There are a lot of big trends in watchmaking that slap you in the face with how all encompassing they are. I’m thinking specifically about integrated steel bracelets about four years ago. However, some are much more low key until you look around and realise they’re suddenly everywhere. That’s the case with pastel dial watches – desaturated versions of classic colours that have a gentle almost fun palette that works well across a range of styles and designs. Here are 6 of our favourites that prove why pastel dials are here to stay.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41 Pistachio
Released as part of Watches & Wonders this year, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41 Pistachio actually became one of the Crown brand’s most talked about releases despite launching an entirely new collection in the Land-Dweller. That’s because its pale shade of green is frankly nice to look at with its soothing tone that contrasts superbly with the bright saturated colours of the existing OP range. They also launched other pastel shades with the Lavendar 28 and Beige 36 – it’s a touch annoying that each colour is locked to a specific size but there are some collectors who don’t need much of an excuse to buy three Rolexes.
Price and Specs:
More details at Rolex.
Grand Seiko Purple Kiri
Also launched this spring was the Grand Seiko Purple Kiri SBGW323. It has an incredibly pale lilac colour dial with petal style texture inspired by the kiri, the signature flower of Iwate Prefecture. The watch itself is well sized for a sleek dress watch at 36.5mm and houses the manual-winding calibre 9S64, touting a 72-hour power reserve. Under certain lighting conditions the purple colour appears to shift from pastel purple to almost an indigo blue, which is captivating to see.
Price and Specs:
More details at Grand Seiko.
Tissot PRX
The Tissot PRX is inescapable. Its 1980s design has become something of a timeless icon with an integrated steel bracelet, eye-catching tapisserie style dial and solid Powermatic 80 movement all wrapped up in an accessible package less than £700. Focussing on the dial, there is a diverse range to choose from but this ice blue is perhaps the collection’s signature and the most sought after alongside the mint green. Ice blue and mint green…well those are both pastel shades.
Price and Specs:
More details at Tissot.
Ressence Type 8 Sage Green
The Ressence Type 8 Sage Green was actually launched around the same time as the Ice Blue automatic PRX above, March 2023. It’s also the first use I can personally remember of sage green as a shade in the watch industry – before the colour absolutely exploded everywhere both inside the industry and elsewhere across style and lifestyle products. It’s a good reminder that pastel tones don’t have to be bubblegum bright, as it’s actually quite a dark, almost grey shade of green. But it still ticks that pastel box with its desaturated look, emphasised by the slight grainy texture of the finish across the ROCs display.
Price and Specs:
More details at Ressence.
IWC Portugieser Chronograph
Another example of a slightly unusual pastel shade is the IWC Portugieser Chronograph with its ‘dune’ coloured dial. While we often think of sand or khaki as a standalone colour in its own right, it’s technically an example of pastel brown, we just don’t tend to think of it in those terms. It was released as part of the 2024 Portugieser soft relaunch alongside the horizon blue models, which could also be considered pastel, featuring calendar, chronograph and automatic models. It would be fun to see a pastel version of the Eternal Calendar that was launched at the same time.
Price and Specs:
More details at IWC.
Oris Divers Sixty-Five Cotton Candy
As I mentioned in the introduction, the pastel trend has been more of a slow burn across the industry over several years rather than a flash in the pan. Tracing the pastel path back, the watch that really captured attention for being pastel and started the ball rolling is the Oris Divers Sixty-Five Cotton Candy. Debuting in 2021 with bronze cases (which was another trend at the time that has since died down) and some candy tone dials in lipstick pink, sky blue and wild green. They are the pastel archetype colours.
Price and Specs:
More details at Oris.
Vulcain Monopusher Heritage Green
The inclusion of the Vulcain Monopusher Heritage Green in this article is something of a happy accident. We originally called the watch in to the studio to be part of an upcoming photoshoot on super bright dials for summer only to discover that in the metal, the colour is much paler than we anticipated. So pale as to be perfect for inclusion in an article on pastel dials. It’s a lime green tone with a sunray brushed finish across the bicompax pulsometer chronograph display. The shiny dial makes to stand apart from the typical matte finishes you tend to see on pastel colours. On the wrist it’s very comfortable with its chunky single-link bracelet.
Price and Specs:
More details at Vulcain.
