Vitreum x Perpétuel Gallery Peacock Edition
Cloisonné grand feu enamel is usually the preserve of five-figure métiers d’art pieces from the big Swiss houses, which is what makes the Peacock Edition such an event. Danish independent Vitreum has partnered with Dubai’s Perpétuel Gallery on a dial that took nearly a full year to realise: delicate gold wires hand-bent into the outline of each peacock feather, the compartments between them filled with successive layers of enamel and fired at extreme temperatures until the blues, greens and golds carry the iridescence of the bird itself. Nothing is printed, nothing is stamped, and no two of the seven dials are identical.
The watch around it is sensibly restrained so the dial can do the talking: a 39.5mm steel case just 9.5mm thick, a hand-wound Sellita SW210 and a blue nubuck strap. With the dials handcrafted in the UK, assembly in Denmark and just seven examples in existence, this is one of very few chances to get genuine cloisonné from an independent.
Price and Specs:
More details at Perpétuel Gallery.
Earthen Summit MK II Dawn Til Dusk
Full-lume dials aren’t new, but a blazing orange full-lume dial is another thing entirely. That’s what Earthen – the self-styled Ceramic Watch Company – has gone for on the Summit MK II Dawn Til Dusk, coating the dial in a proprietary lume paint developed in-house. By day it reads as white with a soft pink hue thanks to the reflection from a peripheral orange ring, pairing brilliantly with the brand’s signature white ceramic case. As the light drops, it shifts to a vivid sunset orange, like an alpine sky from first chairlift to last run.
The mountain theme runs deep, with an inverted 3-6-9 layout, 3D-finished indices, a skier-descent graphic at 6 o’clock and an oversized, glove-friendly crown. The 38mm ceramic case is 10mm thick with 100m of water resistance, the sapphire gets anti-reflective coating on both sides to cut glare off the snow, and inside is the reliable Miyota 9039. Two FKM rubber straps are included, with pre-orders delivering at the end of August.
Price and Specs:
More details at Earthen.
22STUDIO 4D Concrete Automatic Duo
Taipei’s 22STUDIO has been hand-casting concrete watch dials for years, and the updated 4D Concrete Automatic Duo is Brutalist architecture distilled to wrist size. Two spiral staircases step down into the high-density, fair-faced concrete from opposite sides of the dial, coexisting without ever intersecting, cast at the studio’s Taipei headquarters to a strict 0.15mm tolerance – and like any fair-faced concrete, every pour is subtly unique. Three colourways are offered: Mist Grey, Ice & Fire and Bronze Explorer.
It’s a full re-design too, with a more wearable case in sandblasted or polished 316L steel (or brushed bronze for the Explorer), topped by a new box sapphire crystal and guarded crown. Inside is the Miyota 9015 with lumed markers and hands, a date window with inset magnifier and 5ATM of water resistance, all backed by a two-year warranty with lifetime repair support.
Price and Specs:
More details at 22STUDIO.
Orphic Project 0
The wandering hours complication dates back to 1655 and a clock built for a pope, and it has retained that prestige, featuring on projects like the Audemars Piguet Starwheel. The Project 0, the debut from Selten’s special-projects sister brand Orphic, makes it both its most affordable and its most sci-fi: the active hour numeral travels along a curved minute scale via three rotating discs and a Geneva gear mechanism, framed by a James Webb Space Telescope-inspired hexagonal lattice over black mother-of-pearl (Nebula), star-flecked blue aventurine (Stardust) or matte black (Void).
The lattice, numerals, minute track and even the custom rotor are lumed, so the whole display glows as it wanders. The 41mm steel case wears slimmer than its 12.9mm suggests – much of that is domed crystal and caseback – and there’s even a destro option with the hexagonal crown on the left. With a modified Miyota 9039 keeping servicing sane, the value at around £520 is frankly absurd.
Price and Specs:
More details at Orphic.
Montera Mediterranean Collection
Most microbrands start with a collector’s midlife crisis; Montera started as a university final-year project. Now the young UK brand has revealed its new Mediterranean collection in three tones that read like a beachside café menu – Cortado, Pistachio, and the perhaps less appetising Coral – and honestly, they’ve nailed that summer vibe. Each pairs a clean brushed bezel with a scratch-textured dial that catches the light differently at every angle.
Specifications and pricing are still under wraps ahead of launch, but if the dials deliver in the metal the way they do on screen, this could quietly be the sleeper pick of the summer.
Price and Specs:
More details at Montera.
