beaten, dimpled look. Similar to the Nautilus earlier, it combines a rose gold case with a brown dial to achieve a complimentary colour palette.
Case/dial: 41mm diameter 18k rose gold case, dimple dial
Water resistance: 50m (5 bar)
Movement: Audemars Piguet calibre 2950, automatic movement with 65-hour power reserve
Strap: 18k pink gold bracelet
Price: Price on request
Grand Seiko Tsuji
The Grand Seiko Tsuji SBGW293 is part of their 44GS collection, one of their heritage inspired watches that embraces the core design elements that Grand Seiko prize. The Tsuji (Earth) edition has a rich brown dial with sunray finishing. It’s deep and attractive in a supremely elegant way, although it perhaps lacks some of the character of their more textural dials.
Case/dial: 42.69mm diameter stainless steel case
Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
Movement: Grand Seiko calibre 9S64, automatic movement with 72-hour power reserve
Strap: Brown crocodile leather
Price: £4,650
Zenith Chronomaster Revival El Primero A385
Zenith love to launch heritage revival Chronomasters and the El Primero A385 is a particularly nice example. The tonneau case has a sweeping curve without being dominated thanks to vintage 37mm proportions. Its dial has a similar gentleness to it in the light gradient from cream in the centre to dark brown at the periphery.
Case/dial: 37mm diameter stainless steel case
Water resistance: 50m (5 bar)
Movement: Zenith calibre El Primero, movement with 50-hour power reserve
Strap: Light brown calfskin leather strap with protective rubber lining
Price: £7,500
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Desert Edition
Blancpain is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms this year, so it’s no surprise that in that 70-year history there have been a handful of interesting coloured dials. This is the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Desert Edition, with a gradient brown dial like the flow of sand. Despite being themed for the desert, it retains its dive watch specs with 300m water resistance and an incredibly legible dial.
Case/dial: 483mm diameter stainless steel case
Water resistance: 300m (30 bar)
Movement: Blancpain calibre 13155DD, automatic movement with 120-hour power reserve
Strap: Beige sail canvas
Price: £11,800
Bell & Ross BR 05 Copper Brown
Bell & Ross are known for producing watches inspired by the instruments panels of vehicles, but one of their most popular collections is actually the BR 05, which trades some of the tool watch aesthetic for a more urban, sports luxe vibe. The Copper Brown edition, perhaps unsurprisingly, has a coppery-brown dial. What’s particularly nice is that B&R have gone the extra mile to make the date disc the same colour.
Case/dial: 40mm diameter stainless steel case
Water resistance: 100m (10 bar)
Movement: Bell & Ross calibre BR-CAL.321, automatic movement with 38-hour power reserve
Strap: Stainless steel bracelet
Price: £4,600
Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date
Oris’ colour game is always on point and the Oris Big Crown Bronze Pointer Date is no different with an incredibly smooth caramel brown dial. It sits within a full bronze case with matching bronze bracelet. It’s also a pointer date model, which means there’s a fourth hand that points to a peripheral date ring, an Oris classic.
Case/dial: 40mm diameter bronze case
Water resistance: 50m (5 bar)
Movement: Oris calibre 754 automatic movement with 38-hour power reserve
Strap: Bronze bracelet
Price: £2,300
Vacheron Constantin Fiftysix
One of watchmaking’s holy trinity, it’s no surprise that Vacheron Constantin have their fair share of luxury brown dial watches. This is the VC Fiftysix, an incredibly elegant timepiece in pink gold with a sepia brown dial featuring golden numerals. At a 40mm diameter and 9.6mm thickness it’s perfectly sized to fit under the cuff of a shirt, bringing its warm tones to the smartest of occasions.
Case/dial: 40mm stainless steel case
Movement: Vacheron Constantin calibre 1326 automatic movement with 48-hour power reserve
Strap: Dark brown calf leather
Price: £22,300
Breitling SuperOcean Automatic 44 Bronze
Continuing the trend of bronze watches with brown dials is the Breitling SuperOcean Automatic 44 Bronze. It has the characteristically large indexes of the SuperOcean and the square shaped minute hand. The dial itself has a rich chocolate colour that matches the dive ready rubber strap. It’s powered by the Breitling Calibre 17, which has a 38-hour power reserve.
Case/dial: 44mm diameter bronze case
Water resistance: 300m (30 bar)
Movement: Breitling calibre 17 automatic movement with 38-hour power reserve
Strap: Brown rubber
Price: £4,600
Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra
The Omega Aqua Terra is a watch that suits a wide variety of colours, just look at the 2022 collection, as bright and fun as they come. However, the Sedna gold with brown dial edition is more sophisticated. The horizontal pattern of the dial combined with the colour gives the impression of the deck of a yacht, gently bobbing in the Mediterranean waves.
Case/dial: 41mm diameter Sedna™ gold case
Water resistance: 150m (15 bar)
Movement: Omega calibre 8901 automatic movement with 60-hour power reserve
Strap: Brown leather
Price: £16,940
