Rainbow Watches Are All the Rage: 7 Colorful Timepieces That Prove the Trend Isn’t Going Anywhere
There’s something extremely beguiling about a horological work of art decked out in a rainbow-hued execution. Even the world’s most prestigious watchmakers have gotten the memo. Exhibit A: The seven slightly psychedelic timepieces highlighted below. Chasing rainbows indeed!
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36
Most people think of Rolex as a maker of tried-and-true tool watches designed to withstand the elements, from the top of Mt. Everest to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. This stunning Day-Date 36 model serves as a brilliant reminder of the brand’s jewelry expertise. With its diamond-paved dial, diamond-set bezel and diamond-set President bracelet, all encased in 18-karat white gold, the 36 mm model demonstrates Rolex’s exceptional gem-setting skill. But it’s the 10 baguette-cut, rainbow-colored sapphires marking the hours that truly distinguish the timepiece. Price on request, Rolex.com
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Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 Tourbillon Double Rainbow
The Tonda 1950 Tourbillon Double Rainbow from Parmigiani Fleurier marries the brand’s well-established credentials in the realm of haute horlogerie with its jewelry-making artistry. Powered by the ultra-thin PF517 automatic movement, which houses a 60-second tourbillon, the watch comes in a 40.2 mm 18-karat rose-gold case whose bezel is set with 2.59 carats of multicolored gemstones, including rubies, tsavorites, amethysts, and blue, pink, orange and yellow sapphires. The dial, meanwhile, is fully set with 572 diamonds, totaling 1.4 carats, and an additional 32 multicolor sapphires, framing a crescent-shaped subdial composed of aventurine. Its sparkly dark surface is a subtle reference to the starry night sky in Switzerland’s Val-de-Travers, home to Parmigiani’s hometown of Fleurier. $191,400, Parmigianiamericas.com
Hublot Big Bang MP-11 Power Reserve 14 Days 3D Carbon Rainbow
The name is a mouthful, but the new Big Bang MP-11 Power Reserve 14 Days 3D Carbon Rainbow by Hublot is a colorful example of the watchmaker’s trademark Art of Fusion concept in which opposing materials—famously, gold and rubber—are combined to create rule-breaking timepieces with a futuristic ethos. Powered by Hublot’s seven-barreled MP-11 movement (enabling a two-week power reserve), the watch comes in a 45 mm case made of 3-D carbon. The fusion is most striking on the undulating black-plated bezel set with 48 baguette-cut colored gemstones including rubies, pink sapphires, amethysts, blue sapphires, blue topazes, tsavorites, yellow and orange sapphires. $106,000, Hublot.com
Breitling Chronomat Automatic 36 South Sea
It’s tough not to be charmed by Breitling’s Chronomat South Sea Capsule Collection, a trio of captivating timepieces featuring golden indexes and hands, diamond-set hour markers and gem-set bezels decked out in an array of vibrant hues. The 36 mm model seen here bears a fetching midnight blue lacquered dial—the beige and mint green dial editions are equally attractive. But beauty doesn’t come at the expense of brains. All three are powered by Breitling Caliber 10, a COSC-certified chronometer. $8,500; Breitling.com
Zenith Defy 21 Felipe Pantone
For a watch featuring an ultra-contemporary execution of the rainbow, look no further than Zenith’s new Defy 21 Felipe Pantone, the product of a collaboration with the Argentine-Spanish contemporary artist known for his computer-modeled graffiti murals blending digital and urban aesthetics. Endowed with two regulating organs and escapements, one beating at 5Hz for timekeeping, and the other at 50Hz, offering a true 1/100th of a second chronograph display, the El Primero 21 is a fine-tuned mechanical machine packaged in a sleek 44 mm ceramic case, albeit a highly chromatic one. $19,100, Zenith-watches.com
Jacob & Co. Fleurs De Jardin Rainbow
The kaleidoscopic garden scene beneath the dial of the Fleurs De Jardin Rainbow by Jacob. & Co. is abloom with a bouquet of multicolored sapphires. As if those weren’t mesmerizing enough, the model’s intricate butterfly tourbillon movement journeys around the dial clockwise, along with the time display and upper-level sapphire flowers, while the rainbow sapphire-studded mother-of-pearl base below turns counter-clockwise. The 18-karat rose-gold bezel and inner ring are also set with rainbow sapphires. Crowning the scene: a 288-facet Jacob-cut grass-green tsavorite, not to mention the model’s impressive Astronomia double-axis flying tourbillon movement, which takes 10 minutes to make a full clockwise revolution around the central axis. $440,000; Jacobandco.com
Customized Pre-Owned Richard Mille RM 67-01 Rainbow 50 mm
From the custom watch specialists at MAD Paris comes this reimagined Richard Mille RM 67-01 in a whopping 50 mm 18-karat rhodium-plated white-gold case studded with a not insignificant number of rainbow-colored sapphires. As if it weren’t abundantly clear, this radical timepiece comes in a highly limited edition of one. $605,000, Farfetch.com
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