Venetian watch brand Venezianico have been experimenting with dial texture and materials for a long time now with models like the Ti-Dimascus, Corallo and Damasco. Their latest exploration brings them to the world of lab-grown stone dials with the new Venezianico Nereide Opale. A distinctive and striking interpretation of their signature dive watch.
The notion of a lab-grown gem is nothing new, with brands like TAG Heuer and Furlan Marri having made use of lab-grown diamonds in their watches. Synthetic rubies have also been a mainstay of mechanical watch movements for years. However, lab-grown opal is not something you come across all that often. Opal is a silica based stone with a highly variable appearance with dramatic colours and internal shapes. The lab-grown opal is produced by Japanese brand Kyocera, an advanced materials producer known primarily for their work in ceramics as well as technological innovation. It’s made from 80% silica to match the composition of opal with 20% resin for reinforcement and structural stability, allowing it to be used for a watch’s dial.
After production, the artificial opal is produced in a large block that can then be sliced into dial, with the shifting pattern ensuring that no two dials are identical. It is worth noting though that due to the artificial nature of the material, the overall pattern is a lot more regular meaning you don’t get quite so much individuality or nuanced imperfections as the normal stone. Essentially, while each dial is different, the overall impression is the same. Fortunately, that impression is full of sparkle and colour that makes for an eye-catching display that feels somewhat seasonally appropriate – glittering like snow caught in the sunlight.
It’s presented in the Nereide’s 42mm dive watch case in steel with 200m water resistance. The unidirectional rotating dive bezel features a tungsten insert, giving it a darker grey colour and superb scratch resistance, being a 9/10 on the Mohs hardness scale. Housed inside that case is the Sellita SW200-1 automatic with custom Venezianico rotor, visible through the exhibition caseback.
The Nereide Opale is priced at €1,295 (approx. £1,135) in a limited edition of 500 pieces. Pre-orders open on December 24th at 2pm GMT, so you’d best hope that Santa thinks you’ve been good this year. Or maybe you should already consider breaking your new year’s resolution to buy less watches…
Price and Specs:
More details at Venezianico.
