Amid a '70s design revival, colorful hard-stone watch dials make a comeback

CNN

04-04-2025

Even by the standards of watch boxes — typically oversized for the objects they hold — Chopard's latest leather case, unveiled at watch fair Watches and Wonders, is strikingly large. But the grandeur is justified. Open it, and it reveals not one, but twelve L'Heure du Diamant watches, arranged like precious petals. Each piece features the same diamond-studded bezel, framing twelve different dials crafted from thin, round slices of hard-stones including apple-green jade, cobalt blue agate, cinnamon brown tiger's eye, white mother-of-pearl, pink opal, onyx, carnelian, and more.
The result is an elegant, unmistakably feminine collection with just the right dose of color and sparkle. 'My father, Karl Scheufele, introduced exquisite goldsmithing techniques that enabled the use of hard-stone dials when he took over Chopard in 1963,' explained Caroline Scheufele, Chopard's co-president and creative director, over a phone call. 'By the late 1960s, Chopard was already creating bold, colorful timepieces with these beautiful stones. Reviving them now is our way of celebrating that joyful creativity — while staying true to our heritage.'
Chopard's latest creation may be the most eloquent example yet and perhaps the peak of the hard-stone dial craze that has been sweeping the world of luxury watches over the past couple of years.
It's evident at Rolex, which reimagined its beloved Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 36 in uplifting tones of apricot carnelian, sky-blue turquoise and shimmering green aventurine. The watchmaker also updated its iconic Oyster Perpetual collection with a 28mm style, debuting in lavender and a matte finish, a first for the brand.
Gucci gave its avant-garde, hands-free Grip timepiece a bold new look in sandstone-hued jasper, while Dior's Grand Bal Histoire Naturelle features sodalite, aventurine and aragonite. Chanel ventured into the cosmos to fetch meteorite for one of its elegant Monsieur watches. Elsewhere, Cartier's elongated oval-shaped Baignoire watch has a mesmerizing, hypnotic dial featuring an irregular mosaic of mother-of-pearl, turquoise, and onyx stones.
This year, Piaget is also making a colorful splash with hard-stone dials. In one model from the Hidden Treasures collection, a green-hued opal dial peeks out from an intricately engraved white gold cuff, its outer frame rimmed with delicate emeralds. In another piece, a lavish sautoir with a rope-like chain is adorned with a 17-carat pink tourmaline and a white opal of over 12 carats, and holds a dial made of fiery red ruby root — the raw base material to which rubies are attached. The dial's vivid color is echoed by ruby root beads in juicy cerise and raspberry tones, interspersed throughout the chain.
One might associate such colorful hard-stones with ladies' watches, which have historically featured softer colors or delicate details, but they're popular in men's timepieces, too. Piaget recently reimagined its iconic Andy Warhol watch in four striking variations, each featuring a different ornamental stone: blue opal veined with iridescent green, warm brown tiger's eye, vivid green meteorite, and silvery meteorite.
'The distinctive shape of this case offers an ideal canvas for showcasing exceptional slices of ornamental stone,' says Jean-Bernard Forot, head of patrimony at Piaget. 'At Watches and Wonders, we're reintroducing the tiger's eye on a white gold case — an exquisite pairing that magnifies the stone's graphic, magnetic stripes.'
At the end of last year, Hublot added a bold twist to its muscular Classic Fusion model, unveiling dials crafted from lunar meteorite, pink jasper, turquoise, sodalite and nephrite jade. Now, at the Geneva fair, Gerald Charles — founded by the legendary designer Gerald Genta, who was often dubbed the 'Picasso of watchmaking' — presented the Maestro with a radiant lapis lazuli dial. 'Lapis lazuli was chosen because it was Mr. Gerald Genta's favorite stone,' explained the brand's CEO Federico Ziviani. 'We hold the rights to his original sketch, so this design is completely aligned with our brand's DNA.'
But why has the world of horology fallen for colorful hard-stone dials?
'Collectors love these dials because they bring individuality to a watch,' explained Scheufele, noting that each stone varies in hue, with unique streaks, inclusions, and shimmering effects that give every piece its own distinct character.
The appeal also goes beyond aesthetics.'These stones aren't just beautiful — they carry meaning,' Scheufele continued. 'From birthstones to lucky charms, they hold an almost mythical energy. That emotional connection makes them irresistible.'
Alba Cappellieri, head of the jewelry and fashion accessories program at Politecnico University in Milan, believes that collectors' growing fascination with hard-stone dial watches is closely tied to the broader revival of 1970s aesthetics. This resurgence has been particularly visible in luxury fashion: see the flared trousers, long sautoirs and bold mix of colors and prints seen at the latest shows of Valentino, Chloé and Chanel.
'The 1970s marked a break from modernist austerity, ushering in a more fluid, emotional, and decorative aesthetic,' Cappellieri explained, citing Emilio Pucci's 'palazzo pajamas' as a perfect expression of that era's 'relaxed yet sophisticated spirit, with kaleidoscopic prints and lightweight fabrics that drape naturally over the body.'
Much like in the 1970s, current rising inflation and geopolitical tensions globally may prompt consumers to seek solace in color as a quick and uplifting antidote. 'Saturated hues and vibrant combinations are taking center stage,' Cappellieri continued, adding that the appeal of hard-stones such as lapis lazuli, malachite and mother-of-pearl 'goes beyond decoration' and 'reflect a desire to celebrate nature and its uniqueness.'
However, for all their visual appeal and seemingly effortless ability to inject color into a watch, setting a dial using hard-stones is a delicate and complex process. Despite being classified as 'hard,' these stones are, in fact, fragile, explained Piaget's Forot. 'Opal dials are especially tricky — even after passing all the stress tests, the real moment of truth comes when the watch hands are applied to the dial,' he said. 'There's a tiny pressure at the center of the dial, and even the strongest slice can crack.'
Still, the risk is worth it. 'One glance at a hard-stone dial instantly evokes images of a hedonistic, flamboyant lifestyle,' said Forot. 'You can almost feel the warmth just by looking at it.'