8 daring watches redefining the green dial trend for 2023: from unlikely Kermit the Frog, Aston Martin and Nespresso collabs, to refreshed Bulgari, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin classics

Jul 17 , 2023

Belgian brand Ressence is challenging the green dials trend with this hypermodern Type 8 sage green timepiece, but they’re not alone. Photo: Ressence

Green dials on timepieces have gone from exceptionally rare to near-ubiquitous, and yet the trend shows no sign of wearing itself out, as watchmakers show increasingly ingenuity when adding a viridescent tinge to make their designs pop.

It’s difficult these days – especially at Watches and Wonders – to avoid the wave of new releases featuring a green dial, simply because the world wants more. And it can prove extremely hard not to miss the growing list of green-dial variations of long-celebrated pieces.

Still, in 2023, it’s not wrong to expect more. Simply rehashing the theme is not enough. We demand a refreshing new shade, ideally realised with a precious mineral. And it’s got to be sustainability minded or paired with a cutting-edge watch construction and innovative design. Sometimes, the entire watch has to be green – or it’s got to be a green that reminds us of characters we know and love.

All of this is possible, and more. To prove it, here are eight timepieces that show us all the exciting ways watchmakers are stepping up their green watch game:

1. Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon

Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon. Photo: Vacheron Constantin

Though the Swiss maison’s retrograde pieces were the talk of the town at Watches and Wonders this year, Vacheron Constantin quietly released this stunning 41mm Traditionnelle Tourbillon. The Geneva fair, which took place in early April, boasted a number of great green-dialled entries (some of which are in this list), but keen eyes will find this version particularly special.

Not only does the piece feature a large tourbillon at six with the maison’s signature Maltese cross carriage, this watch bears a striking resemblance to a 2021 China-exclusive release which features an eerily similar “imperial green” dial inspired by jade.

2. Oris ProPilot x Kermit edition

Oris ProPilot x Kermit edition has been a huge success, with Kermit The Frog showing up on the first of every month on the watch’s date complication. Photo: Oris

Few green watches – or releases in general – were as loved as the Oris ProPilot X Kermit edition. On the surface, it’s a lime-green colourway for the steel watch in the mainstay Oris collection, but in this playful piece, Kermit the Frog replaces the first of every month on the watches date complication, decidedly one-upping Rolex’s famed “Kermit” submariner which merely features a bezel with the same colour, and no collaboration to speak of.

3. Ressence Type 8 sage green

Independent brand Ressence released the Type 8 in sage green at Watches and Wonders 2023. Photo: Ressence

Ressence’s Type 8 in sage green is a playful take on the green watch trend, featuring its logo – an outstretched hand – in the middle of the luxury timepiece. The 43mm release combines the independent brand’s signature “eccentric satellite” dial design – wind the bezel to set the time and rotate subdials around the centre of the watch – with a pastel sage green colourway.

Far from the striking jewel-toned cobalt edition seen last year, this pastel touch to the Type 8 collection only further cements Ressence as an outstanding, hypermodern dial designer.

4. Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso One Precious Colours

A Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso One precious colours in green is the definition of refined taste. Photo: Jaeger LeCoultre

True to form, Jaeger LeCoultre made their signature Reverso collection centre stage at Watches and Wonders this year. Aside from their stunning Reverso Tribute Chronograph, the Swiss maison released the visually dazzling Reverso One Precious Colours which feature art deco-inspired enamelwork with diamonds on the reverse face.

The green edition stands out particularly for its use of multiple shades of green, accented with decadent a white gold case and mother-of-pearl watch dial.

5. Bulgari Serpenti Seduttori

Bulgari Serpenti Seduttori with its malachite dial, inspired by the maison’s iconic Serpenti design. Photo: Bulgari

There are other ways of achieving a stunning shade of green on your timepiece and when it comes to luscious minerals like malachite, high jewellers like Bulgari have the upper hand in knowing how to use these materials. Just check this version of the Serpenti Seduttori, which features the namesake mineral in Bulgari’s signature snakehead-shaped case and snake-scale-esque bracelet with diamonds.

6. Girard-Perregaux Laureato green ceramic Aston Martin edition

Girard-Perregaux Laureato green ceramic Aston Martin edition, in 38 and 42mm. Photo: Girard Perregaux

In March this year, Girard-Perregaux tapped their relationship with Aston Martin to release not just a green-dialled watch, but a limited edition Laureato entirely in British racing green. The piece itself evokes racing through its entire construction, as the watch is seven times harder than steel, indifferent to ambient temperature changes, complete with a resilient paint job, all made possible by its all-ceramic construction.

7. Hublot Big Bang Unico Nespresso

Hublot Big Bang Unico x Nespresso is a literal green watch. Photo: Hublot

Hublot took a different approach to their all-green watch in May, tapping their Big Bang collection to release a new Unico in collaboration with Nespresso. This piece is unique in that it uses a recycled aluminium – of which 28 per cent comprises material from recycled Nespresso coffee capsules, making this piece a “green” watch visually and conceptually.

8. H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic Boutique Edition

This boutique edition of the H. Moser & Cie Streamliner flyback chronograph was released to celebrate the opening of its boutiques in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Photo: H. Moser & Cie

No modern green dial/watch list is complete without mentioning the brand that helped reintroduce fumé gradients – black at the edges to stunning colour at the centre – to watch dials in the way that H. Moser & Cie have. This boutique edition flyback chronograph was released to celebrate the opening of its first boutiques in Hong Kong and Shanghai, using the fumé gradient to accentuate the luscious “matrix green” dial.

The rest of the piece is H. Moser & Cie through and through. The chronograph piece features a single chronograph hand in place of traditional subdials, with ergonomic pushers at 10 and two rather than the traditional two and four, much like a traditional pocket stopwatch.

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Timepieces

If you’ve been paying any attention to the watch world, you know that everyone wants more green dials – a trend sparking a wave of increasingly brave, often bizarre, brand partnerships
Oris’ ProPilot x Kermit edition one-upped Rolex’s submariner version, while H. Moser & Cie celebrates opening its first boutiques in Hong Kong and Shanghai by releasing a Streamliner flyback chronograph